One door closes as Batman the Brave and the Bold comes to an end and another opens in Beware the Batman. I had heard that Brave and the Bold would be ending just as yet another Batman series was ramped up, but today an official word came from Sam Register (Executive Vice President, Creative Affairs, at Warner Bros).

Via SuperHeroHype:

The next Batman animated series, debuting in 2013, is titled Beware the Batman. According to Register, the CGI animated series will spotlight a classic-looking Batman teaming up with a gun-toting Alfred Pennyworth and a female ninja sidekick. Beware the Batman is executive-produced by Glen Murakami, and will explore the mythology's more obscure villains, such as Professor Pyg, but also won't shy away from featuring some of the more well-known Batman foes. In the series, Batman will team up with a younger female sidekick named Katana. During the keynote, Register added that Katana will fill the sidekick role, but won't be a replacement for Robin.

Before Beware the Batman hits Cartoon Network in 2013, the ambitious DC Nation will have already been a year old. The entertainment block will be anchored around core episodic programming like the Young Justice, Green Lantern: The Animated Series and Beware the Batman, but DC Nation is also slated to become a one-stop shop for fans of the overall DC universe.

For starters, the network plans to air a multitude of different animated shorts from the likes of Aardman Animations featuring Batman in the company's trademark style, while another set of shorts will highlight DC characters like Wonder Girl, Batgirl and Supergirl in Super Best Friends Forever. Finally, for the die-hards, Plastic Man will get some much-needed face time, while Doom Patrol will be featured in a series of action-oriented shorts.

DC Nation will also bring the world of comics to the fans through a series of live-action news shorts that will range from interviews with top DC brass like Jim Lee, to brief stories on every-day folks who have a unique passion for comics and the DCU.

The ambitious project should help to introduce DC's vast array of characters to a whole new audience, and help pave the way for more feature films or television series like the upcoming Deadman and The Spectre series Warner Bros. has planned.

I'm not sold on the CGi animation style, but this is only a promo image. I am, however, very keen to see DC spread their animated wings with more cartoon projects. They have shown since the Emmy Award-winning Batman Animated Series that they excel in the medium.

More as it comes...