So long DC Comics!

DC Comics is no more...now it's DC Entertaiment!

LOS ANGELES — Warner Brothers Entertainment said Wednesday that it was revamping its DC Comics franchise into a new company, DC Entertainment, that will try to more aggressively exploit its comic-book characters — including Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman — across film, television and other media.

The move, which Warner Brothers executives said has been in the works for months, comes quickly on the heels of the Walt Disney Company’s recent surprise deal to acquire Marvel Entertainment, the biggest rival of DC Comics. Disney said last week that it would pay $4 billion in cash and stock to buy Marvel, whose characters include Spider-Man, Iron Man and the Fantastic Four.

Diane Nelson, who among other duties has overseen the Harry Potter franchise at Warner since 1999, was appointed president of DC Entertainment, reporting to Jeff Robinov, president of the Warner Brothers Picture Group. Paul Levitz, who has served as president and publisher of DC Comics since 2002, will become a contributing editor and consultant to DC Entertainment.

Ms. Nelson’s new duties will extend beyond trying to create more blockbuster films featuring the DC Comics characters, company officials said, to exploiting more of its characters in other formats — opportunities that Warner executives clearly believed were being missed.

“It’s no secret that DC has myriad rich and untapped possibilities from its deep library of iconic and lesser-known characters,” Alan Horn, president and chief operating office of Warner Brothers Entertainment, said in a statement.

Warner had intended to announce details about its plans for DC Comics in January, as it begins a 75th anniversary celebration of the DC brand, Barry Meyer, chairman and chief executive of Warner, said in an interview.

But the Disney announcement resulted in so many questions about the possibly heightened competition “that it would have been disingenuous for us to suggest that we had not been thinking about it.” He added that the Marvel-Disney announcement “reconfirmed in us our strong belief in how valuable DC really is.”

While Warner had a major hit in 2008 with “The Dark Knight,” part of the Batman franchise, the 2006 film “Superman Returns” did not live up to expectations, and many of its other most recognizable characters have long been absent from the big screen.

The next major theatrical release based on a DC Comics character, “Jonah Hex,” is scheduled for June 2010. The company also plans to release “The Green Lantern” in 2011.

Superman and other characters have been much more active in animated direct-to-DVD releases from Warner Premiere, the division overseen by Ms. Nelson since its founding in 2006.

In addition, “Smallville,” a television series broadcast on the CW network that chronicles Superman’s teenage years, is one of the longest-running series produced by Warner Brothers Television.

Yup! I can't wait for that Superman/Batman/Bugs Bunny/Porky crossover!