A new live-action film based on Naoki Urasawa's 20th Century Boys manga has been announced and is set to come out in 2008.

20th Century Boys recently
returned to the pages of Big Comic Spirits after going on hiatus for over eight months.

Source: eiga.com

The Japanese government is running a full-page advertisement in Kodansha's Weekly Shonen Magazine No.52 (on sale November 29th), which read "Stop! Bullying." This is Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe instructed that the ad be published in both shonen and shoujo manga magazines for the very first time, stating that "children will not read the ad if they are run in newspapers."

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According to AoD, Del Rey has announced three new manga titles:

MY HEAVENLY HOCKEY CLUB by Ai Morinaga, a new comedy manga set against the backdrop of a high school hockey team from the fan favorite creator of DUCK PRINCE and YOUR AND MY SECRET. Publication rights arranged through Kodansha, Ltd.

DRAGON EYE by Kairi Fujiyama, an action-packed martial arts adventure starring a young heroine on a quest to become a master warrior. Publication rights arranged through Kodansha, Ltd.

ALIVE by Tadashi Kawashima, a cautionary science-fiction tale of a global pandemic that affects only teenagers and the handful of survivors who wonder why they were spared. Publication rights arranged through Kodansha, Ltd.

Source: AoD

Iris Print has announced that Diamond Comics Distributors will be its exclusive distributor in the North American as well as international comic and book store markets.

We are proud to announce that Diamond Comics Distributors will be the exclusive distributor of Iris Print's graphic novel titles in the North American and international comic and book store markets. Comic book retailers can order through Diamond Comic Distributors, and should look for Iris titles (including When Worlds Collide) starting in the January 2007 Previews catalog.

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ICv2 interviews Karen Berger, Senior Vice President of DC Comics, about DC's recently announced Minx imprint, its "new initiative, the audience it seeks to reach, and how it fits into the current context of comics for teen girls, which are primarily manga."

The Association of Copyright for Computer Software (ACCS) and the Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers (JASRAC) have released a report estimating the damage caused by the peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing program Winny to the Japanese entertainment industry.

A test was conducted on October 10th, where Winny activities were closely monitored during a 6-hour time period. According to the report, there are currently over 210,000 Winny users illegally pirating anime, manga, games, softwares and music, causing over 9.5 billion yen worth of damage to the Japanese entertainment industry.

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Ogamiya Yokochou Tenmatsuki by Fukusuke Miyamoto will be adapted into an TV drama series. The first episode will premier on December 2nd. Haimiya Yokochou Tenmatsuki is currently serialized in Ichijinsha's Comic Zero-Sum.

The News Observer has an article on DC's newly announced Minx imprint, which is aimed at young adult female readers. The New York Times also ran an article on the topic not long ago.

Manga top 10 according to Tohan.

1. Fullmetal Alchemist vol.15
2. Real vol.6
3. xxxHOLiC vol.10
4. Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle vol.17
5. Black Lagoon vol.6
6. Oh My Goddess! vol.34
7. Hajime no Ippo vol.78
8. Kindaichi Case Files - Gokumonjuku Satsujin Jiken part 1+2
9. Bokura ga Ita vol.11
10. Beck vol.28

From PW Comics Weekly comes an interview with BL manga artist Tina Anderson, who gives her view on the BL genre and why she likes it.