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The cover illustrations of the Marvel comic “THE RISE OF ULTRAMAN”, which is the first collaboration between “Tsuburaya Productions” (known for “Ultraman”) and “Marvel Entertainment” (known for “Spider-Man”, “Iron Man”, and others), have been revealed. In addition, comments by Kyle Higgins and Mat Groom, who are the writers of this work, were received.

“THE RISE OF ULTRAMAN” is Ultraman's first American comic under the collaboration of “Tsuburaya Productions” and “Marvel Entertainment”. At Tokyo Comic Con 2020, it was announced that a new story of Ultraman would be serialized as a comic.

The first volume was written by Kyle Higgins (known for his works in “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” and “Winter Soldier”) and Mat Groom (known for “Self/Made”), while the art illustrations were made by Francesco Manna (known for his works in “Avengers” by Jason Aaron and “Fantastic Four” by Dan Slott). The trio is a big fan of the “Ultraman” series.

The cover illustrations of “THE RISE OF ULTRAMAN” were revealed for the first time at the convention “Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo/C2E2” held in Chicago, United States on Feb. 29. The familiar pose of “Ultraman” was freshly recreated by adding the typical style of painting of Marvel.
Furthermore, the contents of the comic go back to the 1st season of “Ultraman” series.

“THE RISE OF ULTRAMAN” is scheduled to be published in the United States in the second half of 2020.

<Full comments are below>

Kyle Higgins
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. 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.

Mat Groom
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 Tsuburaya Eiji.
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..

（C）2020 MARVEL
（C）TSUBURAYA PRODUCTIONS Co., Ltd.