SHADE, THE CHANGING MAN
This article does Ditko's 1977, DC creation justice.
It is from THE COMICS JOURNAL - issue #49, Sep '79, pg. 56, 57, 72
by Ed Fea.
''Shade : The Death Of An Innovation''
Anybody the least bit familiar with Marvel Comics in the early
1960's knows Steve Ditko was the first artist to draw Spider-Man and Doctor Strange. His style
was so different from Jack Kirby's, and everyone else's of the day, that opinion polarized over
the quality of his efforts.
What was never in question, though, was Ditko's ability as a storyteller. Ditko has a sense
of what can and cannot be done in a panel or page rivalling Eisner or Kirby. His furious action
sequences may seem chaotic, but it is a carefully controlled chaos, like that of the Marx
Brothers or Mel Brooks. Ditko is a superb craftsman who recognizes the boundaries of the medium
even while he seems to be continually extending them.
Since he left Marvel in 1966, the most innovative and extraordinary feature Steve Ditko has
been involved with is the recently-discontinued Shade, The Changing Man, which he and Michael
Fleisher (who wrote the book's dialogue), produced for DC. Shade was totally different from any
other book on the stands, and not just because Ditko drew it. It was an espoinage feature laid
in an atmosphere of science fiction with trappings of super-heroics, in much the same way Flash
Gordon was a heroic fantasy laid in an other-wordly atmosphere with trappings of science
fiction.
Rac Shade, Ditko's other-dimensional protagonist, was a wanted man - a fugitive from the
militaristic law enforcement agencies of his home world, Meta. No Hitchcock hero ever had as
much trouble with the law or was more closely and relentlessly pursued as the happless Shade,
who had been framed for treason by the Metan criminal element and it's agents inside the Metan
government. After his escape from prison, he was sought by those same criminals as well as
the authorities because of his theft of an illegal Miraco vest, an experimental device of
awesome capability.
Shade moved along at an a bolt-action pace that was as swift as anything that's been seen
in comics in the last ten years. Characters were introduced and discarded like cards in a game
of draw poker. What began as a basically simple plot with several emebellishments soon became a
tale of cross and double-cross involving virtually every level of the Metan government. Shade,
convicted of treason and attempted murder and sought after for his theft of the M-Vest, was
pursued by Mellu, his former fiancee, who believed him to be reasonsible for the crippling of
her parents. Mellu was an N-Agent dispatched by the Metan government to track Shade down after
he fled to Earth and "negate" him. Her contact in the Earth-Zone (which is how the inhabitants
of the Meta-Zone refer to our dimension) was a red-bearded Metan named Wizor, who posed as an
occulist, but whose mission was to mantain a receiving station for Metans travelling from one
dimension to another. This small cast of characters grew rapidly, until it included Col. Kross
and Sgt. Barak (Metan security agents who were Shade's friends), Dr. Sagan (a research scientist
and psychologist, who was also a friend of Shade's), and a bumper crop of villians: the sinister
Col. Lopak, the deadly team of Lt. Emp and Captain Mejan (who helped frame Shade), the bizarre
Form, the explosive Khaos, and Sude, the Supreme Decider - secret head of the Metan crime
structure who was ultimately revealed to be Mellu's mother.
While the complex storyline of Shade, the Changing Man made it a difficult book to keep up
with, it also made it one of the most riveting and strangely intriguing comics ever published.
One minute Mellu was chasing Shade through the limbo-like Zero-Zone (the dimension seperating
the Earth- and Meta-Zones), the next, she was helping him because he had saved her from the
lethal Area of Madness which existed within that Zone. Each issue opened with Shade being
attacked by all manner of loathsome adversaries, from the mad Zokag, whose Em-Rod was almost
as powerful as Shade's M-Vest, to the sunburst faced Dr. Z.Z, who planned to infiltrate the
Earth-Zone and make himself its master. Shade went from wanted criminal to savior of the
president of his world, being cleared of one charge after another even as he battled horrible
menaces bent on controlling the course of events in more than one dimension. But if the fast
action, different characters, strange goings-on were confusing at times, Shade was also
exciting, intense, unpredictible, and a lot of fun to unravel. Not many comics have kept their
readers on the edge of their seats and forced them to use their brains at the same time, but
Shade did and did it very effectively during its all-too-brief lifespan.
After all, Shade was an innovative comic book, one that treated each new development
differently, one that was impossible to categorize according to established norms. The M-Vest
gave Rac Shade a superpower, the power to appear in the eyes of his enemies as a gigantic
grotesque distortion of himself, which grew more frightened, but it did not make him a superhero
the way, say, Green Lantern's power ring makes him one. If Shade ever had the look of a
superhero book, it was because of the villians, not the hero: Form, with her outre abilities to
change shape and probe the unconscious mind; Khaos, with his awesome energy powers; and The
Cloak, with his invisibility. All would have made better opponents for other DC superheroes than
most of the villians they fight in their own books. Because of Ditko's skill and unique style,
Shade's battles with these weird adversaries resembled the average superhero fight scene as much
as Diana Rigg resembles Leon Spinks. The criticism that what they did resemble was Dr. Strange's
battle with Baron Mordo and the dread Dormammu is valid up to a point, but who cares when what
you're looking at is the most innovative comics fare since Starlin's Warlock? Books such as
these come along far too seldom for us to allow them to be spoiled by caviling; for just one
feature a year to be as entertaiing as Shade's eight issues were is a cause for celebration.
Unfortunately, Shade ended with its storyline up in the air. Ditko crammed a lot of story
into the final issue, but Dr. Z.Z. was still on the loose when it ended, his plans for the
conquest of the Earth-Zone moving at full throttle. Those who loved Shade as this reviewer did
may greet the rumor that it was plotted all the way through #17 with the urge to tear open a
couch pillow and eat the stuffings. Such is the frustration of dedicated fans. Somewhere,
somehow, DC Comics ought to be made to let Ditko wrap up the storyline he crafted so carefully.
Not to do so would be like cutting off Psycho near the end and throwing everyone out of the
theater. A comic as brilliant as Shade, the Changing Man deserves better.
If you have any stories or articles concerning Ditko's Shade, please E-MAIL me.
You will receive full credit for your contributions.