I love the kaiju genre. The concept of battling giant monsters has always appealed to me and while I’m not an expert, it’s a story I get sucked into a lot. And the stories tend to be pretty simple. There’s a giant monster and another monster/being/robot must battle them in a fight. The childhood action figure battles play out on screen, often with amazing visuals on a massive scale. But, there’s a lot of these stories now, so what makes them stand out is key. No longer do I look for just the battle, I want more. Ultramega #1 is the latest entry in the genre and while a lot of it is pretty standard, its over-the-top nature makes it stand out… a bit.

Created by James Harrem, who handles the writing and art, Ultramega #1 stands out in a lot of ways. The comic features a mysterious entity who imbues three individuals the power to detect and stop kaiju. In this version ordinary individuals impacted by a space virus randomly turn and grow into giant monsters. That in itself is not new or different. Where the comic ends up also doesn’t feel all that new or different. It’s the battle in between that’s memorable.

This is a comic that’s best to not spoil. Harrem has delivered a comic with twists in the battles. They’re so over the top with aspects I’ve never seen in this sort of comic. There’s a lot here that had me pause and say “I haven’t thought/seen that before”. And that’s a good thing. There’s a lot of original ideas here. But, all of those ideas are focused on laughable violence where blood literally floods the streets. It’s that comical level of violence where it’s hard to not laugh at how silly it is. And with that, some enjoyment.

Harrem delivers all of that with an almost glee. It feels like there’s scenes where there’s thought as to how much blood and goo to put on the various objects. It’s a level that’s comical at times with rivers of flood flood the streets and body parts flying about. There’s a glee in the destruction. Dave Stewart‘s colors and Rus Wooton‘s lettering only adds to the fun as the group go over the top with the gore.

Ultramega #1 is an entertaining start. It’s destruction is what stands out from the similar stories. It doesn’t just deliver fallen building and destroyed cars, it does it in a style and on a level that’s amusing and lighthearted. There’s a lot to this debut that’s familiar but it delivers it all in a style all its own.

Story: James Harrem Art: James Harrem
Color: Dave Stewart Letterer: Rus Wooton
Story: 7.75 Art: 8.0 Overall: 7.95 Recommendation: Buy

Image Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

---

Purchase: comiXology – Amazon – Kindle – Zeus Comics – TFAW