Ming the Manipulator
I've been reading Kato and many of the other Green Hornet relaunch books by Dynamite since the beginning, and this series is one of the few that I still continue to read. I don't know what it is about this series. I just like Mulan Kato. That, and I've always loved Diego Bernard's artwork.
On to the book. This is the third issue in a new storyline where a rogues gallery is being developed for Mulan. The events here take place before the Green Hornet stuff, so she is still searching for the Black Hornet, who killed her mother (odd that this is never mentioned in the GH series and the Kato family just lets Britt Jr. get his revenge instead).
Regardless, we now know that both Yakuza boss Takeshi and the assassin Ming are both after Mulan and want her dead. (Mulan accidentally killed Ming's brother). Takeshi is not a likable character, which is good since he is the bad guy. Ming, on the other hand, is likable and pitiable.
My problem with this issue is the unknowns. Ming seems to have some type of dream power, or mental powers....or something? One of the things I like about the Green Hornet universe is the realism. Mental powers kind of pushes that boundary. But, like I said, we don't know exactly what she did to Mulan. Another problem is this: How did Ming find out Mulan's secret identity? Especially when Takeshi, the Yakuza boss with tons of surveillance equipment and goons can't figure out? You got me.
In the end, Mulan is pissed and is doing a brash, straight forward attack on Takeshi's compound, which is all part of Ming's control/manipulation (?). Surely her father would not approve of this maneuver. Love the characters, love the art, don't love things that don't make sense.
3.5 out of 5