The Unchanging Man: The Shade #2 Review

For all the excitement that DC Comics has been trying to generate with the New 52, and their loud and public protestations that everything is all-new and all-different, this appears to be the week that they’re playing to old readers’ nostalgia… if not every reader’s nostalgia, then mine in particular. Going through this week’s DC take is like being 25 years old again, except I no longer have to choose between comics and food that isn’t ramen noodles, my joints crack whenever I do anything more strenuous than turning a page, and those cracking joints are the only ones I currently have hidden in the house.

James Robinson’s Starman was one of the bright spots of comics in the 1990s, a decade that brought us chromium variant covers, Spider-Clones and the ability for Rob Liefeld to make a living that didn’t involve grocery bagging or glory holes. Starman was a book that was as much about world-building as it was the title character, making its Opal City art deco setting and its residents as much a key character as Jack Knight himself. Robinson retired Jack Knight as Starman – permanently, so far – in 2001, and supposedly has a deal with DC where they can’t use the character without his permission, making Robinson the first comic creator I’ve been tempted to torture for the good of comics who didn’t draw Captain America with tits.

So, no Starman for you. However, Robinson’s giving us The Shade miniseries, which is still pretty Goddamned good.

I’m not gonna lie to you: if you’ve never read Starman, you’re not going to get nearly as much out of this comic as you will if you’re familiar with that comic’s world and characters. If you’re a Starman fan, it’s a hoot to see The Shade, Hope O’Dare and Bobo Bennetti again. If you’re not, you might find yourself saying, “Huh… this dandy fop is apparently friends with a Raymond Chandler supporting character for some reason… but he’s banging a smoking redhead, so… where can I buy a top hat?”

But even putting the backstory aside, there’s a fun little tale going on here. Robinson brings us up to speed with what happened in issue one in just a few panels, showing us the aftermath of an attack by Deathstroke at the end of that issue, and takes The Shade out of Opal City within a few pages to hunt whoever is trying to have him killed. There’s plenty of action as we see The Shade meet, and battle with… well, I’ll let him say it:

I’m Will Von Hammer. Private detective and a sex machine with all the chicks.

(Actually I’m not, but I’ve always wanted to say that.)

The book is packed with fun little character bits of dialogue like that, which makes the story and characters come to life, even if you don’t know anything about Robinson’s earlier stuff about The Shade and Opal City. Frankly, even if you don’t have anything invested in the character of The Shade, Von Hammer is worth the cost of admission; it’s refreshing to see a character who fully admits he’d probably be jacking off if porn weren’t so Goddamned expensive.

The Cully Hamner art in this book is solid, and appropriate for the character. It’s fairly simple, with a thick line style that reminded me a little of Howard Chaykin. He uses the lines sparingly for the standard, real-world sequences, and let’s things get really thick and dirty for parts of the story where The Shade lets loose with his shadow powers, or when similarly horrific characters show up and tear things up. While, as an old-school Starman fan, I’m still going to be partial to some of the artists on that book like Tony Harris, well… Hamner’s stuff is just fine for the character, and at least we have Harris covers.

If you’re a Starman fan, The Shade miniseries is almost required reading, and you probably don’t need me to sell it to you because you’re probably buying it already. If you’re not a Starman fan, a lot of this book, particularly the early parts in Opal, will be lost on you. But it’s packed with action and stellar bits of writing, it brings you up to speed with what happened in the first issue, and unlike some more recent exercises in 90s nostalgia, Hamner can draw a foot. It’s dismembered, in the second panel.

Starman fan or not, check this one out.