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Ultramega #1
Ultramega by James Harren, Vol. 1
A cosmic plague has spread, transforming everyday people into violent, monstrous kaiju. Only the Ultramega - three individuals imbued with incredible powers -- hold the line against this madness. Their battles level cities and leave untold horror in their wake. Now, the final reckoning approaches for the Ultramega... but is this a war they can even win?
Fight monsters and stand with humanity in this new Skybound Original from the greatest artist of his generation, James Harren (Rumble, BPRD) and Eisner Award-winning colorist Dave Stewart (Black Hammer(.
Collects ULTRAMEGA BY JAMES HARREN #1-4
Fight monsters and stand with humanity in this new Skybound Original from the greatest artist of his generation, James Harren (Rumble, BPRD) and Eisner Award-winning colorist Dave Stewart (Black Hammer(.
Collects ULTRAMEGA BY JAMES HARREN #1-4
208 pages, Paperback
First published September 21, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 144 reviews
May 4, 2022
ultra. Mega. THOUGHTS!!
1. The art is incredibly good. Like, really really good.
2. The first chapter/issue is fantastic - it's overflowing with little ideas, has a momentous pace. Most other books would use what happens in chapter 1 for the whole first arc.
3. It quickly loses steam from chapter/issue 2 onward. The writing is still pretty good, it just feels more familiar, with its post-apocalyptic setting. I liked the setting in chapter 1 more, it was livelier, felt more dangerous.
4. I'm normally not that interested in kaiju stuff, but here at least there is the interesting idea that the Ultramega heroes and the kaiju are two sides of the same coin. They need to co-exist, so when the kaiju are a bit too succesful in their rampages, they basically deneuter themselves.
5. Character work is okay, it doesn't go very deep. One character especially, a mechanic with glasses and big hair, for the life of me I can't remember her name - anyway, she could have used some more characterisation. She's basically just her drawing.
6. Some lovely body horror.
7. Let's see where this goes.
3.5 stars
1. The art is incredibly good. Like, really really good.
2. The first chapter/issue is fantastic - it's overflowing with little ideas, has a momentous pace. Most other books would use what happens in chapter 1 for the whole first arc.
3. It quickly loses steam from chapter/issue 2 onward. The writing is still pretty good, it just feels more familiar, with its post-apocalyptic setting. I liked the setting in chapter 1 more, it was livelier, felt more dangerous.
4. I'm normally not that interested in kaiju stuff, but here at least there is the interesting idea that the Ultramega heroes and the kaiju are two sides of the same coin. They need to co-exist, so when the kaiju are a bit too succesful in their rampages, they basically deneuter themselves.
5. Character work is okay, it doesn't go very deep. One character especially, a mechanic with glasses and big hair, for the life of me I can't remember her name - anyway, she could have used some more characterisation. She's basically just her drawing.
6. Some lovely body horror.
7. Let's see where this goes.
3.5 stars
November 17, 2021
When Earth is overrun by kaiju, its only hope are the three Ultramega, super heroes capable of growing to colossal size.
That teaser doesn't supply much but this is better experienced unspoiled. I have a passing familiarity with Ultraman and this seems to be a deconstruction/homage to the Ultraman phenomenon. I pre-ordered it and forgot about it until it showed up not too long ago.
James Harren weaves quite a tale here. So much happens that I feel like I read eight issues instead of four. A virus infects living beans throughout the cosmos, turning them into kaiju. Similarly, another force creates the Ultramega and the eternal battle between giants wages across the galaxy.
I'm going to keep this at a high level to prevent spoilage. Unlike what you see in the movies, a world subject to frequent kaiju attacks is a damn wasteland. People eke out a desperate existence and some even join the Kaiju Klan, a cult dedicated to the kaiju.
