Jonathan Edwards 7/18/18 Jonathan Edwards 7/18/18

Review: DC/Young Animal: Milk Wars

By Jonathan Edwards

DC/Young Animal: Milk Wars is a weird kind of crossover. I know, big surprise from the story about the extradimensional corporation Retonn weaponizing milk to “homogenize” the DCU. But, what I mean is, it’s not a dedicated five-issue miniseries, nor is it a five-part story taking place in single issues of the various books involved. Instead, it’s five separate one-shots, each pairing DC and Young Animal characters. Now, Grant Morrison did something similar with The Multiversity, but there, it directly ties into the narrative. Whereas, with Milk Wars, it’s a stylistic choice more than anything else. But, what makes it truly strange is the fact that two of the one-shots, Mother Panic/Batman Special #1and Shade the Changing Girl/Wonder Woman Special #1 have little to no impact on the plot. You could remove both of those issues and their respective characters, and the story literally wouldn’t change at all.

Kelly Gaines 6/6/18 Kelly Gaines 6/6/18

Review: Shade the Changing Woman #4

By Kelly Gaines

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.

Kelly Gaines 4/4/18 Kelly Gaines 4/4/18

Review: Shade the Changing Woman #2

By Kelly Gaines

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.