News

Viz Abandoning Comic Format

The letter column in Viz's Dragon Ball Part Six, No. 2, includes an announcement stating that it was the final issue of Dragon Ball to be issue in monthly comic book format, Viz will only publish the title in collected Graphic Novel. The announcement, presumably written by Viz's Jason Thomas, made no mention of whether or not similar changes will be made to other titles.

ANN reader John C. Watson points out:

I note that instead of its usual barrage, Viz only solicited a total of three comics for April and May--The Big O (both months) and Gundam: The Origin (April). See Diamond Distribution's Previews catalog order for April and May.

When ANN contacted Viz to ask if the changes were being made across the board we were informed that Viz will be discussing the topic in the near future but at this time no comment could be made.


The Announcement from Dragon Ball Part Six, No. 2 is as follows:

Omatase shimashita! (Sorry for the wait!) It's a shocking point in the Dragon Ball storyline, and Goku is about to face one of his strongest opponents ever--the ruthless, evil Demon King Piccolo!

Unfortunately, we have equally shocking news--this is the last issue of the Dragon Ball monthly comics. After much consideration, Viz has decided that single-story monthly comics are not the best format for manga (which, in Japan, is published only in anthology magazines or graphic novels). We're sorry for the surprising change: we know that many people read the comics, and we love getting your letters and fan art. However, stopping the monthly comics will allow us to concentrate on producing the Dragon Ball graphic novels quicker, so ultimately we think it's a good thing. (Though we're sorry for the cliffhanger ending.) People with subscriptions to Dragon Ball will be contacted regarding their options.