Destruction and gore is par for the course. I wasn't expecting this level of ultraviolence and wreckage. I love James Harren's art, depicting the ruins of Earth in a minimalist, grimy style. Dave Stewart's coloring really brings things together with me, flat, vivid colors with an almost black light like color palette. There aren't many books out there that look and feel like this one.
By the end of the volume, I was all in. Everything about this book works for me. Sure, it was a lot of setup, but there were enough small payoffs to make it more than worth the ride. When the hell is the next collection coming out?
Ultramega hits like an army of rampaging kaiju. Five out of five stars.
That teaser doesn't supply much but this is better experienced unspoiled. I have a passing familiarity with Ultraman and this seems to be a deconstruction/homage to the Ultraman phenomenon. I pre-ordered it and forgot about it until it showed up not too long ago.
James Harren weaves quite a tale here. So much happens that I feel like I read eight issues instead of four. A virus infects living beans throughout the cosmos, turning them into kaiju. Similarly, another force creates the Ultramega and the eternal battle between giants wages across the galaxy.
I'm going to keep this at a high level to prevent spoilage. Unlike what you see in the movies, a world subject to frequent kaiju attacks is a damn wasteland. People eke out a desperate existence and some even join the Kaiju Klan, a cult dedicated to the kaiju.
Destruction and gore is par for the course. I wasn't expecting this level of ultraviolence and wreckage. I love James Harren's art, depicting the ruins of Earth in a minimalist, grimy style. Dave Stewart's coloring really brings things together with me, flat, vivid colors with an almost black light like color palette. There aren't many books out there that look and feel like this one.
By the end of the volume, I was all in. Everything about this book works for me. Sure, it was a lot of setup, but there were enough small payoffs to make it more than worth the ride. When the hell is the next collection coming out?
Ultramega hits like an army of rampaging kaiju. Five out of five stars.
March 25, 2026
Second read in preparation for the second volume but I don't think I'll continue. It's a pretty wild wide, but it didn't hold my interest.
June 16, 2026
A failed former boxer, a young tech-building prodigy, and a huge brute are chosen by a mysterious cosmic entity and given the power to transform into Giant warriors known as the Ultramega to fight an indiscriminate universal viral plague that turns infected people into massive, violent Kaiju monsters.
For years, the Ultramega fight epic Kaiju battles with all the infected they come across until the techie loses an arm to the cause, stops fighting Kaiju, and starts building robots to do so instead. The brute gets overwhelmed by the work and goes into hiding, and the Boxer's pregnant wife gets infected with the virus, which causes him to abandon her, as proximity to the Ultramega triggers transformation in the infected and vice-versa.
10 years later, now remarried and with a baby named Noah, the boxer remains the only one continuing to fight, but when his resentful virus-riddled first wife sends their fully developed monster Kaiju baby into the city after him, the team gets back together to try and stop it, but they are all brutally defeated and easily killed, leaving the city decimated and the boxer’s second wife dead. Survivors develop a way to detect the infected long before transformation, segregate them, and build a wall around the uninfected.
There are no more Kaiju attacks for about 15 years, and almost all Kaiju are stuck in a smaller weaker state due to the Ultramega absence. Now a spirited young boy living on the outside of the wall, where the relatively far-smaller Kaiju and their loyal human cult, fight against regular surviving humans over dwindling resources, Noah continues to believe in Ultramega and fights against the Kaiju cult, which gets him caught by the Kaiju’s and sent to an arena where they make people fight Kaiju monsters for entertainment. Noah manages to kill one of the monsters, which gets him noticed by the Ultramega cosmic entity.
He fuses with the entity and turns into UltraMega, whose presence triggers the massive growth of all Kaiju around him. Noah fights and kills them until his Kaiju half-brother (now the Kaiju king) shows up, and Noah manages to kill him too, avenging his father. He returns to human form and rests until his dad’s severed massive Kaiju head falls out of the sky, and is somehow still able to talk. The art here is some of the best I’ve seen in recent comics. I just fucking love it. The first chapter was the best of the bunch, but things quickly went downhill story-wise after that, as the rest of the issues were stingy with interesting story/world building details. So much gore and death, so much violence, I loved it.
