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robin_dh's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
brandonadaniels's review
3.0
This was a bit of a slog. It gets the idea of madness across well, but it’s a little repetitive and frustrating. I guess that’s a part of the effectiveness, but it’s not a fun read.
quixotic's review
3.0
i have basically the same qualms with this volume as the first one. the story is sort of all over the place (even more so than the first one) which i guess is to be expected when your main characters are fighting "the madness" BUT this gave us the character lenny so it evens out
dantastic's review
3.0
Shade and Kathy find themselves drawn to Madness outbreaks, first in San Francisco then in New York. Shade and Kathy are separated and Kathy meets Lenny, a young artist. Shade, on the other hand, meets someone he never thought he'd see again...
Yeah, this is one of those times where I'm not exactly sure what I just finished reading. Peter Milligan's writing was top notch and Christopher Bachalo's art was good though still in its formative stages. I'm just not sure what they were telling me.
I loved that Lenny was finally introduced. I read the series from issue #35 on in the order I found them so I was wondering when some of my old favorites like Shimmy, Pandora, and Lenny would be introduced. I also liked that Troy Grenzer was brought back and that the American Scream still lived.
Still, I loved the art and I loved the characters. It wasn't as good as the first volume but does a good job of setting the stage for the next one.
Also, I want a coat like Shade's.
Yeah, this is one of those times where I'm not exactly sure what I just finished reading. Peter Milligan's writing was top notch and Christopher Bachalo's art was good though still in its formative stages. I'm just not sure what they were telling me.
I loved that Lenny was finally introduced. I read the series from issue #35 on in the order I found them so I was wondering when some of my old favorites like Shimmy, Pandora, and Lenny would be introduced. I also liked that Troy Grenzer was brought back and that the American Scream still lived.
Still, I loved the art and I loved the characters. It wasn't as good as the first volume but does a good job of setting the stage for the next one.
Also, I want a coat like Shade's.
indeedithappens's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Medical content, Misogyny, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Drug use, Abandonment, Ableism, Alcohol, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Classism, Death of parent, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Cancer, Child abuse, Homophobia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Death, Dementia, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, War, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Pedophilia, Rape, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Stalking, Vomit, Xenophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence
mschlat's review
4.0
I'm doing a reread of the series (for probably the first time in a decade), and oh my goodness the second volume is so much better than the first. Part of that is due to Bachalo and Pennington; Bachalo has started using the crazy layouts I love in his later work and the scratchiness of the first issues has faded away. The art is (usually) cleaner while still good at showing all the weirdness.
But the biggest change is due to the introduction of Lenny, the anarchistic sarcastic third wheel who is oh so needed as a foil to both Shade and Kathy. By introducing Lenny, Milligan starts turning the focus of the series from "madness manifestation of the week" to an exploration of the three main characters and their relationship to madness.
Add to all this two very good storylines (a freak out - on many levels - in San Francisco and the return of a frightening killer), and the series starts to take off.
But the biggest change is due to the introduction of Lenny, the anarchistic sarcastic third wheel who is oh so needed as a foil to both Shade and Kathy. By introducing Lenny, Milligan starts turning the focus of the series from "madness manifestation of the week" to an exploration of the three main characters and their relationship to madness.
Add to all this two very good storylines (a freak out - on many levels - in San Francisco and the return of a frightening killer), and the series starts to take off.
bums's review
4.0
Shade the Changing Man, Volume 2: Edge of Vision - 3.5/5
Better than tha previous volume Peter Milligan gits intae the inner mind (literally) in tis collection. Continuin tae deal wae the 'American Scream's' effects across America, Shade alsae his tae fight his ain bodies past.
Milligan continues tae hiv n impressive imagination, usasin his tools tae explore topics other tales wid need tae dae mair metaphorically. He kin get richt intae the minds've the American folken tae see how he thinks they tick.
Hooever, he continues (lik Jamie Delano's Hellblazer) tae uase actual metaphors real dodgly, wae lang, run-on sentences, filled wae a hale laid've unneeded adjectives n other descriptors. Whilst its nae as bad as Hellblazer, its still naticable n brings the beuk doon fir me.
