When I first read issues one through six of Shade the Changing Girl as they were published piece by piece over a year and a half ago the series was quick to carve out a special place in my heart. Now that I’ve made time to go back and reread those first few issues where they are compiled into a collected edition my fondness for everything Shade has multiplied tenfold. If you’re someone who reads monthly comics you know that most of the best titles are written to be circular. What I mean by this is that some interpretation is gained bit by bit, while other interpretations become more clear when you can put all of the pieces together. Both separate reading experiences feed off of each other for the deepest level of understanding.
Shade’s sequel/companion miniseries: Shade the Changing Woman has been absolute poetry so far. The foundations can be found right here in volume one, where our heroine Loma Shade makes her first appearance.
Loma is a twenty something Avian (species) from the planet Meta. She was a poetry major before she dropped out of University. On her home planet Loma would regularly obsess over Life With Honey- a mid 50’s sitcom, and the works of Metan poet Rac Shade. In fact, issues one through five each begin with a few lines of Rac’s poetry.
Rac, the original Changing Man, has been to Earth before. Much of his poetry is about Earth. Loma has read enough of it and seen enough Life With Honey to know that she would really like it there. So one day she convinces her friend Lepuck to help her steal Rac’s legendary madness coat. WIth the madness at her fingertips Loma can finally journey to Earth.
She’s in for a rude awakening. Modern day (2016) is nothing like Life With Honey.
A lot has changed! Shade will have to make sense of this newer world and navigate the complexities of human emotion from inside the body of sixteen-year-old bully Megan Boyer.
When Shade lands in Megan’s body it awakens from a coma (the result of a mysterious swimming accident). Megan’s synchronized swimming “friends” had been living in fear of her for as long as they could remember. The rest of the swim team is weary upon Megan’s return to school, increasingly so when they see how different she is. What’s her endgame? Her evil master plan? Teacup, one of the more actualized supporting characters, is quick to write off the phenomena surrounding Shade’s madness coat as an optical illusion or a sleight of hand. River, the new boy next door, is more willing to entertain Shade’s tales of her distant home planet.
Just as Shade starts to adjust to her new life Megan threatens to retake what was hers. Even if it means slipping back into a coma.
Volume One: Earth Girl Made Easy is able to take on an ages old concept, who we are and want to be vs. how we’re seen by others, and make it feel as if it were a wholly original, untouched theme.
Here’s a question for our readers who are already familiar with Shade the Changing Girl. Who’s your favorite character and why? Let’s discuss in the comments!
I’ll be back in two weeks to talk about Soupy Leaves Home. Another Cecil Castellucci book! Thanks for reading.
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