For years, the Ultramega fight epic Kaiju battles with all the infected they come across until the techie loses an arm to the cause, stops fighting Kaiju, and starts building robots to do so instead. The brute gets overwhelmed by the work and goes into hiding, and the Boxer's pregnant wife gets infected with the virus, which causes him to abandon her, as proximity to the Ultramega triggers transformation in the infected and vice-versa.
10 years later, now remarried and with a baby named Noah, the boxer remains the only one continuing to fight, but when his resentful virus-riddled first wife sends their fully developed monster Kaiju baby into the city after him, the team gets back together to try and stop it, but they are all brutally defeated and easily killed, leaving the city decimated and the boxer’s second wife dead. Survivors develop a way to detect the infected long before transformation, segregate them, and build a wall around the uninfected.
There are no more Kaiju attacks for about 15 years, and almost all Kaiju are stuck in a smaller weaker state due to the Ultramega absence. Now a spirited young boy living on the outside of the wall, where the relatively far-smaller Kaiju and their loyal human cult, fight against regular surviving humans over dwindling resources, Noah continues to believe in Ultramega and fights against the Kaiju cult, which gets him caught by the Kaiju’s and sent to an arena where they make people fight Kaiju monsters for entertainment. Noah manages to kill one of the monsters, which gets him noticed by the Ultramega cosmic entity.
He fuses with the entity and turns into UltraMega, whose presence triggers the massive growth of all Kaiju around him. Noah fights and kills them until his Kaiju half-brother (now the Kaiju king) shows up, and Noah manages to kill him too, avenging his father. He returns to human form and rests until his dad’s severed massive Kaiju head falls out of the sky, and is somehow still able to talk. The art here is some of the best I’ve seen in recent comics. I just fucking love it. The first chapter was the best of the bunch, but things quickly went downhill story-wise after that, as the rest of the issues were stingy with interesting story/world building details. So much gore and death, so much violence, I loved it.
November 12, 2021
This was really fucking weird, didn't understand what was happening half the time, but kind of loved it?
Basically these creatures, monsters, Kaiju as we call them begin to show up one day due to a virus. We have these Ultra Megas which are basically like Ultraman in a way and they are just regular people who can transform and fight back against the Kaiju. However, one day, something goes wrong and soon the world is transformed to a hellish place with Kaiju running it.
This is really weird. Ton of body horror, things just happen that are so sudden, yet you're intrigued the entire time. The art is fantastic with probably some of the best fight scenes I've ever seen in comic medium. The designs are wacky and fun as well, and can be really disgusting as well.
But yeah I wonder where this series will go. For a first one I really enjoyed it even if it left me confused at points. But overall if like Kaiju, disgusting body horror, and cool fights you might wanna check this out.
Basically these creatures, monsters, Kaiju as we call them begin to show up one day due to a virus. We have these Ultra Megas which are basically like Ultraman in a way and they are just regular people who can transform and fight back against the Kaiju. However, one day, something goes wrong and soon the world is transformed to a hellish place with Kaiju running it.
This is really weird. Ton of body horror, things just happen that are so sudden, yet you're intrigued the entire time. The art is fantastic with probably some of the best fight scenes I've ever seen in comic medium. The designs are wacky and fun as well, and can be really disgusting as well.
But yeah I wonder where this series will go. For a first one I really enjoyed it even if it left me confused at points. But overall if like Kaiju, disgusting body horror, and cool fights you might wanna check this out.
January 9, 2026
One of the more insane recent riffs on a kaiju narrative, Ultramega is 100% willing to go there. The first issue alone features both an insane kaiju battle and an equally insane conclusion The second issue picks up years later, on the outskirts of the destroyed city, with a young boy who might someday be a kaiju fighter himself.
