Ultramega, Volume 2
Author/Artist: James Harren
Colorist: Dave Stewart
Publisher: Image Comic
Publication date: August 2025
A bloody, epic Tokyo-inspired series written and drawn by James Harlen, ultramega ultimately returns to volume 2 after years of delays and breaks. Following the events in the previous volume, Earth is now a wasteland ruled by the mysterious and powerful queen of monsters. Along with Noah, a new ultra mega who has begun to challenge her tyrannical rule over the Queen of Kaiju and the planet, he faces challenges that go far beyond his abilities and must desperately rise up at the opportunity or attempt to take his life. Ultramega, a science fiction epic on ultra violent and scale, is one of the boldest and unique comics on the shelf at the moment, but is somewhat defeated in mayhem as its range expands beyond the limits of one volume.
Collecting five double-sized issues, the second volume of Ultramega is just as confusing and ridiculous as the first range, and greatly expands the scope of its world. We are featured in the seemingly peaceful Ultra Megasys (a loving Ode style for Jack Kirby’s fourth world story). Kaiju and Ultra Mega live in harmony. At the heart of this is Noah’s quest to conquer the Queen of Kaiju and correct her father’s failure at the beginning of the series. This is an important issue for young heroes. Noah rises to meet his destiny by encountering a much stronger and more experienced being than him, but it sacrifices him with his arms and legs or some. This second volume is currently being sold as a series conclusion or at least as a Noah story, but we have a safe bet that we have not yet seen the last Ultramegas. Writer/artist James Harren puts everything he has to create this story, and his efforts are clear on the page.
Art by James Harren
The series’ biggest strength and weakness is its huge range at the same time. There are five remaining issues in the book, which reveals some alien cultures and the character sets of the entire planet, greatly expanding the book’s already huge range to something in the same vein as Star Wars. Harlen’s World Building is fantastic, incredibly interesting and works really well as it combines a wide palette of inspiration and influence to create something new. It also means that the book is very dense, with this single volume taking quite a while to read, with multiple changes that can be very alienated in direction and flow, and sometimes frustrating. For example, the ending is great, but feels a bit anti-climax after a massive expansion of the scope seen throughout the series. This book consistently brings unique details, so you need to read the first volume of the recent volume to fully appreciate this book, so you’ll read quickly and become slightly overwhelming. Without a doubt, this book is absolutely fantastic using the rules of cool as a biblical guideline. The story is consistent and follows the most ridiculously exciting decisions at any time, but as with the rest of the shelves, it is not read for better or worse.
Like the overall story of the comic, Ultramega is working on many ideas at once. Environmental disasters and social and social disruptions are important themes associated with the nature of post-apocalyptic settings, particularly those that are directly caused by both human hubrism and massive environmental changes in the form of new life, and those that are directly caused by the effects of the super-wave veins left over the planet. As Noah is the son of a former Ultra Mega, he naturally has to deal with the problems of upbringing, and whether he can make up for his father’s failure without having many direct interactions with him to learn how to avoid the same mistakes. This can also be seen in the world of new megas and other space-bound worlds of ultra megas. We can get a glimpse into both the peaceful and wonderful society that has been lifted by the power of Ultra Miga and the violent and hellish thing that is an abusive landscape of hell where only strong people survive. Noah has to find his own way to carve something unique from any of them, in the typical hero way. It is his own nature that guides it. But in a way, Ultramega isn’t necessarily a story that focuses on that theme. They are definitely there, but given the dense nature of the plot, they often take a back seat to the construction and action of the world. It’s extremely difficult and wears the influence on the subject with an attitude of “take it or leave it”; You click on it or not, the series is for you or not. Harren replied when asked about what he wanted to convey in the series:
The fact that someone was happy to read it – I am very grateful for it.
Art by James Harren
Halen’s dialogue, scripts and world building are consistently fantastic. He has a good trick to get characterization quickly and efficiently. I enjoy his love for complexity. Our main character is a teenage boy and has committed amazing acts of both accidental and intentional violence. Some minor human characters get the short edge of the stick, especially as the series scale expands to planetary levels. I would like them to be used or explored more, like Noah’s mother figure. The Monster Queen and the violent Ultra Mega species are great antagonists that you love to hate them, and they absolutely hate the level of violence they enact on innocent people and those below them. The scripts in the series are changed to track every shift in the story, so a simple page turn makes the book feel completely different, but Haren wants to try out all the changes.
James Harren’s artwork is incredible. His artwork reminds me of other great artists by conveying exciting and intense behaviors like Riley Rosmo and Daniel Warren Johnson, but he has a violent edge in a particular gnarly that distinguishes him from his peers. His action sequences are absolutely cruel, and the destruction of the entire city feels like a loving ode sound to classic Japanese Tokyo, especially Ultraman and more gory kamen rider entries. His character designs are simple, but unique, and consistently memorable throughout the series. Sometimes even the most minor Kaiju and characters can carry their own books with very interesting character designs. The whole thing has an element of beauty, mainly due to Dave Stewart’s incredible colour work. There are bright and energetic elements, using relatively simple colors in the most luxurious way possible. It absolutely shines when the story chooses to stop the mayhem for a second and focus on the most intimate and quiet moments, and I would love to see Harlen make more use of it in his career in the future. But that doesn’t mean that the massacre isn’t absolutely amazing. The best moments in this book are the shattering of the earth, an incredible moment of action and violence that cannot be ignored.
Art by James Harren
Overall, Ultramega is flawed but fun. The story explodes in many directions, all of which are just as fascinating as the other directions, but none of them get enough time to shine or be properly explored. It appears the series is being concluded, but it’s a bittersweet to see it remained one of the bold and experimental comics. This may not necessarily be the end of the Ultra Mega world, but if so, it will go down as one of the most vibrant and unique settings in the comic. Not all swings are successful, but it is still very interesting in the end, much better in a trade paperback where you can see the story change happening more organically. With James Harren’s extremely extraordinary artwork, there’s no doubt that he’ll delight fans of the genre with his explosive action and immeasurable genocide. And the person who lets the book shoot them in any direction it desires is treated to a fun, exciting and bold comic that is different from the rest of the book’s published today.
Ultramega Vol. 2 will be published this month via Image Comics
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