Sad news in the world of television and novels. Stephen J. Cannell, one of Hollywood’s legendary writers has passed away. The list of shows he worked on and created is legendary. Comic fans might know him best from The Greatest American Hero. He mentored a number of famous writer-producers, much like Roy Huggins had mentored him. When he got tired of television, he reinvented himself as a novelist – the ones I’ve read are quite fun – and actor (he had a somewhat recurring role on Castle). Jaime Weinman has a nice appreciation of one of my favorite writers.

The Flintstones: Now that they’ve turned 50 years old – yikes! – the classic Hanna-Barbera cartoon show has attracted a lot of media attention this week. Jerry Beck at Cartoon Brew noticed the coverage…particularly how stupid the Christian Science Monitor was about it.

Appy: It’s not too late to check in with the Appy Entertainment blog and see what I and two friends have to say about the digital age of comics.

Comic Book Books: Tom Spurgeon’s regular feature at The Comics Reporter, Five For Friday, recently had readers submitting their five favorite books about comics. If you’re looking for a great list of dozens of books about comic books, comic strips, manga, etc. this would be a great place to start.

Spider-Man: Andrew Garfield is the new Peter Parker, and Perez Hilton has photos from his recent spread in Interview Magazine.

Jon Haward: If I had a comic book company, here’s an artist I’d be looking at.

Steve Ditko: A great appreciation of one of the revered masters of comic art, courtesy of Mykal Banta and The Charlton Story blog (a site worthy of bookmarking).

Glee: Tom Richmond, the MAD cartoonist, did a bunch of Glee-based work for the new MAD TV show. Nice!

Jan Strnad: My pal, the comic book writer, frequent Richard Corben collaborator and creator of Dalgoda has just had his horror novel Risen selected as the October 2010 Book Club selection at MobileRead, and just in time for Halloween. Coincidence?

iPhone: Looking for the perfect way to carry around your state-of-the-art smartphone? Look no further than your own Batman-themed utility belt. Chicks dig it.

Comic Books: I love all of these painted covers that John Kricfalusi posted.

Shel Silverstein: Sarah Weinman, who doesn’t blog nearly as much as I want her do, has uncovered some lost history on the classic cartoonist, writer, and Playboy mainstay.

Fantastic Four: Writer James Reasoner reads Fantastic Four: First Family by Joe Casey and Chris Weston. “Joe Casey’s script does a good job of capturing the characters, and some of the scenes, such as Ben Grimm’s first visit back to his old Yancy Street neighborhood after he’s turned into The Thing, work very well.”

Art: Aww, some organization in England that’s in charge of cutting things from the budget now decides they need a little help. The Bloghorn notes the irony of it all.

Talking Animals: Over at the Daily Cartoonist, someone was looking for a list of movie and TV projects with talking animals. The regular commenters were happy to provide and the list is fascinating, from Francis The Talking Mule to Tennessee Tuxedo and dozens more.

And, finally, did you know that comic books can be worth a lot of money? Walletpop is finding out the amazing details for us.

That’s it for now. Enjoy your internets responsibly.

[Artwork: William Katt as the Greatest American Hero]