There's a sneaky amount of world-building going on, which I adore, but the majority of Ultramega seems to be James Harren thinking "what would look cool right now?" Admittedly, I almost always agreed with what would look cool, even as it took the story in nonsensical directions (see in particular: the space-based finale). The art is quite simply something to behold in several scenes.
Weird as hell, but equally awesome. Looking forward to more!
There's a sneaky amount of world-building going on, which I adore, but the majority of Ultramega seems to be James Harren thinking "what would look cool right now?" Admittedly, I almost always agreed with what would look cool, even as it took the story in nonsensical directions (see in particular: the space-based finale). The art is quite simply something to behold in several scenes.
Weird as hell, but equally awesome. Looking forward to more!
September 1, 2021
Post-apocalyptic kaiju dystopia + body horror and gore on a gigantic scale =
April 16, 2022
This book was weird, far out there and grotesque but I had a lot of fun with it? I’m not even 100% sure of all the details but I understood enough to follow along. Some kind of virus is turning random people into giant kaiju monsters. Some space entity has bonded with 3 people to make them turn into Ultramegas whenever they come in contact with people who are about to change into kaiju. It’s makes them bigger and stronger so they can fight these monsters. The battle with these 3 doesn’t go so well and we are ushered to the future where these kaiju are now are in position to take over the now destroyed earth. But luckily there is one last hope left. Will it be enough? Harren does a nice move with the story and the art depicting some gruesome fights in the post apocalyptic world. Crazy stuff. Definitely worth checking out.
August 10, 2022
The art is incredible, the twist at the beginning was *chefs kiss*. Love love love. Gory in all the best ways.
June 17, 2021
Ultramega je niečo, čo už tu stokrát bolo, a predsa je to originálne. Ak máte radi fighty medzi kaiju potvorami a robotmi/obrovskými ľuďmi obdarovanými neskutočnou silou/čímkoľvek veľkým na čo sa dobre pozerá, tak Ultramega je pre vás. Ak máte radi rodinné dramátka, Ultramega je pre vás. Ak máte radi sci-fi s nádýchom tajomna, Ultramega je pre vás. Ak máte radi krv a vnútornosti na všetky strany, Ultramega je pre vás. Ak máte radi kaiju potvory, ktoré majú skvelý zmysel pre humor... asi už chápete. James Harren vytvoril naozaj skvelý komiks, obohatený výbornými farbami Davea Stewarta. Na konci prvej knihy je samozrejme zvrat s cliffhangerom, ktorý príjemne naláka na ďalšie pokračovanie. Za mňa jedna z najlepších tohtoročných vecí.
March 20, 2021
Vedela som, že to bude skvelé, ale nie TAK skvelé! Má to super nápad, parádnu kresbu a fakt, fakt úžasné panely, kde sa mlátia. Určite budem čítať ďalej a bude to doma na poličke.
March 21, 2021
Very interesting art, too mindfuck of a story.
Something like an ultra violent Ultraman...
Something like an ultra violent Ultraman...
August 29, 2022
If you like high octane visuals coupled with intense Kaiju battles, I got the book for you.
Ultramega is just that, fun and action packed with a Kaiju storyline. This story was made for comic books and a big part of that is because of the art. This book looks damn good. Like really damn good. James Harren's style has always been one that I noticed, especially in the BPRD and Hellboy books, and here he stretches out those muscles even further. I honestly don't think the book would be as good if the artist would've been different - it makes that much of an impact on the story.
The story itself is kind of straight forward. To be honest, the first issue really hits the ground running, setting up the characters, the world, the conflict, etc... after that, the story kind of slows down. The characters don't really develop, and the pace kind of meanders a bit. But this book isn't something that is supposed to have this intricate and developed plot. It's more about the action and the battles, which James Harren delivers with great fervor.
This one is for the action fans, so if you like Kaiju's and great art, you got to check this one out.
