After starting its run in 2000, Gantz series creator Hiroya Oku wants to bring his work to a close in 2012. The author made mention of this in the most recent authors notes section of the series which is due on January 4th. Oku doesn’t provide any specifics but he indicates that he wants to bring things to a close for the work. The series has thirty-two volumes released in Japan so far with twenty of them released in the US via Dark Horse Comics. The series has proven to be exceptionally popular over the years as it was adapted into a two season anime series first by ADV Films and then by FUNimation that in the US sold nearly 200,000 copies and it was also adapted into a pair of live action movies that have been released internationally.

Manga concept: The last thing Kei and Masaru remember was being struck dead by a subway train while saving the life of a drunken bum. What a waste! And yet somehow they’re still . . . alive? Or semi-alive? Maybe it’s reanimated . . . by some kind of alien orb with a nasty message . . . “Your lives are over. What you do with your new lives is up to me!” And what this orb called “Gantz” intends to do with their lives is make them play games of death, hunting all kinds of odd aliens, along with a bunch of other ordinary citizens who’ve recently met a tragic semi-end. The missions they embark upon are often dangerous. Many die-and die again.

[Source: ANN ]