This new series marks not only a new beginning for the title character, but a new publishing avenue for the creator. The story mirrors that shift in Kabuki's life as a character and a property, and it's an appropriate starting point. Kabuki has a rather lengthy and contrived history, and I'm surprised and impressed with how accessible this new series is. Mack seems to be well aware that he's reaching a new audience by aligning with Marvel (though Marvel's name is nowhere to be found on the exterior of this issue), and those who enjoyed his work on Daredevil will no doubt be pleased with what they find here.
Thanks to a friend of her late mother, the young woman who was once the Noh operative/assassin known as Kabuki has been given the means to begin a new life, to escape Japan and the influence of the men who would have her kill for their purposes. She has been given a map and a code she can decipher to find a place where she can get a new identity and a way to leave the country. As she makes her way to her destination, she reflects on her life, torn between two paths. One, the path representing her mother, is a way of peace, and the other, her father's legacy, is one of blood and pain.
Mack's multimedia artwork is absolutely lovely. It's amazing to watch pencil art, paintings and collage merging to form one image and many images, all at once. The art reflects the stream-of-consciousness quality of the script as well. Of course, that comes as little surprise, as the words themselves are incorporated into the artwork. The visuals also demonstrate how the title character's self-image is always in a state of flux. Sometimes, she sees herself as the ordinary woman she longs to be. Sometimes, she's portrayed as a vulnerable child. And there are moments when the warrior peeks out.
Mack's script is challenging. Just as he plays about with various media with the art, he toys with language. At one point, it seems as though Kabuki is aware her life is actually a fiction. She refers to her life in various media. Mack is telling his story on various levels, and one of them is a conversation between the author and the reader, something that has nothing to do with the characters.
It's easy to see why Mack created the Echo character in Daredevil; her exotic nature and tragic childhood are traits she shares with this character, for whom Mack is best known. There's a delightfully poetic quality at play in the script. Kabuki is portrayed as a clever and intelligent woman; her reference to "conjugating the grammar of shapes" says a lot about her intellect and about her sense of being lost, adrift in a dream-like state.
My one concern about this book is how much is mirrors Mack's recent work on Daredevil. If subsequent issues all stick to this dream-like approach, I worry Mack's storytelling will become redundant.