Ultramega is just that, fun and action packed with a Kaiju storyline. This story was made for comic books and a big part of that is because of the art. This book looks damn good. Like really damn good. James Harren's style has always been one that I noticed, especially in the BPRD and Hellboy books, and here he stretches out those muscles even further. I honestly don't think the book would be as good if the artist would've been different - it makes that much of an impact on the story.
The story itself is kind of straight forward. To be honest, the first issue really hits the ground running, setting up the characters, the world, the conflict, etc... after that, the story kind of slows down. The characters don't really develop, and the pace kind of meanders a bit. But this book isn't something that is supposed to have this intricate and developed plot. It's more about the action and the battles, which James Harren delivers with great fervor.
This one is for the action fans, so if you like Kaiju's and great art, you got to check this one out.
September 15, 2022
In terms of creativity and artwork, this book is a home run, 10/10. Such a wild, totally surreal chain of events, it feels rather stream of consciousness and is completely unpredictable. I really loved reading this, and the designs are on point. Of course, that defiance of convention sets up a few indomitable hurdles for this title as well. The characters don't have much character (though there are lots of good jokes and fun dialogue) and the narrative is sloppily splayed out all over the place. There is absolutely the potential for this to be an all time great in the vein of a Morrison masterwork depending on how subsequent issues go.
I heartily recommend this to fans of twisted comics, it will not go the way you think it does at any given beat, for better or worse.
I heartily recommend this to fans of twisted comics, it will not go the way you think it does at any given beat, for better or worse.
May 29, 2025
Actually, It's a 3 and a half.
Art is some of the most beatiful that I had seen in comics in a while.
Love the character design, stilish action and gore.
First edition? Glorious.
Second, a bit bland.
Third, a bit meh.
Fourth... it's actually good.
Yeah, there's A TON of cliches. A lot of predictable plot twists, but actually in a good way.
I enjoyed this portrait of the "Ultra" family.
Let's see where it goes
Art is some of the most beatiful that I had seen in comics in a while.
Love the character design, stilish action and gore.
First edition? Glorious.
Second, a bit bland.
Third, a bit meh.
Fourth... it's actually good.
Yeah, there's A TON of cliches. A lot of predictable plot twists, but actually in a good way.
I enjoyed this portrait of the "Ultra" family.
Let's see where it goes
January 5, 2022
4.5 stars
Kaiju have never particularly excited me, so I was wary that I’d like this story despite some of the praise I’d seen for it. Thankfully I had nothing to worry about. Ultramega quickly reveals itself to be bursting with an energetic punk creativity and enthusiastically weird body horror visuals. More than that, I love how willing Harren is to abandon his own status quo, and how his bold plot shifts feel anthropological in depicting societal reactions to catastrophe. Harren’s art is also gorgeous and distinctly original, like a folk art-graffiti hybrid that reminded me a bit of Juni Ba’s style.
My only complaint was not realizing until the end that it’s a volume one instead of a complete miniseries. That’s my fault for not knowing, but still worth keeping in mind as you approach the final page.
Kaiju have never particularly excited me, so I was wary that I’d like this story despite some of the praise I’d seen for it. Thankfully I had nothing to worry about. Ultramega quickly reveals itself to be bursting with an energetic punk creativity and enthusiastically weird body horror visuals. More than that, I love how willing Harren is to abandon his own status quo, and how his bold plot shifts feel anthropological in depicting societal reactions to catastrophe. Harren’s art is also gorgeous and distinctly original, like a folk art-graffiti hybrid that reminded me a bit of Juni Ba’s style.
My only complaint was not realizing until the end that it’s a volume one instead of a complete miniseries. That’s my fault for not knowing, but still worth keeping in mind as you approach the final page.
