Stan Lee And Hiroyuki Takei Present… Ultimo !

[ENGLISH] San Francisco, CA, April 4, 2008 — VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), and POW! Entertainment (POWN.PK), at the VIZ Media press event at the 2008 New York Comic-con will be highlighting this historic partnership. Stan Lee will be participating with VIZ Media, one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, to announce that one of its parent companies (and one of the largest publishers in Japan), Shueisha Inc., will debut the exciting prologue chapter of ULTIMO (KARAKURIDÔJI ULTIMO) — the historic collaboration between comics legend Stan Lee, creator of many iconic superheroes including Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, and the X-Men, and Hiroyuki Takei, the creator of the popular SHAMAN KING manga series, published in Japan by Shueisha and in North America by VIZ Media.

ULTIMO represents a first-of-its-kind partnership between Lee and a Japanese manga creator. The 32-page prologue, which features 3 full-color pages, will debut in a special April issue of the Japanese manga magazine Jump SQ., the sibling publication of Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump, which is historically the best-selling manga magazine in Japan. The special, standalone issue is called JumpSQ.II.

VIZ Media will host a special press event at the 2008 New York Comic-Con on April 18th, the very day the SQ.II ULTIMO issue goes on sale in Japan.  The event, attended by Stan Lee, Takanori Asada (Editor, Jump SQ.), and SHONEN JUMP Editor-in-Chief Marc Weidenbaum, will highlight the collaboration and shed further light on the development of ULTIMO and the partnership with Hiroyuki Takei, as well as announce exciting news not yet shared regarding this title. New York Comic-Con takes place April 18-20 at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City; this special press-only event is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. April 18th, in Room# 1E09. (Contact information to save a seat at this event is located at the end of this release.)

Stan Lee says, “I am deeply honored for this great opportunity to collaborate with an award-winning artist/writer of the stature of Hiroyuki Takei.  I enthusiastically expect that the combination of an American story-telling style merged with Takei-san’s acclaimed Japanese style will result in our joint creation ‘ULTIMO’ presenting an original, exciting type of manga that will appeal to comicbook fans around the world”.

The ULTIMO story: High above Farmless City, citizens are stunned by the sudden appearance of two floating figures. Are they human boys, monolithic robots, or something much more strange? As the battle ensues between them, destruction and devastation falls on the hapless city. One figure is Vice, and seems to be as evil as his name implies. The other is Ultimo, intent on trying to stop Vice from wreaking more havoc. But who are Vice and Ultimo really? Where did they come from? A new mystery begins with the fate of the world possibly hanging in the balance!

Lee’s own company, POW! Entertainment, worked with Jump SQ. parent company Shueisha and with JEA and Dream Ranch (a Sony Music company) to facilitate the development of ULTIMO.

“The collaboration between Stan Lee and Hiroyuki Takei is a tremendous event,” says Marc Weidenbaum, SHONEN JUMP Editor-in-Chief. “Stan Lee is as big a legend as there can be in American comics, and Japan is without comparison for its massive comics culture. Lee’s collaboration with an artist as gifted as Hiroyuki Takei creates a bridge between Eastern and Western popular storytelling traditions and the pair has created something very new and special.”

For over half a century, Stan Lee has been synonymous with superhero comics. In addition to creating countless memorable series and characters, including Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men and Daredevil, he served as the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics. Lee remains a hugely respected and dynamic figure in the entertainment industry and continues to develop a variety of film, television and video game properties.

Unconventional author/artist Hiroyuki Takei began his career by winning the coveted Hop Step Award (for new manga artists) and the Osamu Tezuka Award. After working as an assistant to famed artist Nobuhiro Watsuki (RUROUNI KENSHIN), Takei debuted in Weekly Shonen Jump in 1997 with Butsu Zone, an action series based on Buddhist mythology. His multicultural adventure manga SHAMAN KING debuted in Japan in 1998 and has been adapted into a popular animated television series. The SHAMAN KING manga series is also published in North America by VIZ Media; for many years it was serialized in English in SHONEN JUMP magazine.

Lucky winners will have the opportunity to attend this special event as well as receive a copy of the Jump SQ.II issue signed by Hiroyuki Takei and Stan Lee. For more information on ULTIMO and how to win one of the outstanding prizes please visit www.shonenjump.com/ultimosweeps.  Fans can also sign up for the SHONEN JUMP newsletter to receive updated information on this event.

Media outlets wishing to attend this event please RSVP via Email to  Evelyn.Dubocq@viz.com.

For more information on ULTIMO, SHONEN JUMP and VIZ Media please visit www.shonenjump.com or www.viz.com.
About POW! (Purveyors of Wonder) Entertainment, Inc.

POW! (Purveyors of Wonder) Entertainment, Inc. (Pinksheets:POWN.PK), an advanced media and entertainment company, was founded by world-famous comic book and motion picture icon Stan Lee, together with award-winning producer Gill Champion and intellectual property specialist Arthur Lieberman, Esq. POW!’s principals have extensive backgrounds in the entertainment industry encompassing the creation, production and licensing of original intellectual properties, including some of the most successful entertainment franchises of all time. POW!, capitalizing on this combined expertise, specializes in franchises for the entertainment industry, including animation and live-action feature films, plus television, DVDs, video games, merchandising and related ancillary markets, all of which contribute to global expansion. POW! partners with other individuals and entities of entertainment’s top echelon, including studios and networks, in the creation, licensing and distribution of new POW! character franchises.

About VIZ Media, LLC

Headquartered in San Francisco, CA, VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), is one of the most comprehensive and innovative companies in the field of manga (graphic novel) publishing, animation and entertainment licensing of Japanese content. Owned by three of Japan’s largest creators and licensors of manga and animation, Shueisha Inc., Shogakukan Inc., and Shogakukan Production Co., Ltd. (ShoPro Japan), VIZ Media is a leader in the publishing and distribution of Japanese manga for English speaking audiences in North America and a global licensor of Japanese manga and animation. The company offers an integrated product line including, magazines such as SHONEN JUMP and SHOJO BEAT, graphic novels, videos, DVDs and audio soundtracks and develops and markets animated entertainment from initial production, television placement and distribution, to merchandise licensing and promotions for audiences and consumers of all ages.