At an invitation only press conference Friday afternoon, VIZ media announced further details of what was called a historic partnership between East and West. That day saw the Japanese publication of an issue of manga magazine Jump Squared, one which featured Ultimo, a manga series written by American comic book legend Stan Lee and illustrated by popular Japanese artist Hiroyuki Takei. VIZ announced that plans are in motion for the series, which Lee promises will “revolutionize the comic business,” to be translated and published in North America, as well. Though a North American publication date has not been set, Marc Weidenbaum, editor of Shonen Jump in the US, promised that the turnaround from Japanese to English would be minimal. He also noted that ASDF will be editing the American version of the manga.

Lee promises that the series will be neither wholly American nor entirely Japanese, uniquely combining the two to create an entirely separate form of artistic expression. Details of the plot are somewhat thin, though Takanori Asada , the editor of the Japanese version, described the story as revolving around androids possessed of human-like souls. The titular Ultimo, one of the robots, appears to be sort of a punk rock lobster, at least from where I was sitting. Another character was amusingly modeled after Lee himself, or at Lee as a kung-fu serial killer rather than the enthusastic elder of the comic book industry.

Ever the showman, Lee regaled the crowd as if P.T. Barnum were delivering the Sermon from the Mount. “I’m glad I’m not an American comic book publisher,” said Marvel pioneer Lee, who co-created such titles as Spiderman and X-Men, “because if I had to compete with something like this, I’d be going out and getting drunk right now.”