DC

Superman casting rumors were heating up this week and now it's final: English actor Henry Cavill will play the Man of Steel in the Zack Snyder reboot. Cavill, 28, is not a big name here -- he's currently starring inThe Tudors -- but he was previously considered for both Batman and James Bond, so obviously studios have had their eye on him for a while. According to Deadline:

There is a new DC event speeding towards us -- this one spearheaded by Geoff Johns and based around the supersonic Flash. Several teasers have been released on the DCU Source blog, all hinting that this will be some kind of alternate reality thing -- but today a few more details were released -- and the cost is discussed, as much as $170 for the whole event.

With the Comics Code all but buried, what ever happened to the CMAA's priceless archives of historical documents?

Over on the various DC blogs, Jim Lee and Dan DiDio have announced that DC is pulling out of the Comics Code in favor of a multi-layer ratings system:

After months of speculation, we now know that Christopher Nolan isn't giving up the Batman franchise without going into the sexy feminine side of the myth: Anne Hathaway will play Catwoman in THE DARK KNIGHT RISES -- and yes, that sounds pretty dirty. And the previously announced Tom Hardy will play back-breaker Bane, an escaped criminal who gets super strength after getting jacked on drugs. (Bane was responsible for breaking Batman's spine in a '90s comics storyline.)

Little is known of the new Vertigo book by the Eisner-winning 100 BULLETS team of Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso, but as this editorial...

§ In the never-ending discourse over gender and comics, one of those classic anecdotes -- this one told by a man:

The Vertigo blog has some news and art this am, a new blurb for AARON & AHMED, the GN by Jay Cantor and James Romberger. Also news of MARZI by Marzena Sowa and Sylvain Savoia, sort of a Polish PERSEPOLIS about a young girl growing up in '80s Poland. Interestingly, this is NOT an original GN but a translation of the original, which was published in France, a bit of a change for the imprint. (That's the Spanish version above.)

The "Return of Bruce Wayne" and "Brightest Day" brands continued to be the driving force behind DC's periodical output in October. While most of the Batman books were on hiatus, a bunch of one-shots, collectively titled Bruce Wayne: The Road Home, filled the gap. Other October releases include the low-profile miniseries Knight and Squire and JLA/The 99. Consequently, average sales of the DC Universe line remained relatively flat.

If you wanted any more proof that the home of DC Comics is now beautiful downtown Burbank, look no further than this blurb that popped up on my Facebook page:

A lot of changes have been announced over the last month at DC. Here's what we know or can guess.

With Smallville wrapping up, the WB is firing up the oven to cook up another DC-themed TV show. Now in development, rather surprisingly, Raven, the demon-spawned empath created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez for the Teen Titans. Diego Gutierrez (V) is developing the concept for the CW. Raven previously appeared on TV as a Goth-type character on the Teen Titans cartoon.