Shade the Changing Girl #2 Review and *SPOILERS*

School Haze

Shade the Changing Girl #2
"earth girl made easy, chapter 2: School is Hell"
Written by Cecil Castellucci
Illustrated by Marley Zarcone
Inked by Ande Parks
Colors by Kelly Fitzpatrick
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: 11.02.2016

Having already been infested by a bird critter, Miss Megan must return to her life as a high school student.  Watch as she roams the halls of Amelia Bloomer High School and has run-ins with old friends... and old victims.

In case you were wondering, Amelia Bloomer was a women's rights activist during the late nineteenth century.  If her name makes you think about colonial underwear... there's probably a reason for that.  On with Shade!




It's a brand new day for Megan Boyer (though we mortals can call her Shade)... she's back in the land of the living, and back at home.  Even if she's "not quite herself", those around her need to reconcile that she is now back in their lives.  Just the same, Loma Shade needs to get used to the fact that she is in a brand new human body... with all of its lumps, smells, and holes.

Our second chapter illustrates the difficulty that all cast members are facing with Megan's sudden return... but let's start with the being occupying the body of our star herself... Loma.  We get to be something of a "fly on the wall" while she acquaints herself with her new body and home.  It's really quite interesting... and also in a way, sad.  

I wonder if there is any "Megan" left in this body.  If there was anything left even before Loma took over.  I'm not sure if we're even supposed to be thinking about this... yet.  Seeing her mother trying to understand the obvious changes her daughter had gone through since the accident has kept it at the forefront of my thoughts.  What really gets to me is seeing how attentive the family dog still appears to be to the young girl.

While at school, Shade finds herself pretty indifferent to her old social circle.  She appears to be able to see their hate toward her... which doesn't seem to bother her all that much.  It seems she doesn't have the time nor energy to sweat some silly teenagers.  She is, however, drawn to an unpopular girl called Teacup.

Ya see, Teacup is a girl who was often tormented by Megan pre-almost drowning.  She is, rightfully, a bit suspicious of Ms. Boyer's sudden interest in not only her, but her "sanctuary"... the school library.  We also meet Megan's new neighbor River, who I can't tell if he's into her quite yet.  It would be easy to write him off as a potential suitor... but that may be putting the cart before the horse.

We do get a bit of follow-up on the Metan task force in charge of M-Vest retrieval... however, if I'm being honest, these scenes were a bit on the draggy side.  Clearly, they are necessary... however, I was enjoying the Megan scenes so much, the shift was pretty noticeable.

Bits and Pieces:

Another solid issue of Shade.  A great "feeling out" chapter involving our star... her inhabitant... and the world around her/them.  The narrative remained strong whenever Shade was on panel, however, the Meta angle feels a bit slow to start.  Not an indictment by any means, I just felt the Metan scenes dragged a bit.  Art is still psychedelic and wonderful.  Definitely looking forward to seeing where this goes.

8.3/10