Now that the heat is off the New 52, almost everything I have to report this week is about Marvel. But before the fun stuff, a little bit about an article that actually made me cry.

I don’t know how many of you remember Bill Mantlo.

He was one of the most prolific writers during Marvel’s most creative period (1975-1985), and was the creator of Cloak and Dagger, Rocket Raccoon, The Human Fly, and ROM the Spaceknight. He brought The Micronauts to Jim Shooter and insisted that Marvel do a toy-tie-in that ended up outlasting the toy itself by several years (and won many awards as well). He had extensive, influential runs with characters like Alpha Flight, The Hulk, Spider-Man, Iron Man, and Shang Chi, among others. He wrote some of my favorite individual issues of my childhood, including The Avengers #174 (“Captured by the Collector!”); Fantastic Four #217 (“By H.E.R.B.I.E. Betrayed”); Amazing Spider-Man #237 (where he fights Stilt Man); and Marvel Team Up Annual #6 (Spidey with Cloak and Dagger and The New Mutants).

Mantlo gave up comic books—and a lucrative income—to fight for social justice, and then was hit by a car and suffered irreparable brain damage. Since then, he’s been screwed by his insurance company and is basically all alone. You can donate to his care at this website.  I did. It’s the least we comic book fans can do. And if that Cloak & Dagger TV show ever gets picked up, they oughtta take care of him with some of the proceeds.

For happier news, hit the break.

AVENGERS: EARTH’S MIGHTIEST HEROES. Apparently, season two is wrapped but they’re holding it to coincide with the 2012 movie release. Really?! They can’t release it now and just make more episodes? I’ll never understand TV. If you’ve got a hit show, you should just keep grinding it out until people are sick of it. Every time a show goes away for a summer or a break or what have you, it loses audience. Stupid, stupid, stupid. This is why entire industries fail: Because execs are stuck in old patterns based on outdated modes of production. That said, season 2 will feature the Skrull Invasion, Dr. Doom, Ms. Marvel, possibly The Vision, The Guardians of the Galaxy (which should be no surprise, since Marvel Studios are trying to sell them as a movie), the Fantastic Four, Nick Fury and the Secret Warriors, Red Skull … Sounds awesome. Bring it.

MARVEL POINT ONE. A book of “essential” previews for six bucks. And I’ll bet all these stories will also be included in the relevant trades. So don’t feel like you missed anything. On the other hand, we learned:

  • Next year will bring us a blue Phoenix who killed Terrax the Tamer (my favorite Galactus herald! Yes, I liked him more than Silver Surfer!).
  • The new Scarlet Spider book featuring Tom “clone of Peter Parker” Kaine looks stupid.
  • Fred Van Lente will write yet-another-book about twins with opposite powers (fire and ice). And their names are Coldmoon and Dragonfire. And unlike the pretty funny Axe Cop indie comic, this wasn’t written by a six year old. It just seems like it should have been.
  • Ultron is coming back.
  • Age of Apocalypse is coming back, which I could care less about, but the creative team is David Lapham and the wonderful art of de la Torre so I care a little more. No, a lot more. But if you read the Point One story, you’ll probably care a lot less.

Hmm. Marvel doesn’t look all that promising, based on this stuff.

COMMUNITY CANCELLED?!?  NBC should be shot.

SECRET AVENGERS. Overall, the Avengers and New Avengers titles ain’t nearly as good as they used to be, but they’re still usually pretty good team books. Avengers Academy is really good, but it’s pretty much its own breed. Secret Avengers, however, has been a fat, smelly turd. I haven’t read the recent issues penned by Warren Ellis (although I am excited for the trade of them), but prior to that the book was the absolute worst comic ever written by an (otherwise) brilliant writer. Hopefully, that all ends next year when Rick Remender and Gabriel Hardman take over and reform the team. “Avengers assemble” issues used to be common for The Avengers—shake-ups would occur about annually, and they were always some of the most fun issues to read. But under Brian Michael Bendis, the teams have been fairly locked and constant. Remender will bring in an entirely new team, led by Hawkeye and including Venom (who is now a “good guy” under the influence of Flash Thompson), Captain Britain, Valkyrie, Black Widow, Ant-Man, Beast, at least one of the several Marvel Human Torch characters, and Giant-Man. Lately, Hank “Giant Man” Pym has been hosting Avengers Academy, but it looks like he’ll be back on a combat team now. Which is weird because, like, how many times has this original Avenger betrayed the good guys already, and yet they still keep on drinking from that well? It all starts with a “point one” issue (#21.1) in January.

AKA JESSICA JONES. The adaptation of the Alias retcon comic by Brian Michael Bendis titled AKA Jessica Jones is being written by Twilight writer Melissa Rosenberg. My first impression was: Ugh. But she’s also worked on Dexter, so that’s a little comforting. She has said in interviews that the ABC show will stay close to the comic. Of course, the comic features Jessica being turned into a sex slave for the Purple Man. Rosenberg says that’s going to be on the show, but Purple Man probably won’t be purple. I don’t imagine that will end up on screen. There’s also confirmation that Luke Cage will be on the show, and the show refer to the greater Marvel Movieverse—including a possible cameo by Tony Stark.

AND THE MARVEL MOVIEVERSE HITS TOON-TOWN AS WELL. J.K. Simmons will revive his role as J. Jonah Jameson in 2012′s Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon, and Clark Gregg will continue to play Agent Coulson on the show. And Nick Fury will still be black, but he’ll be played by the great Chi McBride.

X-23 CANCELLED. Not that anyone will notice. But I was wondering how she was going to start being a regular on Avengers Academy. I mean, a mutant with claws couldn’t possibly carry more than one book a month, right? My fear is that her book sold better than Avengers Academy….So is another cancellation coming soon?

OTHER MARVEL CANCELLATIONS. The female “Ghost Rider” will bite the dust (to both of its readers, I am sorry for your loss), as well as Iron Man 2.0, All-Winners Squad, and Black Panther’s run in the pages of what used to be Daredevil (question: Will Daredevil get his book back?). They’re also cancelling the tremendously great, vastly underrated PunisherMAX book by Jason Aaron and Steve Dillon. I’m pissed about that one, but Aaron is spinning it as “I intended to end it this way all along.” The slashing of titles is all part of the new merry Marvel mandate to cut all books that sell less than 18k a month, in this troubling time of decreased sales and a bad economy.

AND IN NON-MARVEL NEWS…LEGO (BEGINS). A new Lego movie has been given the go ahead over at Warner Bros, to feature live actors in a Lego world. I don’t know what the storyline will be, but I suggest that it be an introspective film about a family dealing with the pain of incest.

AND FINALLY, I COULDN’T RESIST THIS ONE. Woody Woodpecker got a film deal from Universal Studios. My kids haven’t even heard of the character, and they don’t even show his toons on Boomerang (dang it!). But I loved him—especially the ones where he had a longer head and was (much) more violent. He was a physically abusive wiseass, what was there not to love? The character was the creation of the brilliant team up of Walt Lantz and Mel Blanc.