Marvel Shares First Look at Ultraman’s Comic Cover Art

Tsuburaya Productions has increased the amount of visibility for their Ultraman franchise in the last couple of years as part of an effort to help it brand out as more of a worldwide hero series with a new anime on Netflix, a rebooted film take in the works coming sometime next year, and most surprisingly, previously confirmed they were collaborating with Marvel for a line of Ultraman comics. But following the announcement for this collaboration last year, things have been quiet on that front. That’s changed, however, as Marvel revealed details for the new Ultraman series during C2E2.

During the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo this year,Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief C.B. Cebulski announced the first story details and cover art for the new series The Rise of Ultraman. Launching later this year at a currently unconfirmed date, this new series will be re-imagining the first generation of the Ultraman Tokusatsu hero franchise.

With co-writers Kyle Higgins (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers) and Mat Groom (Self/Made) featuring art by Francesco Manna (whose art has been featured in Jason Aaron’s Avengers and Dan Slott’s Fantastic Four), this new series will serve as an introduction (and re-introduction for some older fans of the hero) to the Tokusatsu franchise that’s been booming in Japan since the ’60s.

As noted in a press release, Higgins had the following statement about the announcement, “A few years ago, thanks to my time on Power Rangers, I was able to discover and learn more about Tokusatsu. With its wildly different conventions and inspirations, Tokusatsu — and Ultraman in particular — has been a huge source of joy for me,” said Higgins. “It’s a genre so ripe with possibilities, even down to what we conceive of in the structure of super hero storytelling. It’s both an honor and a privilege to bring Ultraman to Marvel.”

Groom had the following to say about the new series, “Monsters in fiction have been embodying all that is dark and scary in our world for as long as we’ve been telling stories. But I don’t think anybody understood the immense scale of our most pressing problems quite like Eiji Tsuburaya,” shared Groom. “He imagined the darkness looming overhead as tall as skyscrapers— alien and unknowable and ANGRY. But he also imagined us being able to stand up to those monsters, by rising above our worst impulses and embracing a nobler way of being. He imagined ULTRAMAN. What does that mean in this complex, contradictory world of lies? We’re going to find out…”

There’s currently no set release date for The Rise of Ultraman just yet, but it’s certainly going to be a fun experience for both Marvel and Ultraman fans! What do you think of this new collaboration? Are you excited to see Marvel’s take on the famous giant hero? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or talk to me directly about all things anime and other cool things @Valdezology on Twitter!