March 7, 2022
Well, for a book that wants to be all out-there and full of bonkers beat-'em-up moments between giant mutated humans fighting giant mutated alien-infected Cthulhu type kaiju, and then to show the civilisation left after all of that drifts to a halt, this is a success. For a book that doesn't care about whether the fight scenes can actually be understood, or about whether we actually know who some of the human characters are, I didn't care for it, either. The artwork is dynamic sure, but not attractive, and doesn't seem to bother whether we know things are a flashback or dream or what the heck they are. Inconsiderate. One and a half stars.
January 23, 2022
Everything about this series is BIG. Big action! Big monsters! Big fights! Big boring! It's all just fighting, and vague prophecy, and monsters doing things. I don't know why I should care, except that there are big monsters and big people fighting them. But 3/4 of the series has no big monsters or big fights! The art delivers some great designs and a gross dystopia but the writing fails me at every corner.
March 20, 2021
Terrific!
Brilliant writing, great art, fantastic colors, stupendous action, excellent pacing, and it just gets better as you continue reading. Highest possible recommendation.
Brilliant writing, great art, fantastic colors, stupendous action, excellent pacing, and it just gets better as you continue reading. Highest possible recommendation.
March 20, 2021
Love the art but thats it. Characters are shallow and plot rushed.
July 14, 2022
Kaiju battles, body horror and some black comedy. This is a great mix- some awesome fights and interesting look at a Kaiju story. I need to read book 2!
January 24, 2026
(Review Volume 1 and 2)
A bleak and apocalyptic take on the Kaiju genre.
James Harren’s Ultramega takes the popular tokusatsu stories and provides an apocalyptic dread to it. From the first issue, our main protagonist is completely washed up, isolated, etc. It’s hard to talk about the protagonist, because there’s an intriguing twist surrounding him. I think it works, from all the amazing set pieces demonstrated, there’s an utter loneliness about the endeavour.
The star of the show would be Harren’s artwork, known by his work on BPRD or Rumble, the artwork here is nothing short of spectacular. Firstly, from destruction of the environment via the fights. The best example of this is during issue 1, where an Ultramega corpse topples down, and their blood causes a flood, killing 1000s in the process. The environment adds to the characters more from a psychological perspective. The panel layouts are dynamic and inventive, while there’s chaos, your eyes don’t miss the big picture.
There’s more than the comic, being cool, like the cost of heroism, the cycle of violence, class struggles, etc. All of that is featured, yet I can’t help but feel one of my main takeaways from this is “cool”. An inadequate description for sure, but there’s simply joy in seeing Kaiju fights drawn by a master of his craft. Then there’s just the sheer imaginative settings or character designs, you can tell James has had a lot of fun with this one.
The pacing is probably the series' biggest issue, while each page is packed with visual detail, I also find the certain absences of details to be a missed opportunity from a characterisation point of view. In terms of engaging characters, I only found two and some others I was intrigued by, but not more than that. Considering it took James 2021-2025 to finish the project, there’s probably an understandable reason why it’s not longer. I'm going to guess there will be a deluxe edition combining both volumes in the future, and that will be amazing seeing Jame's artwork in that format.
In conclusion, I found this to be a very fun comic book. It adds more of a cosmic horror lens into this genre, more body horror and provides an atmosphere unique to its own. I would definitely recommend it.
7.5 or 8/10
A bleak and apocalyptic take on the Kaiju genre.
James Harren’s Ultramega takes the popular tokusatsu stories and provides an apocalyptic dread to it. From the first issue, our main protagonist is completely washed up, isolated, etc. It’s hard to talk about the protagonist, because there’s an intriguing twist surrounding him. I think it works, from all the amazing set pieces demonstrated, there’s an utter loneliness about the endeavour.
The star of the show would be Harren’s artwork, known by his work on BPRD or Rumble, the artwork here is nothing short of spectacular. Firstly, from destruction of the environment via the fights. The best example of this is during issue 1, where an Ultramega corpse topples down, and their blood causes a flood, killing 1000s in the process. The environment adds to the characters more from a psychological perspective. The panel layouts are dynamic and inventive, while there’s chaos, your eyes don’t miss the big picture.
