Immortal, huh?  Well, you know what Jack Burton says at a time like this . . .

Maybe not quite the same, but I’m sure Mulan wouldn’t mind Egg Shen making some of these demons emerge no more.  In this issue we meet the Ancients that have been watching the decline of humanity, and Mulan confronts them as the forces of the Templars move around her and her unwilling accomplice, Adam, while Longwei’s demons hunt them all.  Things get a little more crazy and show no signs of stopping now.

Marc Andreyko continues to add intrigue to this series.  What has so far been an action epic steeped in Chinese lore has now grown some philosophical wonderings – the underlying thought of gods and Federations: Should beings of greater power or knowledge step in during the tribulations of “lower” life forms?  The question seems loaded and always reminds me of Calculus, where I spent six weeks struggling with equations of limit zero and limit infinity before being shown differentiation, reducing the work from several pages to one line.  Would I have appreciated being shown the efficient method and have spared myself countless hours of work that would soon be rendered unnecessary? Absolutely.  Would I have appreciated how much time it saves without doing all the slog work?  I would have!!  So, I hope these ancients lend a hand, or at least not toss higher-level math at Mulan.

I’ve enjoyed the somewhat-diffused aspect to the artwork so far, though there were a couple of moments this time where I had to look at a page again to make sure I had the characters straight.  The soft lines and strong color palette lend themselves to an impressionistic approach to the work that makes this book more than something you look at, it makes you feel it in your gut.  Though there are sequences that I would love a little more definition in, the clearest lines come when Mulan uses her power, as though it belies the true nature of the universe and all the fleshy bits are the substance of shadows upon it.  Yoda for the win, y’all.

Everything’s leading up to a big moment. It’s easy to see that the next issue will determine the course for our hero and the series.  This is a good time to jump in as newcomers, as the bulk of the tension yields the story well for us.  Should be entertaining.

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