Stan “The Man” Leeis a figure who needs no introduction. As co-creator of such iconic Marvel characters such as Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, and Daredevil, Stan Lee’s legacy speaks for itself. While he is primarily known for his time at Marvel Comics, Stan Lee would eventually break away from the company to form several of his own publishing divisions, and created new characters outside of the superhero genre.
In the mid-2000s Stan Lee came up with a story idea involving a young boy with superpowers. He was watching Asian cinema one night, and decided he wanted to create something within the anime genre. He wrote down some notes, wrote a rough draft, and then had his assistant start calling Japanese publishers to find a partner to work on the project. Eventually, this got him into contact with the editors ofWeekly Shounen Jump, which started the process of Stan Lee working on his first (of two) manga series he created.
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The Collaborative Process Begins
When meetings with theWeekly Shounen Jumpeditors began in earnest one of the big questions arose on who was going to illustrate the series. Lee was not an artist nor did he have time to commit to the workload of shouldering a major manga series by himself, so a collaborator would have to be found. They ultimately decided on Hiroyuki Takai, the creator ofShaman King. Despite the initial popularity of the franchise, theShaman Kingmanga was prematurly canceled, and Takai found himself out of work as a result. While theWeekly Shounen Jumpeditors were not impressed with the directionShaman Kinghad been taking, they still had nothing but respect for Takai’s unique art style.
They decided that he would be a great collaborator on what was dubbed ‘The Stan Lee Project,’ and they arranged for the two men to discuss it. Both Lee and Takai communicated back and forth until the concept forUltimowas born. The title premiered inWeekly Shounen Jumpas a one-shot release. The one shot was a hit, and it was decided that the series would become a weekly one.
Ultimo Becomes a Series
Ultimofirst appeared inWeekly Shounen Jumpin July of 2009. The fact that the series was a collaboration with the legendary Stan Lee and recent manga superstar Hiroyuki Takai turned a lot of heads in the media. Shortly after being published inWeekly Shounen Jump, the series made its way to the pages of Viz Media’s American version ofShonen Jump. The series had a mixed reception when it landed. While the artwork was praised and people were happy to see Stan Lee as a character in the series itself, many commented that the story didn’t make a lot of sense and felt it was clichéd for a Japanese series.
The action sequences were praised by American comic writers who were largely unfamiliar with Japanese manga, however regular manga readers were less impressed, feeling that it was a bit of ‘same old, same old.’ Ultimately (no pun intended)Ultimowould prove to be a minor hit both in Japan and America (though it never became the worldwide sensation it sounded like it could be on paper).
Stan Lee Leaves the Project
BeforeUltimobecame a full series there were disagreements over what it would look like as a full-fledged series. Takai and Lee weren’t agreeing much on what the story and characters would be going forward. As a result a deal was struck: Lee would be credited as the creator of the series, characters, and original concept, but Takai would write and draw the series and be credited as such. Lee was no stranger to this type of arrangement on previous projects, and happily agreed to the terms.
During the run of the series Stan Lee wouldhappily discuss the serieswith fans, express his respect for Hiroyuki Takai, and sign books at the various conventions he attended.Ultimowas successful enough to span five books before being concluded, but it never achieved the franchise potential both parties felt it had. There was no anime adaptation, movie adaptation, and merchandise was non-existent. The series is more notable as being one of only two manga series Stan Lee had a hand in creating. Still,Ultimodid manage to achieve a cult following for how different it was and has its fans to this day. If nothing else,Ultimois considered an interesting experiment if nothing else.
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