Veteran comic book artist, writer and current publisher and Chief Creative Officer of DC Comics Jim Lee shared his love of Ultraman in a striking piece of fan art.
The black-and-white image, which was posted on Lee's official Twitter account, shows the iconic giant hero blasting his Specium Ray in defense of a ruined city. According to the artist, the picture celebrates "one of my favorite shows growing up!"
One of my favorite shows growing up! Second attempt at capturing the thrill of Ultraman! #speciumray #ultrablast pic.twitter.com/1kXrgHASxw
— Jim Lee (@JimLee) December 19, 2021
Lee started his career in the comic book industry in 1987 as an artist for Marvel Comics before he and others opened their own publishing company, Image Comics, in 1992. In 2018, he replaced Geoff Johns as the Chief Creative Officer of DC Comics. Lee is likely best known for his work on Batman: Hush, All Star Batman & Robin the Boy Wonder, Superman Unchained and Superman: For Tomorrow. He has received multiple awards over the years, including a Harvey Award and three Wizard Fan Awards.
The first entries in the Ultraman multimedia franchise, Ultraman and Ultra Q, made their debuts in 1966, setting the foundation for one of the most popular and influential tokusatsu superhero series of all time. Since then, the franchise has produced dozens of television series and inspired a wealth of video game, film, comic and manga spinoffs.
The second season of the most recent Ultraman series, a CG-animated show by Netflix and Tsuburaya, is scheduled to premiere on April 14 and will have a total of six episodes. Its latest trailer sets up the "Disappearance Incident," which will serve as the foundation for the new season's plot. The series stars Hideyuki Tanaka (Saint Seiya), Ryohei Kimura (Eden of the East), Maaya Sakamoto (Ouran High School Host Club) and Tomoaki Maeno (World Trigger).
The new season isn't the only recent development in the Ultraman franchise to the delight of fans. Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno's live-action film, Shin Ultraman, has finally received an official premiere date of May 13 after major delays in production due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Joining Anno on the creative team is director Shinji Higuchi and composer Shirō Sagisu. Shin Ultraman stars Takumi Saitoh, who previously appeared in the live-action adaptation of Space Battleship Yamato, as "the guy who becomes Ultraman." Other confirmed members of the cast include Hidetoshi Nishijima (Drive My Car), Daiki Arioka (Code Blue 3) and Koji Yamamoto (Kamen Rider Reiwa: The First Generation).
The first season of Ultraman is available to stream on Netflix.
Source: Twitter
