Vertigo, $1.95 US, IR£1.65
After the obligatory big developement of issue 50, (the death of long time main character Kathy) Milligan takes some time to explain the meaning of the entire series (hair) and gives Shade yet another trauma to add to his list - The search for Kathy. After dreaming of her being involved in an ancient Metan slaughter festival, and following a few suicide attempts, Shade decides to get to the root of the matter, where he finds his own personal Devil, waiting for him again. Meanwhile, Kathy's ex-lover and fellow shade-follower Lenny decides to go back to her roots, and leaves for Manhattan. Milligan's flair for dialogue is as strong as ever, and the plot does look interesting, but the characterisation is looking distressingly like more of the same "trauma-of-the-month", which paled a year or so back.
The art, by ex-Kid Eternity penciller Sean Phillips, is dodgy in parts (he doesn't seem to have a firm handle on Lenny, for example), but otherwise effective. And he does manage to make Shade look absolutely modern.
"Okay, Mister. I don't know what's going on here but ... but throw down your lung and put your hands in the air."
Art: 4
Writing: 4
Andrew