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Shade the Changing Man Vol. 1: The American Scream

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SHADE, THE CHANGING MAN: THE AMERICAN SCREAM collects the first six issues of the 1990 Vertigo comic series. There's a lot of history behind that character, so let's travel back just a bit. Shade, the Changing Man was one of my favorite DC titles from the late `70s. Created by Steve Ditko, it featured the adventures of Rac Shade, fugitive from the planet Meta. Shade's M-Vest surrounded him with a distorted energy field that gave him the appearance of a giant monstrous being, resulting in some truly weird visuals from Ditko. Unfortunately, the series was quickly canceled as a result of the DC implosion, and aside from some appearances in Suicide Squad, Shade was mostly forgotten.

In 1990, writer Peter Milligan and artist Chris Bachalo resurrected Shade as part of the Vertigo lineup, and while there was an initial attempt to link this character to Ditko's version in issue #1, it seemed like more of a nod to knowledgeable readers, rather than an honest attempt to fully integrate the two. Still, the connection is there, and as the story progresses, the two versions merge further, to where I eventually had no problem accepting this series as something of a continuation of Ditko's version. Yes, it's more of a "reimagining" (blech), but it's a good one.

This version of Shade is still from the planet Meta, but his mission is to battle a form of actualized chaos, referred to as "the madness", which trickles into our reality from another dimension. Shade's actual body floats comatose in the dimension of madness, wearing the M-Vest. With the vest, he is able to project his consciousness into the bodies of Earthlings, but his work gets off to a rocky start as he inhabits the body of Troy Grenzer, a murderer who is being put to death in the electric chair. Shade uses his reality-warping powers to escape the prison with the initially-reluctant assistance of Kathy George, the daughter of a couple murdered by Grenzer. As Kathy begins to realize that her parents' killer is no more, she accompanies Shade on his journey to battle the force of madness that inhabits America's collective unconscious: The American Scream.

Millgan's work on these first six issues is very good. In fact, the two-part "Hollywood Babble-On" is a prime example of what made Vertigo comics so great in the `90s. While his hang-up on the death of JFK and its implications for American society are a bit overdone, it's a minor quibble. Chris Bachalo's art, especially inked by Mark Pennington, is superb. While I'm just fine with Bachalo's later, more cartoony style, this early work is excellent. I'm hoping there are more Shade trade paperbacks on the way. I mean, 70 issues in the series, and only one trade? Step it up, DC...

Too bad they didn't go all the way back too the 70s and show the beginning of Shade, the Changing Man, but we are still grateful to see Shade in his 90s re-invention via the sterling work of Peter Milligan, who is sort of like the Greil Marcus of the comic world--filled with grim and fascinating re-caps of the "old, weird America." The striking thing about the AMERICAN SCREAM storyline is, I think, still the characters Milligan gives us, the tormented Shade and the incredibly generous, if haunted, Kathy.

Lenny remains one of the most original characters in comics, although in the greater world of culture outside she would be regarded as a stock figure, the hip, take no prisoners almost-lipstick lesbian. Hooray for Milligan for bringing us actual, literal change in panel after panel, page after page, and long live our "man on the inside," Shade.

I have to admit, I've been an admirer of Peter Milligan for a long time --- his sense of literacy and character is (to me) beguiling.

Shade TCM was one of his longest running US comics - and revivies a classic Steve Ditko character most impressively. In this collection (which covers the first six issues, rather than the first arc sadly) we get introduced to Rac Shade (from Meta, via the Area of Madness), the Madness Vest, Kathy and the American Scream. Issues dealt with here include the death penalty (an anachronism to Europeans), JFK's assassination, Hollywood and hippies. These all seem very dull, jaded targets - but Milligan adds more value than can easily be conveyed. It's a good mixed bag, but the series really took off later in it's 70 issue run.

Hopefully, this will sell enough (on the back of X-Force/X-Statix) to make more volumes appear - if not, look for issues 45 to 50 "A Season in Hell" - the finest moment of this series.

Pop Kulcher Review: Not sure why, but Amazon has reviews for Sandman Mystery Theater printed below. As for Shade the Changing Man, all I can say is -- it's about time. Having released at least token trade paperbacks of most of the DC Vertigo titles, Shade seemed to be singled out for obscurity. Which would be a shame, as it was one of the most well-written Vertigo-related titles of the 90's, certainly on par (or close) with Sandman, Hellblazer, and Morrison's Animal Man & Doom Patrol. The first few issues (collected in this volume) were far from the title's best work, but still pretty cutting edge. At first, Milligan was big into general psychedelic weirdness coupled with an outsider's commentary on Americana. He got a bit too hung up on the (kinda silly) American Scream storyline, and struggled to integrate his book into the briefly-lived original Steve Ditko series, but once he put these aspects behind him, he made this a more character-oriented book, focusing on the 3-way love story among Shade, his girlfriend, and wisecracking NYC lesbian Lenny (all while continuing to keep a bizarre, sci-fi-ish weirdness). The book was often depressing, perhaps even more focused on young angst than Gaiman's Sandman, and that comes across even in these early issues. I hope (but doubt) that they'll work their way through the whole series, but I'm glad to have even a token bound collection of Milligan's ground-breaking work.

This is a very good comic series collection. Please buy it and read it. Or check it out form a library if they have it. Or download it. Then if you like it petition DC to collect more of it. And recommend it to your friends. Create a Shade meme! Then the world will be a much better place. "And if you don't listen...then to HELL with you!" Conan to his God Crom.

I missed out on the early issues of "Sandman," "Hellblazer," et al. so "Shade TCM" was my entryway into the "British invasion" of edgy, cutting-edge comics. While I lost track of the series over time (something that happens with all comic titles I read), I am glad to have a bookshelf edition of these early issues. The comic has its moments of unhinged weirdness, but it's weirdness with a purpose. The surrealistic imagery makes sense in the context of the storyline. Hopefully the rest of the series will be reprinted in time as many Vertigo titles are so I can finally go back and catch up with the rest of the story.