Lots of announcements coming out of the DC Comics panels today.  Take the jump for word on Batman and more! UPDATED WITH PHOTOS AND MORE ANIMATION INFORMATION

The Source has released a sneak peek of next week’s Red Robin #2, and it finds Tim getting even deeper into his new role.  Of all the new Batman titles and revamps, Red Robin is my second favorite series.

Diamond Comic Distributors has released its breakdown of comics sold in December 2008.  As the year ended, Marvel once again rode the gravy train to success capturing almost 50% of the unit share, while DC limped in with a 31% showing. With the low showing from the other publishers, it is a wonder they’ll survive with Diamonds new minimum order declaration. The top seller of the month was the closing chapter of the Secret invasion, while the opening chapter to Dark Reign took third place.  DC wedged between the two with Final Crisis #5, and had a pretty decent showing

Apparently Batman is dead, but you’d never know it if you’ve been reading Detective Comics for the last year or so.  The plausible exit created by Paul Dini at the end of last issue, leads naturally to the events Denny O’Neil uses in Detective Comics #851.  Batman dead?  Unlikely, so why mourn the loss here?  Instead, O’Neil uses the time to tell a good Detective story.

The Joker goes to jail, and nothing will ever be the same…AGAIN! In what appears to be tale inspired by or related to the Dark Knight movie, the latest issue of Batman Confidential shows what happened the first time Batman captured the Clown Prince of Crime and tossed him in the slammer.

DC held its Batman panel on Friday, and once again Major Spoilers is here to boil everything down to the most important bits.

News spilled around the Interwebs on Friday when it was rumored Dan DiDio may have been given his walking paper from the company.  Turns out it was actually DC Comics’ senior vice president of business development John Nee that left the company. In a time when sales are slumping (how could Final Crisis #1 not outsell Secret Invasion #2), fans are upset in the direction the company is going with its heroes (certain Batman and Crisis titles come to mind), and some general fanboy hate towards the company, it’s no wonder people are calling for Dan DiDio’s head. Nikke Finke

I really get the distinct impression that Paul Dini has a collection of favorite Batman characters; Zatanna, Batman, and the Riddler, as this issue features another appearance by the criminal turned good guy trying to out smart one of the most brilliant minds in the DCU.