off several times during the series, bringing him back each time in a different form: a woman; a black-haired madman; a red-haired, emotionless mod; and a bedraggled, unshaven obsessive. The series employed concepts and ideas which were at times controversial and distinct from regular DC titles (for example, JFK's assassination and transgenderism). To distinguish these more 'adult' themes in Shade and other titles, DC created the Vertigo imprint in 1993. Shade became one of the initial Vertigo titles starting with issue #33. Shade sold steadily for Vertigo and maintained a cult following. The title lasted 70 issues before being cancelled in 1996. In 2003, a special one-off story by Peter Milligan and artist Mike Allred was printed as part of Vertigo's 10th anniversary celebration. In 2004, the first six issues of Shade were reprinted as a Vertigo trade paperback. In August 2010, Hellblazer #268 featured the return of Shade, the Changing Man, this time as a supporting cast member for John Constantine in a series of storylines written by Milligan. According to the Absolute Crisis on Infinite Earths hardcover book, the events of the second series originally took place on Earth-85 in the DC Multiverse before its destruction. Return to the DCU In 2011, Shade was featured in Geoff Johns' Flashpoint miniseries and its spin-off miniseries Flashpoint: Secret Seven (written by Peter Milligan) as the leader of the Secret Seven. After Flashpoint as part of The New 52 (a reboot of the DC Comics universe), Shade appears as one of the lead characters in the first story arc of Justice League Dark, a new title written by Peter Milligan and drawn by Mikel Janin. Other versions Kingdom Come In Kingdom Come, Alex Ross created Shade III, a black adaptation. He is referred to as "more of the classic, heroic version", and is visually based more on the Steve Ditko Shade than the Peter Milligan Shade. JLA: The Nail Another Elseworlds version of the classic Shade appeared in JLA: The Nail as a member of the Outsiders. Flashpoint In 2011, Shade returned to the DC Universe in Flashpoint: Secret Seven, a limited series spin-off of the Flashpoint crossover event. The series is written by Peter Milligan and drawn by George Pérez. This version of Shade is visually based on the Vertigo incarnation, but draws elements from the original Steve Ditko iteration of the character as well. In the series, history is