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- Rac Shade, alias Shade the Changing Man is a secret agent of the world in the Meta-Zone, a dimension near that of Earth, has been falsely framed for treason and sentenced to death. But a freak accident teleports him and other Meta criminals into the Zero-Zone between Meta and Earth, and he uses a sensor to enter Earth's plane. There, he uses the illusion-creating and body-defending illegal M-Vest to spearhead his drive to find another agent, Lt. Emp, who may be able to clear his name. But his former lover, Mellu, has come to Earth in search of him, hoping to execute him in revenge for the crippling of her family. And another Meta criminal is already loose on the planet, Zokag the Demolisher.
- Originally a short-lived series created by Steve Ditko, Shade ran for 8 issues (June, 1977-September, 1978) before its sudden cancellation. The protagonist later turned up in the Suicide Squad, where he was a regular cast member from issue #16 to #37 (August, 1988-January, 1990). Like many other Silver Age heroes he then got a thorough Continuity Reboot under DC's Vertigo imprint; the alien fugitive with a technological gizmo was replaced by a soulful poet from a parallel world who could warp reality.
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- Originally a short-lived series created by Steve Ditko, Shade ran for 8 issues (June, 1977-September, 1978) before its sudden cancellation. The protagonist later turned up in the Suicide Squad, where he was a regular cast member from issue #16 to #37 (August, 1988-January, 1990). Like many other Silver Age heroes he then got a thorough Continuity Reboot under DC's Vertigo imprint; the alien fugitive with a technological gizmo was replaced by a soulful poet from a parallel world who could warp reality. The reboot was written in 1990 under Britwave author Peter Milligan and then-fledgling artist Chris Bachalo. Like the work of previous British authors Neil Gaiman and Alan Moore, the series was highly experimental, combining history, mythology, literary allusions, and genre deconstruction. The series would run seventy issues, reaching its conclusion in 1996. The series focuses on Shade, a dimensional traveler with reality-altering powers. In the Vertigo title, he is unceremoniously dropped into our dimension, where he becomes involved in the life of a young woman named Kathy, still reeling from the brutal murder of her boyfriend and parents. He soon turns her life upside-down as he fights against physical manifestations of madness, of his own desires, and of the breakdown of American culture. He fights fire with fire by harnessing the power of Madness using the "Madness Vest" (the "M-Vest" in the Ditko era). However, things quickly turn more complicated... The externalization of shifting ideas forms a central theme throughout the series, exploring belief, creation, madness, and the instability of identity. The focus of the series was usually on character interaction, psychological changes, and human relationships, even as the overarching plot grew increasingly climactic and fantastical. The series never shied away from controversy, dealing openly with transgenderism, homosexuality, murder, and interracial relationships. The series has a cult following, but can be difficult to find, although the first 19 issues have been republished in TPBs. In 2003, original author Peter Milligan teamed with Madman artist Mike Allred to write a one-off Shade story for Vertigo's tenth anniversary special. Recent years have seen Shade making appearances in some of Milligan's other DC work - his Hellblazer run, Flashpoint miniseries "Secret Seven", and Justice League Dark. Notably, the latter two see Shade incorporated into the main DCU.
- Rac Shade, alias Shade the Changing Man is a secret agent of the world in the Meta-Zone, a dimension near that of Earth, has been falsely framed for treason and sentenced to death. But a freak accident teleports him and other Meta criminals into the Zero-Zone between Meta and Earth, and he uses a sensor to enter Earth's plane. There, he uses the illusion-creating and body-defending illegal M-Vest to spearhead his drive to find another agent, Lt. Emp, who may be able to clear his name. But his former lover, Mellu, has come to Earth in search of him, hoping to execute him in revenge for the crippling of her family. And another Meta criminal is already loose on the planet, Zokag the Demolisher. While Mellu comes to Earth to negate the gaseous Metan criminal Form, Shade battles Lt. Emp, the one man who can clear him of treason charges. While Shade tries to force Capt. Majan to confess to framing him for treason, both are attacked by Cloak, an invisible minion of Sude. When Gola Zae teleports Mellu into the Zone of Madness, Shade must rescue her and then fight a desperate battle with the help of Dr. Sagan to preserve her sanity and her life. Mellu learns that Shade risked his life to save her, and joins Shade's secret allies in an attempt to break him out of government custody, while one of the Supreme Decider's rivals, Khaos, breaks away from the Crime Council to attempt to conquer Meta on his own. The Supreme Decider is injured, and Khaos makes his play for control of Meta by attempting to kill President Olon, with only Shade standing in his way.Shade suffers a "color coma" after having destroyed Khaos, while Mellu and Sgt. Barak go after the Cloak to prove him the killer of Capt. Majan, and Dr. Z. Z. prepares to strike at Earth. Shade reveals the truth of his last assignment as a government agent to President Olon, Col. Kross, and Dr. Sagan, as Col. Lopak prepares to send troops into the presidential palace to see if Shade is within. On his way to help fight Dr. Z. Z. on Earth, Shade falls victim in the Zero-Zone to Zekie, a conqueror who has already beaten Xexlo. Shade is later rescued by the Suicide Squad. Shade's second attempt at stopping Z.Z. is successful, though Meta authorities still wish to arrest him. Rick Flag pulls a gun and Shade is allowed to leave with the Squad. Shade is offered technical help in returning to Meta in exchange for his help on missions. Shade cooperates, though he is not quite sure if Earth's technology is up to the task.
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