Comic-book fans know
Stan Lee as the co-creator of characters like
Spider-man,
Iron Man and the
Fantastic Four. In the United States, Lee is a legend among fanboys and his name is synonymous with American comics.
But comic book sales pale in comparison to
manga - the Asian equivalent of comics - in Japan. While titles like
'X-Men' and
'Batman' may sell in the
thousands here in the states,
manga books sell in the
millions overseas. So it would stand to reason that an American comic legend like Lee would want to 'break into' the Asian market and try his hand at the medium.
Which brings us to
Ultimo, a joint venture between Lee's
POW! Entertainment,
Takei and
Viz Media.
ULTIMO: KARAKURI DOJI ULTIMO © 2008 by Stan Lee-POW! Entertainment/Dream Ranch, Hiroyuki Takei/SHUEISHA Inc.
Today's web comic comes to us courtesy of 'manga' publisher Viz Media. For those unfamiliar with
manga, this would be the Japanese equivalent of comic books, with the differences being that
manga covers numerous genres outside of superheroes.
Manga stories are also published in chapters weekly, as opposed to monthly here in the US, to later be collected in one large trade paperback. The format is incredibly successful in Japan, with titles typically selling in the
millions.
An example of a very popular manga is
Rin-Ne by Japanese superstar artist
Rumiko Takahashi.
KYOUKAI NO RINNE (C) 2009 Rumiko TAKAHASHI / Shogakukan
Read more after the jump!
Posted at 10:00 p.m. - Monday, August 25
Courtesy of my friends at Dreamland Comics in Schaumburg, IL, this week's new releases! Of note: the Skrulls continue their Invasion of the Marvel Universe in a number of Secret Invasion (SI) tie-ins; Terry Moore and Humberto Ramos re-launch the hit title RUNAWAYS; Ambush Bug continues his irreverent romp across the DC Universe in Ambush Bug: Year None #2; IDW continues their sequel to the TRANSFORMERS live-action film with REIGN OF STARSCREAM #5.
Go to your local comics shop and grab one of these adventures this Wednesday!
More listings below...
Posted at 7:50 p.m. - Friday, August 22
On Saturday, August 23rd, Amazing Fantasy Books (www.afbooks.com)
will be holding their ‘Manga Mania’ event. Anime and Manga (pronounced mahn- gah) fans who come dressed as their
favorite characters are eligible to win gift certificates and get extra
discounts!
Which leads me to ask: Where were all the cute fangirls who dressed in Sailor Moon outfits when I was a young (er) fanboy?
