Exclusive: Dark Horse Releases Empowered Deluxe Edition Volume III Date, Opens Preorders

Dark Horse is celebrating a decade of empowerment with the release of Empowered Deluxe Edition Volume III.

One of a number of announcements the publisher is planning to make in the run-up to next weekend's Chicago Comics and Entertainment Expo (C2E2), Empowered Deluxe Edition Volume III will be on the shelves in September, but preorders are opening up already.

For those unfamiliar with the work -- and you can check it out in serialized form online here if you are -- Empowered is a series of black-and-white, manga-style graphic novels that promotional materials describe as "a sexy superhero comedy -- except when it's not." The story centers on Emp, a beautiful, often-insecure young superheroine who gets her powers from her (easily-destroyed) suit. Adam Warren writes and draws Emp's adventures.

Here's how Dark Horse describes the book:

With over 250,000 Empowered volumes sold, Adam Warren's (The Dirty Pair, Livewires) favorite superhero is getting the true Superhomey experience! This hardcover gift to humankind contains over seven hundred pages of Empowered and is limited to a single majestic printing.

Captured within Empowered Deluxe Edition Volume III are the entireties of Empowered Volumes 7, 8, and 9 plus a priceless hoard of hidden delights. These extras include unpublished artwork, notes from Adam Warren, and arcane wisdom both illuminating and terrifying to behold! Empowered Deluxe Edition Volume III is a perfect addition to any Empowered superfan's collection.

Empowered Deluxe Edition Volume III goes on sale September 13, 2017, and is available for preorder on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and at your local comic shop!

Empowered Volume 10, which was announced through ComicBook.com back in September, goes on sale June 21, 2017, and is also available for preorder on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and at your local comic shop.

"[The Empowered and the] Soldier of Love miniseries is just the first salvo in a barrage of Empowered material that'll be hitting the shelves in 2017, as Dark Horse and I make a concerted effort to celebrate the series' 10th anniversary. Next up will be the summer 2017 release of Empowered vol. 10, of which I'm currently drawing the final few pages. We can't yet talk about some of the other Emp material planned for later in the year, but rest assured that more is in the pipeline," Warren told ComicBook.com at the time. "Further down the road, I'm planning a longer and even more ambitious Empowered Guest Artist miniseries after Empowered and The Soldier of Love runs its course. As off-the-wall, over-the-top and just plain 'trippy' as Soldier of Love grows in its final act—which I've described as 'Inception but with love instead of dreams, and the craziness meter cranked much higher' — this upcoming miniseries will take even bigger and bolder steps into 'out-there' territory. (A hint for Empowered readers: Sistah Spooky and a certain hellishly blonde high school are involved)."