Shade the Changing Woman #1 Review and **SPOILERS**

Five Years Later

Written By: Cecil Castellucci
Illustrated By: Marley Zarcone
Colors By: Kelly Fitzpatrick
Back-Up Art By: Jamie Coe 
Letters By: Saida Temofonte
Covers By: Becky Cloonan and Marley Zarcone
Cover Price: $3.99
On Sale Date March 7, 2018

You ever visit Reddit?  It's probably not the worst place online to kill a few hours when you should be working... but, if you've never been, you probably don't need to.

At Reddit there are various sub-reddits where all matter of things can be shared and discussed... among them is one called "I'm 14 and this is deep"... which is exactly what you think it is.  It looks at and pokes fun at silly things kids/teens/self-important adults find "profound".

Now... what would happen if that sub-reddit became a comic book?  Hmm... I wonder.


We pick up with our girl woman, Shade five years after the events of Shade the Changing Girl #12.  Presumably Milk Wars falls in there somewhere, but we're not going to think too hard about that.

She meets up with her idol, Rac Shade... and together they... philosophize.  There is the possibility that their overly purple dialog is a commentary to the faux-deep... and I'm clutching onto that possibility with everything I've got.  I fear this is just the way this book might be from this point on.

Thankfully that's not all.  We also get updated on Shade's old pals Teacup and River as they prepare to begin the next stage of their lives... college.  It's nice to catch up with them, even though we're doing so in "Madness Time", which is to say... it isn't entirely clear if this is happening in "the now" or at some point in the five-year gap.  Certain parts are almost definitely in the past... but it isn't as clear as I would have liked it.  I will concede that I may just be too dense to follow this... that does happen from time to time (pun!).

We also check in on Meta... where Loma's ex-boyfriend happens across a new piece of (will)powerful jewelry.  Perhaps a sign that the Young Animal books are more at home in the DC Universe proper this "season".

The book comes dangerously close to becoming political toward the end.  There is discussion of "undocumented extra-terrestrials"... and I'm involuntarily cringing that we might be headed to "wall-related" commentary.  I mean, this is topical... but as an allegory to real world events, I feel like it's a bit over-simplified.  We've got Loma/Shade who would fall under that "undocumented" status... but she's all about art, poetry, culture, and philosophy maaaaaaaan.  Of course, this being the DC Universe, there are any number of "undocumented extra-terrestrials" who wouldn't give a second thought to leveling Cleveland.  What I'm saying is... if I lived in the DC Universe, where Darkseid can theoretically send sleeper Apokolyptian warriors into every metropolitan area... I'd likely take solace in the knock-off NASA's efforts.

The art does much of the heavy-lifting this time around.  This being a first issue, I'm sort of viewing it like a "pilot", and though this wasn't necessarily "for me", I am optimistic that either I will come around to it... or it will come back around to me. 

Bits and Pieces:

I'm 14 and this is deep.  Overly purple writing... and a lack of linearity in the story made this a bit of a chore to read.  Light years better than Milk Wars, but missing the charm of the previous volume.  The art is still fantastic.

5.5/10