To say that this series is a mix-up of different inspirations would be an understatement.  It features the real historical character of Mulan, the Chinese warrior who had taken the place of her father after being enlisted for the army.  The Disney treatment of the story is a little bit different, as the character pretends to be a different gender in order to enlist, but this version is not evident here, although some unhistorical aspects work their way in.  First of all is that of the demons, who were involved in the original battles with Mulan, only hidden.  The other is time travel which allows the same Mulan from legend to travel to a cyberpunk future where she is part of an immortal clan.

The first issue is roughly divided between the two time settings.  The first in ancient China demonstrating the actions of the demons as they search for something called the archive.  This introduces the character of Mulan, but shortly thereafter also shows her jump to the future.  The future is a fairly typical one for the cyberpunk setting, where technology allows a vastly different lifestyle and where corporations rule over society.  Mulan is not as interested in these developments, though unseen is the threat of the demons as they return as the heads of a corporation.  They need an antidote for death and Mulan’s blood might provide it.

Thus far this series lacks a singular focus.  It is based in both the future and the past, in both the occult and high tech.  While the story might seem to suffer from this, it is not so much the case as the environment is one which is enticingly attractive.  In this case, the story is not perfectly represented by the comic medium, as this feels like the introductory section of a movie, as though we could judge Blade Runner off its first five minutes.  As it stands this is a fascinating use of the legendary character, using what has come and putting her in an unusual future setting.  Although the use of the character might be misleading, this is a cyberpunk/dystopian story as good as the medium allows and is definitely worth a look.

Story: Marc Andreyko and Robert Alter Art: Micah Kaneshiro
Story: 9.1 Art: 9.1 Overall: 9.1 Recommendation: Buy

Dark Horse provided Graphic Policy with a free copy for review