The Cray are coming. We know how Paul Revere would have handled the situation, but Shade is having a much more difficult time sounding the alarm for Earth’s approaching doom. Readers have become well acquainted with the more risque and criminal parts of Loma/ Meghan/ Shade’s past and Shade the Changing Woman #4 visits a new memory. Though Shade has tried hard to forget this piece of her past, the memory holds a long lost fear that may be Earth’s only hope.
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Don’t let the bright colors and swirling patterns fool you- Shade the Changing Woman #2 takes Shade’s new arc down a darker road than before. Post Milk Wars, Loma/ Megan/ Shade, has died and been reborn, shedding the skin of her former identities and settling into her role as the new Shade. Accompanied by her Raq Shade spirit guide, the Changing Woman is trying to find her place in a world that doesn’t seem to want her in it. I’ve heard the criticism that Shade the Changing Girl stripped the Shade mythology of its previous complexity. If you’re one of those critics, don’t jump ship just yet. This series is barreling towards a dizzying existential crisis and taking all of us readers along for the ride.
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As suddenly as it began, DC’s Milk Wars has ended. For a relatively short event, Milk Wars is loaded with references, ideologies, and narratives that need intense dissection to piece together completely. I wouldn’t say that I’m disappointed, just a little frustrated with the amount of work the average reader will have to do to follow and understand what they’re reading. If you have a sturdy background in Grant Morrison’s Multiversity, the complete history of the Doom Patrol, the Justice League, and all of the Young Animal titles, you have nothing to worry about here. If you haven’t read much of the Young Animals, aren’t up to date with Doom Patrol, and haven’t delved into the history of DC’s multiverse, you’re going to need a lot of breadcrumbs to find your way through this story. Milk Wars is clever, hilarious, and fully embraces the “meta-narrative” trend that’s been taking over more and more in pop culture. However, Young Animals was created as a way to bring new readers into the DC universe without having to feel lost or behind. Milk Wars effectively alienates any new readers of not only DC but comics as a whole. I’ve been a DC girl since about eight years old, and even I had to put reading on hold to look up back issues and google characters to piece everything together. Milk Wars is a smart read for an avid comic fan, but likely a let down to readers hoping to use the Young Animal titles as gateway comics.
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I don’t really know where to begin here. All my years of studying literature and critical theory have not prepared me for this. I’ve seen Wonder Woman breastfeed a Dustbuster. I didn’t know that was something I should be afraid of experiencing- how could I? I find myself drawing on the distinct memory of the first time I saw Alice in Wonderland as a child. I was disturbed to my core by the fact that a little girl was lost in such a bizarre place and the adults she encountered seemed to be more dedicated to making it worse than helping. I had nightmares about the Queen of Hearts screaming “off with her head!” for weeks, and don’t get me started on the oyster story.
Read MoreFor an issue that's been marketed as "stand-alone," this week's Shade, the Changing Girl is surprisingly reliant on context. It may not be new-reader friendly, but it's a must for anyone following the series. Read ahead for my thoughts as we dive deep into Loma's past and prepare for the annual winter dance.
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I keep thinking that I’m going to drop this title for review and just read it, but then it’ll entice me just enough that I want to review it. It’s not that it’s the best of the DC’s Young Animal line, but it’s quite possibly one of the best.
Read MoreMadness is hard. I said that last time and it’s still true, but I think that writer Cecil Castellucci knows that as well. Why do I have this hunch? Probably because of the way she addresses madness several times throughout the second issue of Shade: The Changing Girl.
Read MoreMadness is a challenging story to tell. It can be everything and anything, but giving it structure and keeping it feeling like madness… is a difficult task. That’s what this series is up against, and after reading the first issue, I can understand why of all the titles announced for DC’s Young Animal, that Shade had people the least optimistic about it.
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