EXCLUSIVE: EMPOWERED vol.12's Patreon-censored panel DEATHTRAPMONGER scene uncensored, then changed again! (Patreon)

So!

A year or so ago (UPDATE: No, that was two years ago, ouch), I showed the fine folks of the $10 and $20 tiers an exclusive preview of pages from the upcoming Empowered vol.12's "Deathtrapmonger" scene. Wellp, here's the scene again, for all you other Patrons' perusal:

Yes, this scene's short-lived rebooting of the Empverse includes a deathtrap-oriented version of the familiar Deathmonger. Go figure!

Ah, but the sequence's third previewed page included a moment in which Emp looks down at the combo "straitjacket/push-up bra" she's been strapped into. At the time, I censored out this one particular page's third panel, for SPOILER-related reasons:

...because, as you can see, that panel of Emp briefly fantasizing about bedroom cosplay broached the topic of her being in a threesome with Thugboy and Ninjette:

(Featuring Ninjette cosplaying as Ena from Disgaea, you'll note.)

Wellp, I censored that panel two years ago because Empowered vol.12's SPOILER-iffic cover illo hadn't yet been released:

Now that the threesome concept has been revealed by the book's very cover, I figured 'twas time to show you folks the uncensored early pages from that Deathtrapmonger scene.

But wait, there's more!

I wound up having to replace that panel anyway, due to a recent reshuffling of the story order in the final version of Empowered vol.12 now being pieced together in Dark Horse Production. (More on this matter later.)

Problem is, this story fragment's early broaching of the threesome situation wound up being a tad offputting and confusing due to the fact that, in the book's rather jumbled reading order, this actually precedes Emp proposing the idea to Ninjette and Thugboy. 

For a while I thought I could muddle through with this narrative glitch as is, but this weekend I decided to finally bite the bullet and replace the panel with a Ninjette-less depiction of bedroom cosplay that would be less disorienting in terms of in-volume continuity and storytelling:

(Note that I'm using different Photoshop level adjustments for my Empowered jpegs nowadays, hence the patch panel looking much higher contrast than the rest of the page.)

Next up are the rough drafts for the replacement panel. Here's the first:

...and the second:

And lo, I chose the first version mainly 'cause I like that Emp sketch better.

Anyhoo, Dark Horse has announced the book's release in June 2023. And now, back to work on further tweaks to Empowered vol.12's reshuffled pages. Golly!

NEXT TIME ON THIS HERE PATREON: Not sure at present, but something should be going up in the next M/W/F slot, okay?