Cyberpunk can look to Blade Runner as the project which brought the sub-genre into the mainstream, and it is often with this same movie where many of the classic representations reside.  A futuristic world full of references to the ancient past with out of control mega-corporations calling the shots.  There is often a tie to the modern world in cyberpunk as well, and specifically the cities of Eastern Asia which have embraced advertising technology to the point of over-saturation.  The combination thus far into Mulan Revelations has been a pretty logical one, combining an ancient heroine with a near-future version of Shanghai, with only slight differences from the regular script of cyberpunk or superhero comics.  The presentation of the series has been somewhat different though, especially as it has unfolded Mulan’s background story to her superheroics in front of the reader as well as its artistic display of science and legend melding together.  Despite that the series could be said to be a bit too dependent on its style and not enough on its substance, as it has drawn what might fit into one issue elsewhere now into three issues.

The plot here continues to follow Mulan, also in the company of Adam, as she gets closer to her discovery of what secrets she contains within herself.  As she explores what that means with Adam in tow, it is revealed that she is being betrayed on numerous different occasions and in different places by others that she trusted.  What results are another sequence of actions scenes, even as she is still trying to find out what is happening and why she is so important to so many other people.

The first couple of issues of this series could be either criticized or applauded for putting style over substance, and win or lose, the same approach is taken here.  This is undoubtedly a beautiful comic, not only this issue, but the entire series, but at some point the story has to catch up with the style.  It is understandable from one vantage point, because the cyberpunk look is a hard one to capture, and perhaps even harder in the pages of a comic.  Equally though, the narrative that holds the images together is little bit lacking in providing an engaging story.  Fans of art in the medium will love this, fans of the stories perhaps less so, but it is still unquestionable that the experience of reading this series is an intriguing one, and that same experience continues here in this issue.  Eventually the story will catch up, and until then this has to be a pleasure for the eyes more than the mind.

 

Story: Marc Andreyko and Robert Alter Art: Micah Kaneshiro
Story: 8.8 Art: 8.8 Overall: 8.8 Recommendation: Buy

Dark Horse provided Graphic Policy with a free copy for review