There’s more than the comic, being cool, like the cost of heroism, the cycle of violence, class struggles, etc. All of that is featured, yet I can’t help but feel one of my main takeaways from this is “cool”. An inadequate description for sure, but there’s simply joy in seeing Kaiju fights drawn by a master of his craft. Then there’s just the sheer imaginative settings or character designs, you can tell James has had a lot of fun with this one.
The pacing is probably the series' biggest issue, while each page is packed with visual detail, I also find the certain absences of details to be a missed opportunity from a characterisation point of view. In terms of engaging characters, I only found two and some others I was intrigued by, but not more than that. Considering it took James 2021-2025 to finish the project, there’s probably an understandable reason why it’s not longer. I'm going to guess there will be a deluxe edition combining both volumes in the future, and that will be amazing seeing Jame's artwork in that format.
In conclusion, I found this to be a very fun comic book. It adds more of a cosmic horror lens into this genre, more body horror and provides an atmosphere unique to its own. I would definitely recommend it.
7.5 or 8/10
November 2, 2021
Not a bad take about the realistic impacts that Kaijus can have on the world. As we see that the battles between Kaijus and the heroes just has a negative impact on the world and the world turning really ugly as you essential have two sides, those that worship the Kaijus and the humans who are barely staying alive keeping them at bay. Also I do like the cosmic horror aspect but it does got a bit to gross with some of it which I am not a fan of.
July 30, 2022
A new take on kaiju but incredibly gory.
November 27, 2022
Big things! Fighting each other! It kind of all blends together at some point.
September 20, 2024
Super violent, super gross, man what a stellar read.
Bought the first issue a while back but never got around to reading it. Purchased the tpb to see what the hub-bub was about, and yeah. if you want to see some creature action and immense ultraman-like body horror... this is the book for you!
Bought the first issue a while back but never got around to reading it. Purchased the tpb to see what the hub-bub was about, and yeah. if you want to see some creature action and immense ultraman-like body horror... this is the book for you!
July 15, 2023
This just hits all my notes to a T. The coloring, art, action, movement, pacing. One of my favorites of the year
Read
July 30, 2024It was a shame when James Harren stopped drawing Rumble, so I'm delighted to report that this solo project absolutely deserved his full attention, a not dissimilar arrangement of weird-ass monsters and ultraviolence in a broken-down world, except - as the title suggests - turned uo even louder. We start with a pretty familiar set-up, humanity facing a giant monster onslaught, and only a few mismatched champions chosen by a mysterious cosmic force to stand against them - except that there seems to be a weird symbiosis between the kaiju and the Ultramegas, the former's development arrested unless the latter are nearby. The first issue crams in two reversals that would have lasted plenty of comics an arc each, and the pace doesn't let up from there, each issue turning the status quo on its head. Granted, every so often there was a panel or two which, while still full of enthusiasm, lost me as to what was happening - but those were very much the minority. Part of me wants to compare the lunatic vigour of it all to Tom Scioli, albeit with a much more grotesque vibe*, but I think a better comparison might be Daniel Warren Johnson if he radically rebalanced the moping to kicking arse ratio and, in short, stopped sucking. This is a jolt of monster fun from someone who understands that there are many things comics specifically suit as a medium, and that while clever tricks with grids and such are certainly amongst them, ultimately the best of the lot might be having one dude punch right through the other dude.
*Spoiler for issue 1: what kind of sick genius comes up with the idea of people sheltering from a kaiju attack, only to be drowned by the sheer volume of blood shed, then entombed, Pompeii-style, in a colossal scab?
*Spoiler for issue 1: what kind of sick genius comes up with the idea of people sheltering from a kaiju attack, only to be drowned by the sheer volume of blood shed, then entombed, Pompeii-style, in a colossal scab?
