The Great Geek Manual News

Is extreme government censorship about to rob British comic book fans of their monthly fix of ultra-violence? That’s what some paranoid fans are expecting, thanks to a new (and vague) anti-pornography law in the UK.

The new law - given the extremely vague name “The Criminal Justice and Immigration Act” - makes possessing any “extreme image” produced “solely or principally for the purpose of sexual arousal” illegal, and some British comic fans are so nervous that we’re wondering whether they’re reading different issues of Batman than we are. A statement from the fansite Comic Shop Voice reads:

Do you own any of the following:

Wanted (Top Cow)
Batman: The Killing Joke (DC)
Watchmen (DC)
Punisher (Marvel)
Lost Girls (Top Shelf Productions)
Manga (pick a title)
Cerebus (Aardvark Vanaheim)
(The list continues)

Congratulations you are a comic book fan and the government would like to arrest you, fine you, confiscate your comic collection and ask you to sign the sex offenders’ list.

Read the Entire Story…
Source: io9

Marvel is putting some of its older comics online Tuesday, hoping to reintroduce young people to the X-Men and Fantastic Four by showcasing the original issues in which such characters appeared.

It’s a tentative move onto the Internet: Comics can only be viewed in a Web browser, not downloaded, and new issues will only go online at least six months after they first appear in print.

Still, it represents perhaps the comics industry’s most aggressive Web push yet. Even as their creations — from Iron Man to Wonder Woman — become increasingly visible in pop culture through new movies and video games, old-school comics publishers rely primarily on specialized, out-of-the-way comic shops for distribution of their bread-and-butter product.

“You don’t have that spinner rack of comic books sitting in the local five-and-dime any more,” said Dan Buckley, president of Marvel Publishing. “We don’t have our product intersecting kids in their lifestyle space as much as we used to.”

Translate “kids’ lifestyle space” into plain English and you get “the Internet.” Marvel’s two most prominent competitors currently offer online teasers designed to drive the sales of comics or book collections.

Dark Horse Comics now puts its monthly anthologies “Dark Horse Presents” up for free viewing on its MySpace site. The images are vibrant and large.

Read the Entire Story…
Source: The Associated Press via Yahoo! News

MySpace launched the MySpace.com Comic Books profile which can be found at www.myspace.com/comicbooks . This profile will be the official community for manga, graphic novels and comic books on MySpace.

Fans and friends of MySpace Comic Books can check out the community to find the latest comic book news, interviews, special features, contests, exclusives and more. MySpace Comic Books will spotlight the most exciting projects, creators and events in the industry including user generated comics by MySpace members themselves.

As part of the launch, MySpace is hosting the “Buffy Changed My Life” contest running Feb. 14 – Mar. 14, 2007. Fans are asked to write in, detailing how Buffy changed their life in 250 words or less. “Buffy” and “Angel” creator Joss Whedon himself will judge this contest and choose one lucky winner will be written in as a character in the comic book Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 8, which picks up where the seventh season of the television series left off.

Read the Entire Story…
Source: Comic Book Resources

When “Chosen” – the final episode of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” – ended, many fans were left wondering what’s next for Buffy Summers and friends? On March 7th , they can stop wondering because Buffy creator Joss Whedon returns with the eighth season of their favorite show, but the action won’t be happening on the small screen; instead it will be unfolding in the pages of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” #1, the first issue of a new comic series written by Whedon, drawn by artist Georges Jeanty and published by Dark Horse Comics. CBR News spoke with Whedon about the book.

For Whedon, the new Buffy series isn’t about making cash; it’s a chance for him to have some fun with some of his signature creations. “I expect it to sell dozens and dozens of copies. I don’t make sales expectations,” Whedon told CBR News. “I think it will do well out there. I think they would be wise to push it and they [Dark Horse] were caught unawares with ‘Serenity.’ This is getting more heat than anything I’ve done in a while. But for me it’s, ‘Is the comic good? Did they get it on the stands?’ And then somebody tells me the numbers later on. It’s not like I’m going to make a fortune. It’s a comic book.”

One of the appealing aspects of doing Season Eight of Buffy as a comic book instead of a television show is that it allows Whedon a whole new range of creative freedom. “The network left us alone and the actors did what they were told, not because we were mean, but because they liked what they were given to do,” Whedon said. “It’s not like I was ever harangued while I was making it. But there were definitely budgetary limitations and the limitations of having to deal with the daily life of Buffy, which is sort of what made the show work, but there were a lot of things you couldn’t do just in terms of scope. We’ve broadened it a little bit, which is fun. People are jumping from helicopters and there are giants. There are no limits and certainly that is fun.”

Read the Entire Story…
Source: The Comic Wire

“The Dark Tower: Gunslinger Born” comic, based on Stephen King’s best selling series looks as if it’s going to kick ass.

Read the Entire Story…
Check out the Official website…

This March Marvel will be releasing a Zombies / Army of Darkness cross-over.

This is it true believers, the cross-over of the century begins here! The Marvel Zombies come face-to-face with Dynamite Entertainment’s Ash from the Army of Darkness! Ash has faced legions of the undead before, but never like this…as he lands in the heart of New York just as the Zombie outbreak begins! See how his actions help turn more heroes and villains into Zombies! Under the watchful eye of Marvel Zombie guru Robert Kirkman, this might just be the comic event of 2007! Plus: The entire series will feature classic “homage” covers from painter Arthur Suydam!

32 Pages/Parental Advisory …$2.99

Source: Marvel