It was announced with much fanfare at New York Comic-Con 2008, previewed in the September 2008 isssue of Shonen Jump, and featured on Free Comic Book Day 2009. Now Karakuridoji Ultimo, the new cross-cultural manga project from comic book legend Stan Lee and Shaman King creator Hiroyuki Takei has joined the monthly lineup of Shonen Jump as of the July 2009 issue, which hits the stands today.
Billed as "ultimate good versus ultimate evil in a time-spanning epic," Ultimo features two mechanical boys created by the mysterious Dr. Dunstan (who looks an awful lot like Lee). When the story opens in Act 1, the action takes place in 12th century Kyoto. Dr. Dunstan is intercepted by a band of bandits who get more than they anticipated as Vice, the 'evil' robot boy and Ultimo, the 'good' robot come to life. Then the action fast-forwards several centuries to modern Japan, when the robot boys resurface once more.
Now fans have had a chance to see two installments, it's a fair time to ask: Is Ultimo, the a hit, a miss or a maybe? Vote now!
Poll: What do you think of Ultimo by Stan Lee and Hiroyuki Takei?
- It's a Hit! - It's exciting, interesting and I can't wait to read the next chapter.
- It's a Miss - Nice try, but the Stan Lee manga thing doesn't work for me.
- It's a Maybe - It's too early to say. I don't love it yet, but I might like it later
Image credit: KARAKURIDOJI ULTIMO © 2008 by Stan Lee - POW! Entertainment / Dream Ranch, Hiroyuki Takei / Shueisha Inc.
Comments
ULTIMO is simply, and utterly adorable! Uru is delightful, Vice is the embodiment of evil and Our plain and simple Yamato? He is just too funny!
Hiroyuki Takei and Stan Lee are true, unique geniuses, and combining their talents have created a masterpiece which had me hooked from the first few pages! I am looking forward to both reading the next chapters, and I’m also eager to see it brought to television!
I have always loved to read About.com but this is the first time I read a manga article. The article is very subjective so I have no offense. However, I feel utterly disappointed with readers of this manga section once I saw the poll result. Without thinking I did immediately hit “It’s a Miss” for this terrible series just to find out how low a standard for reading manga of readers here. Shaman kings has never been a success and now Ultimo is, without surprise, a lame product with weak art, weak story and weak characters. How come readers’ standard has fallen this low…