June 5, 2022
Un delicioso delirio de titánico disfrute de acción kaiju splatterpunk. El dúo conformado por James Harren y Dave Stewart llevan ese buen dinamismo visual que vimos en RUMBLE a una nueva y colosal escala.
Ultramega apenas da un respiro. Y eso es bueno a la hora de quedar como una de las lecturas más recomendables para pasar una de las mejores sesiones de lectura en meses. Pero también termina por hacer restar algo al conjunto. Siendo una lástima al presentar un sinfín de elementos y propuestas argumentales herederas de un sinfín de fuentes que combinan influencias occidentales y asiáticas en un glorioso mejunje de sci fi engorilante. Y esto se puede ver en lo que propone el fugaz 1º capítulo. Algo que, sí, está claro que Harren tenía claro para empezar a mostrar sus contundentes golpes de efecto narrativo. Pero supone una verdadera lástima pasar de esos personajes y planteamientos a esa monstruosa distopía post apocalítpica que, creo que la editorial SkyBound ya tiene bien aprovechada con una de las tantas series del siempre confiable Robert Kirkman.
De todas formas, bien parece que James Harren tiene todo bien pensado y planificado. Y puede que este primer volumen de Ultramega sea precisamente un "caballo de Troya" que quiera asemejarse a un arranque de serie "clónica" de basar todo en el efectismo visual y en la próxima entrega descubramos que una propuesta totalmente solida en su narrativa y desafíos argumentales. Y si no... Seguirá siendo una obra a tener siempre en cuenta por su impacto visual.
Ultramega apenas da un respiro. Y eso es bueno a la hora de quedar como una de las lecturas más recomendables para pasar una de las mejores sesiones de lectura en meses. Pero también termina por hacer restar algo al conjunto. Siendo una lástima al presentar un sinfín de elementos y propuestas argumentales herederas de un sinfín de fuentes que combinan influencias occidentales y asiáticas en un glorioso mejunje de sci fi engorilante. Y esto se puede ver en lo que propone el fugaz 1º capítulo. Algo que, sí, está claro que Harren tenía claro para empezar a mostrar sus contundentes golpes de efecto narrativo. Pero supone una verdadera lástima pasar de esos personajes y planteamientos a esa monstruosa distopía post apocalítpica que, creo que la editorial SkyBound ya tiene bien aprovechada con una de las tantas series del siempre confiable Robert Kirkman.
De todas formas, bien parece que James Harren tiene todo bien pensado y planificado. Y puede que este primer volumen de Ultramega sea precisamente un "caballo de Troya" que quiera asemejarse a un arranque de serie "clónica" de basar todo en el efectismo visual y en la próxima entrega descubramos que una propuesta totalmente solida en su narrativa y desafíos argumentales. Y si no... Seguirá siendo una obra a tener siempre en cuenta por su impacto visual.
February 25, 2023
Wow, what a fantastic start. Ultramega is a wild, breakneck story that just does so many interesting things within the first issue alone that I’m fully hooked for a long time. In an alternate version of our earth, there are Kaiju, and those that stop them. To very little surprise, this is a story that takes inspiration from ultraman. It’s way more violent of course, and that violence and all the other art is brought to life in a fantastic art style brought to life by James Harren and Dave Stewart (two long time collaborators in Mike Mignola’s Hellboy universe!). But the first thing that makes this really interesting to me is how the story basically starts in media res. We get a brief section of the characters getting their powers then immediate flash forward from there to when our heroes have been at the job long enough to have been really worn down. From there all hell breaks loose with constant twists that keep you on the edge of your seat. Plus, there’s also some good comedy around, most notable to me, when Jason’s head just stays big after transforming. It’s a great visual gag, super endearing.
I’ve been reading a lot of bangers lately, and this one belongs on that list with all the others. The duo excites me just on their own, but the storytelling on display so far is magnifique
I’ve been reading a lot of bangers lately, and this one belongs on that list with all the others. The duo excites me just on their own, but the storytelling on display so far is magnifique
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