O'eraw, characters continue tae engage (Lenny, introduced tis volume, leuks like their gonny be a stand oot), stories dae a great job aw've utilising their ability tae literalise metaphors, but the actual metaphors are tae o'erwritten wae adjectives n suchlike tae be effective.
Better than tha previous volume Peter Milligan gits intae the inner mind (literally) in tis collection. Continuin tae deal wae the 'American Scream's' effects across America, Shade alsae his tae fight his ain bodies past.
Milligan continues tae hiv n impressive imagination, usasin his tools tae explore topics other tales wid need tae dae mair metaphorically. He kin get richt intae the minds've the American folken tae see how he thinks they tick.
Hooever, he continues (lik Jamie Delano's Hellblazer) tae uase actual metaphors real dodgly, wae lang, run-on sentences, filled wae a hale laid've unneeded adjectives n other descriptors. Whilst its nae as bad as Hellblazer, its still naticable n brings the beuk doon fir me.
O'eraw, characters continue tae engage (Lenny, introduced tis volume, leuks like their gonny be a stand oot), stories dae a great job aw've utilising their ability tae literalise metaphors, but the actual metaphors are tae o'erwritten wae adjectives n suchlike tae be effective.
caractacus's review
5.0
I didn't read the early issues until later, but reading the second volume of Shade, I can remember how blown away I was when I first read it as a teenager. Still holds up as some of Milligan's (and Bachalo's) best.
sans's review
3.0
I can't say I like this. If I liked it, I'd feel...very concerned about myself. This isn't a judgement on anyone who does genuinely like this series. I'm not here for moral judgements. I just know myself and I'm glad this makes me uncomfortable. It's super compelling and trippy and all the things that really make me regret reading this right before bedtime. I've been avoiding [b:Enigma|244110|Enigma|Peter Milligan|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1308976109s/244110.jpg|236504] for similar reasons. So, yeah. Time for me to break out the fluffy fanfic again.
jgkeely's review
3.0
Inescapably one of the finest comics I've ever read, but unfortunately, only the beginning of the series is available, and it is the weakest part. It will be a crime if the lack of success of these early bits forestalls the entire series becoming available, because it stands up as the equal of any other Vertigo title. Milligan is still trying to find his voice in these early stories, which are more standard fare, but soon he catches his stride and reaches levels of thoughtfully absurd wit to rival Moore's 'Swamp Thing', Gaiman's 'Sandman' or the better arcs of 'Hellblazer'.
Good as they can be, it's a shame Morrison and Gaiman get the lion's share of the attention for the Britwave movement, because Milligan wrote a much more innovative book. The art is solid, if not always remarkable. Bachalo is a bit weak at the beginning but he does some of the best work of his career around the middle. The illustrators who replace him for the closing of the series are competent, but don't have the same strikingly idiomatic visions.
The real star here is the writing, and Milligan is a talent who deserves to be better known and widely respected. His 'Enigma' is as unusual and insightful as Watchmen, his Extremist and Skin are darker and more transgressive than anything else put out by a major publisher. Yet Shade is his most imaginative and wide-ranging book, an amazing feat of constant reinvention with a smart, literary sensibility unrivaled in comics.
When people ask what my favorite comic is, I still say 'Shade', and I'm always sad at the lack of recognition when I say it.
My Suggested Reading In Comics
Good as they can be, it's a shame Morrison and Gaiman get the lion's share of the attention for the Britwave movement, because Milligan wrote a much more innovative book. The art is solid, if not always remarkable. Bachalo is a bit weak at the beginning but he does some of the best work of his career around the middle. The illustrators who replace him for the closing of the series are competent, but don't have the same strikingly idiomatic visions.
The real star here is the writing, and Milligan is a talent who deserves to be better known and widely respected. His 'Enigma' is as unusual and insightful as Watchmen, his Extremist and Skin are darker and more transgressive than anything else put out by a major publisher. Yet Shade is his most imaginative and wide-ranging book, an amazing feat of constant reinvention with a smart, literary sensibility unrivaled in comics.
When people ask what my favorite comic is, I still say 'Shade', and I'm always sad at the lack of recognition when I say it.
My Suggested Reading In Comics