I went through a brief period of interest in Godzilla and the Shogun Warriors, but I don't think I ever imprinted on the whole genre the way a lot of kids my age did. As a result, I don't have any familiarity with or particular affection for Ultraman, and it seems like one or both is a prerequisite for really enjoying Dark Horse's new Ultraman Tiga. It's not that the book is inaccessible, because Wong and company provide a reasonable explanation of a world that is relatively at peace but besieged by giant monsters and defended by a small elite group of heroes. It's not that the book is ugly, as Khoo Fuk Lung's artwork is, if occasionally a little busy, certainly attractive. It's just that I don't find the whole thing terribly interesting, and I don't know if that's a failure on the part of the creative team or just my complete lack of interest in the genre going in, which no creative team could subvert.
I think part of my problem here is that I just can't take Ultraman seriously, and Wong is playing the whole thing fairly straight. When the plot centers around basically unexplained giant monsters threatening a peaceful one-world society and they are defended by an organization called (I kid you not) G.U.T.S. and there's not even a hint of self-aware kitsch or knowing winks at the audience, it seems like if you don't already have a fondness for the characters, you're going to find the whole thing a little ridiculous. Given that I can accept most of the weird super-heroic genre conventions and have a fondness for G.I. Joe, I probably shouldn't cast stones, but Ultraman somehow just goes beyond the level of cheese I'm willing to blindly accept.
Another part of the problem is that, while Wong explains just fine, he really doesn't do much to engage the reader. The few characters who get any development are cliches, including the saintly and beautiful mystery woman whose faith in the heroes is her defining characteristic or the hotshot pilot who disobeys orders to do dangerous and heroic things. Wong doesn't spend any time making us care about the characters, but instead just shows them on the periphery of the action, which is obviously the focus of the story more than any justifications of the premise or exploration of a deeper plot.
Khoo Fuk Lung's artwork features an insane level of detail, and sometimes it's a little too much. The opening splash is too busy, and it has the effect of causing my eyes to glaze over rather than making me see the wonder of these giant monsters and the technological society that they're attacking. When he pulls back a little, such as with the first reveal of the Ultramen or some of the more focused shots of cockpits or individual characters, his style is very attractive, very much reminiscent of a cleaner version of the anime style that captured the attention of so many people my age with Battle of the Planets or Star Blazers. If only his action scenes were a little less cluttered, I think they'd be much more impressive.
It's entirely possible that I'm just not the audience for this book, and that a casual interest in monsters fighting giant robots isn't enough to appreciate Ultraman Tiga. However, given that I do have some fondness for the genre, as evidenced by my love of the Playstation 2 game War of the Monsters or an inexplicable fondness for Shogun Warriors and Godzilla, I think it more likely that the creators are playing too much to the obvious here, and in so doing, providing a flat and unengaging take on the giant monster/giant robot story.
