Adam Warren is a double-threat in the world of comics, being both an accomplished writer and artist. Unlike others who simply want to get into the business however they can, Warren knew exactly what he wanted to do from the start of his career: bring Japan’s Dirty Pair to America. At first he didn’t have much luck, but by appealing directly Takachiho Haruka, the creator of Dirty Pair, he finally won the rights to create an American version of the comic. The first release, Dirty Pair: Biohazards, came out in 1989.
Since then, Warren has slung words and art all across the comic book landscape, from cover art for Marvel to being the one of the main writers for Wildstorm’s Gen¹³ comic. He’s done trading-card art, art for magazines, and even done some translation and scripting work to bring other manga to the US.
Today, Adam Warren is best known for Empowered, a tongue-in-cheek superhero comic he describes as, “an episodic ‘sexy superhero comedy’, mixing a twisted take on costumed crime-fighting, romance, and absurdist workplace humor with a strong dose of that ‘manga flava’… and just a dash of the kinky.” In addition to Warren’s biting wit, Empowered is known for its unique visual style. Having been told many times that his pencil layouts were stronger and just plain better than the final inked and colored versions, Warren opted for a simple, straight-forward grey-scale printing of his pencil work. Modern printing techniques allow the full texture and sweep of his manga-inspired art to come through on the page. Work started on Empowered in 2005, but Darkhorse didn’t release the first TPB until 2007.
Adam Warren will be at the San Antonio Dragon’s Lair Comics and Fantasy® on Halloween, Monday, October 31st. He’ll be on site to discuss his work and sign autographs from 2 to 6 PM.
