DC Comics’ long rumored and surprising announcement this afternoon has sent the Internet and Comics fans into a frenzied state of excitement. With so much information out there, it’s hard to get a feel for what exactly will and won’t be changing. After the break, we’ve got an analysis of the changes DC just made and a round up of some of the already announced and rumored new #1 titles that will debut this September.

This is it folks, the biggest comic book news since Disney bought Marvel.

Today via The Source Blog DC Comics announced it is relaunching their entire line of Superhero titles and will be the first of the “Big Two” (DC and Marvel) to publish same day releases of their digital and print comics. These changes will spin out of DC’s summer event Flashpoint ending on August 31st with only two issues being released on that date: Flashpoint #5 and the newly announced Justice League #1 by Geoff Johns and Jim Lee. After August 31st expect an onslaught of new books as DC will continue to release fifty-two new issue #1s. As far as what this means to our rebooted characters and timelines DC Comics’ Dan DiDio was quoted as saying that the reboot would give them “…a chance to start, not at the beginning, but at a point where our characters are younger and the stories are being told for today’s audience.” In an industry often stagnant and stuck in its ways I for one salute DC for making a bold and daring move forward but only time will tell if this gamble will pay off.

Read the full press release and sound off in the comments after the break.

This morning Warner Bros. Pictures issued a press release confirming the casting of Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle/Catwoman and Tom Hardy as the classic Batman villain Bane (who famously broke Batman’s back in the nineties). After months of endless speculation we now have something tangible to discuss. I wouldn’t claim to be a fan of Anne Hathaway or a fan of the character of Bane but I also doubted Heath Ledger as the Joker when the casting for The Dark Knight was announced so I’m willing to trust Christopher Nolan and wait and see. What about you? Does this new casting give you cause for rejoicing or rebuke? Sound off in the comments and check out the full press release after the break.

On Wednesday, Christopher Nolan announced that on July 20, 2012 The Dark Knight Rises will fly into theaters. If you love the universe that Nolan has created for the Caped Crusader, you’ve probably been wondering which villain will taunt Christian Bale. While we don’t have any specific details, we can speculate on who might appear. Hit the jump for some of my thoughts on what we might see in the third installment of this Batman franchise.

DC Exclusive artist David Finch has been a part of some substantial work since he left Marvel for DC, including doing covers for Action Comics and Brightest Day.  However, today is a huge day for Mr. Finch, as DC’s The Source blog announced this morning that he’ll be the writer AND artist for a brand new Batman book starting this fall. In November, Finch will launch ‘Batman: The Dark Knight‘, a brand new on-going series. Before that, Finch will team with Grant Morrison for a special one-shot in October titled, ‘Batman: The Return’.  Here’s what Finch had to say about this exciting news:

The Dark Knight takes Batman outside what he knows, into a world of demonology, dark arts, and mystery. He’s the ultimate detective, faster, stronger and smarter than any villian, but now he faces creatures to whom logic and mortality don’t apply.

I want Dark Knight to be true to Batman’s street level, crime fighter roots. He’ll face a rogues gallery that we’re all familiar with, but this book will take him on a darker path where he’ll be stretched to his physical and psychological limits

David Finch now joins Tony Daniel as the second Batman related artist to not only draw, but write an on-going Batman series.  I like Finch’s art, but we’ll have to see how he does on writing duties. This is certainly an interesting move on DC’s part, and it will be interesting to see if the trend expands outside the Batman universe. Hit the jump for the first sketch from the book!