We should all know the legendary Mr Stan Lee. If not, think Spider-Man, Hulk, Fantastic Four and X-Men – then you’re on the right track. VIZ Media, in conjunction with Lee’s company POW! Entertainment (PK:POWN), has announced the news that Stan has joined forces with Hiroyuki Takei (creator of SHAMAN KING) to develop a manga called ULTIMO.

So what is the new manga about?:

With girl and money troubles, life is hard enough for high school student Yamato, but then he stumbles upon Ultimo, a peculiar-looking puppet. Things only get stranger when Ultimo awakens and his arch-enemy, Vice shows up. Ultimo and Vice are Karakuri Dôji, the mechanical embodiment of pure good and pure evil, devoid of human emotions that can cloud one’s judgment. Their purpose: to battle to the death to prove once and for all whether good or evil is the most powerful force in the universe.

Stan is pretty excited about the new venture – and he had this to say:

“I am indescribably thrilled to have the honor of working with the famous and extremely talented Hiroyuki Takei on our exciting creation ULTIMO. I feel that ULTIMO combines the very best of Western mythology with the very best of Japanese manga. It gives me the greatest pleasure to be associated with VIZ Media on such an exciting and ground-breaking project.”

ULTIMO will be available from February 2nd, rated ‘T’ for Teens, and is expected to cost $9.99 US or $12.99 CAN. For more info, you can visit www.shonenjump/ultimo.