I am a lifelong Marvel fan. Stan Lee reminds me of my uncle. And one the most fun aspects of Ultimo is seeing Stan Lee in the story as Dunstan—a godlike being who claims to be "beyond good and evil."  Stan has been many comics and movies, so it's hilarious to see him once again making a cameo, and a really interesting one at that. 

All that said, Stan’s only credited with the concept for Ultimo. It is Hiroyuki Takei that is doing the heavy lifting for both scripting and art. Volume 10 starts after Eco’s funeral. And then Yamato takes a shower for three and a half pages. Cheesecake? Sure, but think of how effective the juxtaposition of a strong young man (life) with a massive funeral (death) is. Actually, Yamato spends quite a lot of time naked in this volume. It's a running gag that provides some much-needed laughs amid the ultra-serious struggles. 

All that meditating in the shower leads Yamato to the conclusion he has to beat Dunstan or the “Hundred Machine Funeral” (Dunstan’s name for the battle between the good and evil Doji and their masters) may go on forever. Yamato has good reason to think the war may go on forever. Depending you how you count, the war has been going on for anywhere from 73 to 900 years! Yet Eco is the only master that has died. So even though Dunstan uses the word “funeral,” the goal is not to kill the enemy but to recruit them to your side. That makes a certain sense even in terms of real warfare. Why kill a foe who can be usefully bent to your will?

The “make them change sides" angle is one thing that makes it seem like Hiroyuki Takei is working closely with Stan Lee. The relationship between the good and evil Doji is a lot like the relationship between good and evil mutants in the first year of X-MEN. People switching sides, unspoken backstory, etc. Speaking of unspoken backstory, the casual time travel in this volume provides both unspoken backstory and the kind of confusion that makes me want to read the next volume. When the evil Doji say they been in 1947 for three years do they mean they arrived in 1944? or have they lived through 1947 three times?

Having the division between good and evil in Japan take place the same year the Japanese constitution was enacted is very clever. It makes perfect sense and adds a sheen of political subtext that makes me wonder how far Takei Sensei might push his fantasy into the grim realities of post-war Japan. But the fact that the last third of volume ten is a fight that turns the space-time continuum into many bricks of swiss cheese, I think my excitement over the political plot(s) may be a bit premature. However, due to Takei's habit of playing with space and time as he wants, this is one manga that is completely unpredictable. And that's half the fun.

The best thing about Ultimo volume 10 is there is a really good cliffhanger! Not going to ruin it, but it was a real shocker and will definitely make you hungry for the next volume. Which unfortunately, due to the sporadic schedule may be awhile. Still, whatever the case, there are definitely more twists coming and I look forward to them! Excelsior!

Ultimo 10 is available now at VIZ.com!

by Rob McCarthy