Seven Seas Entertainment will publish Kazuo Umezz's original 1966 Ultraman manga in English for the first time.
The original 1966 Ultraman manga, written and illustrated by Kazuo Umezz, is finally set to receive an official English-language release. Seven Seas Entertainment has confirmed that the manga will be published in July next year as a large-trim hardcover edition, arriving in time for the iconic franchise's 60th anniversary celebrations.
The release marks an important moment for longtime Ultraman fans, collectors, and readers interested in the franchise's early history. First introduced in 1966, Ultraman has grown into one of Japan's most enduring entertainment franchises, spanning television, cinema, manga, anime, and other forms of media.
Kazuo Umezz, best known internationally for influential horror works such as The Drifting Classroom, created the original Ultraman manga during the same period as the landmark 1966 television series. The manga helped establish the early foundations of the Ultraman story, following the giant hero as he confronted dangerous monsters and extraterrestrial threats.
At the center of the story is the Science Patrol, a specialized team responsible for investigating and responding to mysterious incidents involving alien forces and kaiju. The story takes a major turn when team member Shin Hayata gains the ability to transform into the giant alien superhero Ultraman.
With this extraordinary power, Hayata becomes Earth's defender, appearing whenever humanity faces threats beyond the capabilities of ordinary people. The combination of science fiction, giant monsters, extraterrestrial danger, and superhero action would go on to define much of the franchise's enduring appeal.
The Ultraman legacy has continued through countless new interpretations over the decades. Among them is the 2019 Netflix 3DCG anime series, which concluded its third season in May 2023. Another modern manga series, created by Eiichi Shimizu and Tomohiro Shimoguchi and serialized from 2011 to 2020, was also released internationally through VIZ Media.
Despite the franchise's global popularity and the availability of several newer adaptations, Umezz's original 1966 manga remained unavailable in English for nearly six decades. Its upcoming release finally brings one of the earliest chapters in Ultraman's history to a wider international audience.
Arriving around the franchise's 60th anniversary, the English edition offers longtime fans an opportunity to revisit Ultraman's origins while introducing a foundational piece of Japanese pop culture to a new generation of readers.
