ULTRAMEGA #1: The Consequences of Failure

First, let’s get this out the way. This is not Ultraman. Sure the idea is the same. We have Kaiju (albeit a version where a virus transforms normal people into huge destructive monsters), and yes, we have several individuals imbued with alien power to fight this so-called infection, and yes they do look a bit like Ultraman in a different color scheme but then things take a turn… a horrible but fascinating one. James Harren takes the trope and twists it inside out infusing it with a heavy dose of body horror and lets its bloody innards hang before us (in several places, literally!) and what we are left with is an incisive dissection of the human condition and how amazing powers cannot make up for the horrible mistakes we make and how exceptionally destructive the consequences of a mistake can be. This is a bloody tale of the chickens coming home to roost except the chicken is an unstoppable Kaiju of destruction the likes of which none of the UltraMega Men have ever faced!

Ultramega #1 examines the frailty of the human character and Harren bares this out by having the main character of the story come face to face with the consequences of his failure to act which cost’s not only his life, the life of other Ultramega men but the life of thousands in the city he has defended for years leaving the city and the world changed forever. Harren takes the super-powered individual idea, holds it up to the light, and shows us how giving this kind of power to human beings still yields disastrous consequences because of the flaws of the human condition. Along the way, Harren peppers the tale with clever allegorical elements that one can recognize. Calling Jason, our main protagonist’s first wife, Lilith – given what she becomes – is the kind of deft touch I appreciate in a comic. And Harren isn’t single-minded in his approach to world-building, either, and fleshes out this world through art and writing incorporating several dystopian elements including things like the idea of robots slowly pushing humans out of the workforce which is a background detail that makes the world feel m  He doesn’t forget interpersonal moments either between the giant size action like having Jason (the focal character of this issue) call his wife from a payphone and have a mundane conversation about birthdays, vacations and cake after a massive fight with a Kaiju.

And speaking of fights. When they happen, they are gloriously rendered by Harren, who is a literal master of perspective, the power of the hyper-detailed image, and being able to convey extreme dynamic movement. Colorist Dave Stewart brings Harren’s dystopian world of a city beset by constant destruction as the Ultramega men face the infected to brilliant life with dark moody greens and purples and bloody reds to emphasize the actual horror of living in a place where this destruction can happen at a moments notice. All this is punctuated by brilliant sound effects lettering by Wooton. In fact, I would go so far as to call the art flawless. It’s a giant monster, body horror, Kaiju combat fever dream of a comic that doesn’t let up for one second but at the same time is a journey that starts in rather familiar territory but cleverly distinguishes itself as unique and a different view by the end of its sixty-eight pages leaving you wanting to know what comes next.