Shade the Changing Girl #3 Review and *SPOILERS*

The body is willing, but the flesh ain't mine!

Shade the Changing Girl #3
"Earth Girl Made Easy, Chapter 3: As Bad as Mad"
Written By: Cecil Castellucci
Illustrated By: Marley Zarcone
Colors By: Kelly Fitzpatrick
Letters By: Saida Temofonte
Cover By: Becky Cloonan
Variant Cover By: Paul Rentler
Cover Price: $3.99
On Sale Date: December 7, 2016

There's that old saying that goes something like... When you fall off the horse, you have to get back on... I think that's a great motto to have, though I'm not sure I would apply it to jumping back into the pool shortly after having nearly drowned to death.  Then again, I'm not the protagonist of a Young Animal title... let's see how our Megan does as she tries to both stay on the High School swim team and keep her status as captain!



I must admit, I was pretty surprised when I opened this issue to find Shade sitting poolside.  Ya know... having just drowned and all.  I probably shouldn't have been... given what this series has given us thus far.  I gotta say, it's really no wonder Megan was such a terror before the accident... all of the authority figures in her life are absolutely ridiculous!  Imagine a swim coach trying to get the fresh-from-a-coma drowned girl to hop in to the deep end!  What's more... when the poor drowned girl dives in... and nearly drowns again... they yell at her!

Loma doesn't quite understand why she suddenly had a fear of the water.  Sure, Megan drowned... but right now, Megan is just a shell... right?  This issue was one of self-exploration... of a sort of introspective-duality of inhabiting the body of another... or something.  Basically, Loma needs to find her place in the body before that body can find its place in the world.

Our cast of characters gets a bit more fleshed out here.  Teacup gets some screen time, even saving Shade from nearly drowning... again.  Next door neighbor, River, serves as a pretty decent expositional character... sharing information about pre-Accident Megan in a completely organic sort of way.  I think the fact that there is/was an online "safe space" for her "victims" is a bit precious... but sadly, it's something that I could see happening in the real world.  I gotta admit I chuckled a bit at the thought of her forcing people to drink her turd-infested turlet water.

We also get our first display of Meta-Meditation... where Loma (and the reader) is able to learn a bit about Megan's childhood.  The panel placement and stylistic progression were a real treat during these scenes.  We get the impression that Loma is actually exploring the body she now inhabits.

Speaking of "displays"... as the issue draws to a close, we are given a proper demonstration of just what the "madness" can do... or make someone do.  This definitely whets my appetite for what's next to come.

I really appreciate that this wildly outrageous idea is tethered to normal and relatable concepts.  A drowned girl would likely be rather hesitant to return to the water... even with a Metan alien inhabiting her body.  This shows us that there may be more of Megan floating around in her flesh-husk than we may have thought.  This is both interesting for this issue, and opens up a wide array of story-paths which can be explored.

As I have noted in previous issues of this series, the only part that didn't keep me compelled were the scenes that took place on Meta.  Not even cameos from Hellboy's sister and Grimace (I know, I know) were enough to hold my interest... but, it's getting there.  I can see myself becoming invested in Lepuck and his band... but, I'm not quite there yet.  I just saw their panels as panels taken away from Loma/Shade.  It's probably less an indictment on Lepuck, and rather just really enjoying the Shade bits.

Bits and Pieces:

Another enjoyable issue of Shade the Changing Girl.  The art maintains is psychedelic excellence, and the story remains as engaging as ever.  If you haven't tried this title yet, I'd encourage you to grab the first three.  There really are no words to properly convey how captivating this book has become.  It's a rare thing when after just three issues, I already view a book as a "keeper".

8.6/10