Ultraman and Spider-Man Team Up for First Time in Shogakukan Manga Series Releasing Simultaneously with New ULTRAMAN x AVENGERS Limited Series from Marvel Comics for Cross-Cultural Comics Event This August
This August, Japan’s greatest superhero, Ultraman, and iconic Marvel Super Hero Spider-Man unite for the first time in ULTRAMAN: ALONG CAME A SPIDER-MAN, in an epic Japanese manga from Shogakukan.
This is a part of a major cross-cultural event set to take the comic world by storm! This also comes at a time when excitement for the Ultraman franchise is at an all-time high following the release of the new animated film Ultraman: Rising on Netflix in June.
ULTRAMAN: ALONG CAME A SPIDER-MAN was announced today at San Diego Comic-Con during the “What’s New at VIZ” panel. Being released by Japanese publisher Shogakukan, in collaboration with Tsuburaya Productions marking the first time Ultraman and Marvel’s most renowed superhero Spider-Man team up in a Japanese manga (Written by Shigenobu Matsumoto and drawn by Tomo Hirokawa)
“The contrast in how our two sets of heroes approach their roles is fascinating to see play out, but they have a lot of similarities as well. In both the Shogakukan and Marvel titles, we watch how our heroes grapple with these differences before ultimately reconciling to find greater solutions. It has been incredibly special to explore the concept of heroism through the perspectives of these two very different sets of heroes and we are excited for fans to join them on these two adventures.”
Kei Minamitani, Tsuburaya ProductionsThe manga will also feature one of Marvel’s greatest supervillians of all time, Doctor Doom, who joins forces with Ultraman arch-nemesis Alien Mefilas and his cadre of destructive Kaiju, with cameo appearances by The Avengers. “We’re thrilled to bring together Marvel comics and manga in such an exciting way, uniting our biggest heroes directly with Ultraman against ultimate villains like never before,” said C.B. Cebulski, Editor-in-Chief, Marvel Comics.
“This manga will be an epic showdown at a cosmic level, but it’ll have plenty insightful themes and touching moments as well. We’re excited for fans to experience this story around the globe.” Cebulski also added.
This annoucement also follows the most recent news that Marvel Comics will release ULTRAMAN x AVENGERS an epic four-issue crossover event bringing together the greatest hero of Japan and Earth’s Mightiest Heroes for an epic battle against the most powerful supervillain of them all—Galactus.
ULTRAMAN: ALONG CAME A SPIDER-MAN will be distributed in the US by VIZ Media, kicking off with chapters 1 and 2 on August 13 in the US (August 14 in Japan).
This global event will be launching the manga series digitally on the VIZ Manga app, with new chapters released every Tuesday.
VIZ will also publish a print edition of the complete manga in the United States, set to hit retail in Summer 2025.
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