Berkeley Place

Joss Whedon has agreed to write and direct “Avengers 2.” That should be news enough for the week.

But there’s more.

He’s also developing the Marvel TV show that I mentioned in last week’s news.

Now that really should be enough. But there’s still more.

Hit the break.

MISS THING. Not a joke. Not a hoax. Not a chance I’ll miss issue #1.

WOLVERINE 2. It seems like everyone except me hated 2009′s X-Men Origins: Wolverine. I loved it (except for the Deadpool parts). Also, it made $373 million, so I guess there are at least a couple other folks like me out there. Anyway, the sequel has had a rough road, but it’s finally being filmed. And Logan himself (Hugh Jackman) is assuring folks that it won’t be related to the 2009 film. In case you’ve been under a rock, it’s based on the classic Chris Claremont/Frank Miller 4-issue miniseries that told of Wolverine’s adventures getting laid in Japan and really changed the character from “the guy on the team who always messes with Cyclops” into “the guy who can star in three solo books and be on five teams simultaneously.”

MAN OF STEEL. I saw the preview before “Dark Knight Rises,” and I’m optimistic. (I’m also optimistic because this Superman movie will be produced by Christopher Nolan.) And I enjoyed Watchmen. But I hated 300. So, director Zack Snyder has about a 50/50 shot at making this work. It’d be nice to have a good Superman movie that isn’t 30 years old.

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY MOVIE…Has a screenwriter: Chris McCoy. He’s sold scripts before, but never got one made. I have to say, I’m kind of annoyed that they’re giving so much credit to the “Abnett/Lanning” writing team, saying that it is “their version” of the Guardians that will be filmed (Drax, Groot, Rocket Raccoon, etc.). Jim Starlin, who created most of these characters, deserves significant recognition, and Keith Giffen, who helmed the entire cosmic relaunch, deserves the lion’s share of it. DnA came along after Giffen had put all the pieces together and set it up for them.

THE HULK TV SHOW. It looks like mad genius Guillermo del Toro’s small screen production is still moving forward.

SHANNA VOL. 3? Frank Cho has indicated that he is working on a third Shanna of the Jungle series for Marvel. He’s a great artist, and his previous Shanna work was great, but the writing and concept? Meh. It’s basically Tarzan as a chick. Ka Zar with boobs. She-Zar. I get that Marvel is expanding its female lineup, but look at the titles: Captain Marvel. Red She Hulk. Now Shanna. It’s all girl versions of guy heroes. Can’t an original gal pull a title, like, say, Dazzler, Psylocke, Janet Van Dyne…

THE TWO BESTSELLING FILMS OF THE YEAR…Are Dark Knight Rises and The Avengers. Also my two favorite films of the year. Which was better? Well, Avengers was more fun to watch (and I’ll definitely see it again), but DKR was a better “film” (but I probably won’t watch it a second time for a while).

ALF: THE MOVIE. There was an Alf comic book once, so this is technically comic book news. Remember that TV show where a giant brown rag with a foam nose and button eyes offered sarcasm and zingers to a nebbishy Tanner family? No, not the same Tanners from Full House, although that kind of cross over would have been great! Sony is developing it for a CGI movie. This is an awful idea. Don’t get me wrong—I think the show was actually pretty smart and funny. But part of the humor was how awful the Alf puppet was. If they make it look better, they’ll lose half the jokes. The good news: Paul Fusco will return to be the voice of Alf.

CREATORS’ RIGHTS ISSUES EVEN AFFECT INDIE PUBLISHERS…Tony Moore, the original artist on The Walking Dead, has filed a Federal case against Robert Kirkman, asserting that he should be considered a “joint author” of the bestselling comic. This is in addition to a State court case, filed in California. Moore claims he was falsely induced to give up his rights to the book, and it’s pretty acrimonious.

JOE CASEY VS. MIKE HUDDLESTON. Even worse on the creator-owned-properties front, the brilliant series Butcher Baker, The Righteous Maker is not only dead with issue #8, but it looks like the two creators might not even be able to get their heads together to do a trade paperback. Joe Casey, who is known for shooting his mouth off, accused Huddleston of dragging his feet on the art chores. Huddleston shot back that nobody was buying Butcher Baker and so he “had to take other work to keep the lights on.” Too bad. This was a great, truly out-of-the-box comic.

ALAN MOORE REFUSED MILLION$? Speaking of ornery creators: Alan Moore recently said in an interview with Leftlion that he turned down “a couple of million dollars” offered by DC to do the Watchmen prequels. Really? That seems highly unlikely. I wonder what the number really was. To be clear: I have no doubt that Alan Moore might turn down a truckload of cash; my doubts are that DC would offer it.

HENCH. Adam Beechen and Manny Bello’s original graphic novel is in development as an NBC primetime drama. It’s about a guy who works as a temporary henchman for super villains.