Johnny Depp Dead? Nope, Actor set to Launch Book Publishing Venture with 'Infinitum Nihil' Imprint [DETAILS]

A morbid celebrity death hoax hit the internet (again!) earlier this month, spreading shady rumors that popular actor Johnny Depp was dead. But fans need not worry, Depp is indeed alive and well - in fact, the man whom many consider "The Sexiest Man Alive" announced that he is set to launch his very own book publishing imprint venture, dubbed Infinitum Nihil. 49-year-old Depp will work alongside the publishing company HarperCollins and promises to deliver books "that might ordinarily never have breached the parapet."

The first two publications to be featured under the Infinitum Nihil name (the same title of Depp's production company) are "The Unraveled Tales of Bob Dylan" and "House of Earth."

"The Unraveled Tales of Bob Dylan" is an intimate study of the influential American singer/songwriter written by Douglas Brinkley. Set to be released sometime in 2015, Brinkley claims that he and Depp thought the book was "the ideal way to inaugurate the Infinitum Nihil series."

"House of Earth" is a 1947 novel written by legendary fold singer Woody Guthrie, which remained unpublished in his personal archives for decades. The book is due out sometime in January, and will feature an introduction essay penned by Depp and Brinkley.

Depp released this statement regarding the publishing venture with HarperCollins:

"I pledge, on behalf of Infinitum Nihil, that we will do our best to deliver publications worthy of peoples' time, of peoples' concern.

For this dream realized, we would like to salute HarperCollins for their faith in us and look forward to a long and fruitful relationship together."

So doesn't look like Depp is dead (as a result of a fatal car crash, a freak drowning on the set of his new film "Lone Ranger," etc.) considering he plans on investing a lot of time in regards to the physical aspects of books. According the publisher of Harper, Jonathan Burnham: "[Depp] believes that in this digital age, physical books should be enhanced as far as possible so that they stand out as valuable and attractive objects. It's very smart and perceptive of him to see that at this moment where the digital aspect of books is becoming more and more important, at the same time certain kinds of readers really value the way books look."

Burnham claims that Depp is mostly interested in publishing biographies of famous figures/artists as well as new fiction by young writers.