In 2009, Viz Media launched an online English version of Monthly Ikki, named SigIkki, which serialized selected titles from the magazine.

Editor Hideki Egami [ja] worked in the editorial department of Shogakukan's Weekly Big Comic Spirits for 18 years.

On the other hand, he considered that monthly manga artists were more likely to do more of the work on their own or with very few people assisting them, taking time for a more thoughtful approach to create their stories.

[2] Egami decided to create a monthly magazine, as a spin-off to Weekly Big Comic Spirits.

"[4] Egami stated that the original pages of the magazine in Japan were digitized, and deciding how to use this material, the first thing he thought was on translating it in English to reach a wider audience.

"[4] Leyla Aker, former Viz Media editorial manager, said that the project was jokingly referred to as "Pulp 2.0" in internal planning discussions.

Aker said that the objectives of Ikki and their Viz Signature imprint were the same, "publish series that offer a diverse range of content but that are all marked by creative excellence.

Monthly Ikki was considered an underground magazine[24] and the kind of series which it featured was compared to the American/European alternative comics.

"[28] Egami further elaborated, "[w]hen I think about it like that, it almost seems as if only a really short period of time has elapsed in terms of the evolution of manga, that there will be more and more mangaka in the future who could be right up there next to Tezuka.

Egami said that in every age, gender or group are people with creative minds who could understand the concepts and topics featured in their series, and Monthly Ikki was trying to reach that specific type of reader.

[28][34] He further explained, "[w]ith IKKI, I wanted to create something that belongs on that very top shelf inside of people.

"[4] Ikki, unlike other seinen manga magazines, did not use color nude photos on the issues cover, because according to Egami, it alienated female readers and it was not "the kind of nudity to begin with.