Were there any pre-Viz English manga releases?

[floofychan333]

I recall seeing DB comic books and thinking they were a failed attempt from long ago, but it turns out they were made by Viz in 00 or 01. Were there any attempts before Viz to release the manga?

[Nickolaus]

Not that I am aware officially. VIZ was the first one to officially release Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z in United States in 1998, according to this.

Viz Announces Dragon Ball & Dragon Ball Z Manga English Release
05 March 1998

Dragon Ball & Dragon Ball Z Shipping to comic stores March 6
The most popular japanese comic in the world is coming to the U.S…and it’s only from Viz!

San Francisco, CA (3/6/98)–Viz Comics proudly announces the March 1998 release of two simultaneous Dragon Ball comic titles: Dragon Ball, presenting the humorous adventures of young Son Goku; and Dragon Ball Z, which follows the considerably higher-stakes adventures of adult Goku who, together with family and friends, must fight to save the Earth from the most mighty villains in the universe. To the delight of Dragon Ball fans worldwide, Viz will be presenting both titles in English, available for the first time ever.

[linkdude20002001]

Viz is the only English release, and it all began with the Special "Manga-Style" Edition from 1998 March till 2003 March, covering chapters 1~142 and 195~309.
Also, at some point they got a really great idea: Viz Graphic Novels! That only lasted a mere 1~120 and 105~313 from 2000 August till 2002 December, not even lasting as long as it's older sibling release.
Then of course they had their Shonen Jump release from 2003 January till...I forget, which started with chapter 195 and also never reached the end...
It wasn't till the Shonen Jump Graphic Novels in 2003 March that we finally got a normal (i.e. complete) release.

[Super Sonic]

Viz is the only English release, and it all began with the Special "Manga-Style" Edition from 1998 March till 2003 March, covering chapters 1~142 and 195~309.
Also, at some point they got a really great idea: Viz Graphic Novels! That only lasted a mere 1~120 and 105~313 from 2000 August till 2002 December, not even lasting as long as it's older sibling release.

That's not surprising. LIke in Japan, and with American comics, they waited until after the comic was published originally for the gns to be published.

[linkdude20002001]

Well, my point was just that the Viz Graphic Novels apparently weren't as great an idea as Viz had thought since they quickly shelved that idea for the Shonen Jump Graphic Novels, which are just a slightly smaller version of the Viz Graphic Novels.

[VegettoEX]

It's less that the larger-sized "Graphic Novels" weren't a "good idea" and more the fact that Viz as a collective whole were moving all of their SJ properties to the smaller-sized "Shonen Jump"-branded collected volume sizes, and DB/DBZ just happened to be at the point they were at when it happened.

[linkdude20002001]

I understand that, but... I guess I'm just confused as to why they changed formats at all. It's very strange becuz I liked my Dragon Ball and Inuyasha comics well enough, and it didn't seem like an upgrade. So now I have an inconsistent bookshelf with comics changing size mid-series.

[TheGreatness25]

Honestly, all of these decisions boil down to people who (are supposed to) make a lot of money sitting in a conference room and discussing how the company should proceed. Whether it be a money saver or a political reason (i.e. a deal with another company) or a vision redirection (they fired the old regime and a new one came in), the truth is that every decision happens for a reason. The comics didn't make themselves and the releases weren't subject to the print guys' mood on that day. So really, there was definitely a reason that made sense to them at the time and we'll probably never know it.