Tina Anderson has word from Viz that their short-lived venture into original comics has been put on hold. Be sure to check out her post for all the known details at this point and some insight on the matter.
First announced in the summer of 2008, Viz held portfolio reviews at San Diego Comic Con as part of their search for new original content, stating that “primary focus for the overall Viz original-comics plan is long-form fictional escapades.”. You can read a short interview on the project at ICv2.
Tina also learned that one of the lead staff piloting the program, Marc Weidenbaum, has left Viz. While this may or may not be a solid contributing factor, there are hopes to revive the Original Content line in 2010.
I think its a shame that this idea has stopped before it even really began. I know a lot of creators who were eager to try working with the manga-giant and the idea of more user-created content in their Shoujo Beat magazine alone sounded fun.
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