Viz Confirms Inubaka on Hiatus
Viz Media is up to their old tricks again. That is to say, ceasing releases of their titles before properly finishing them. In the past this has always happened to their DVDs, & even happened again recently with Monster with no sign of anything past the first set in sight. But this time around, Viz has actually done it to one of their manga series.
The series in question is their long-running “Inubaka: Crazy for Dogs” manga, which they’ve been releasing in the US since 2007. The series itself came to an end in Japan last year after 22 volumes. Viz was scheduled to release the 18th volume this month, but it is now no longer solicited. When inquired about the status of the series, they replied back with the following:
INUBAKA is currently on hiatus and no new vols. are scheduled for the immediate future.
It seems Inubaka is done for good. Sales must’ve been pretty bad for them to cease publication on the title when they were so close to finishing it. Inubaka was a unique series out there for the US. It wasn’t a shonen action series. It wasn’t really considered shoujo. It was just a manga about dogs. It’s easy to see why it would have a small audience, though it’s still a shame that it did.
Sadly, Inubaka is only the latest manga title from Viz to just suddenly stopped getting released. What makes this series a special case is that Viz actually openly came out & admitted they were stopping its releases, whereas most of the time they don’t say a single word. Other MIA manga titles from Viz include titles such as Bastard, Zatch Bell, Reborn, Strawberry 100%, Battle Angle Alita Last Order, Kurohime, & BODY. These will likely never get finished.
Source: http://comicsworthreading.com/2011/03/02/viz-confirms-inubaka-on-hiatus