In a completely unsurprising turn of events, DC Comics has finally abandoned the Comics Code Authority, and replaced it with a set of their very own ratings system, as DC’s The Source reported Thursday afternoon. This comes at a very strange time, as most publishers left the Comics Code Authority behind several years ago, and since pretty much no one else enforces the code, let alone pays any attention to it at all.

DC Comics has used this code since its inception, but instead of sticking with it, the publisher has finally decided to move into the direction of it’s peers. DC has opted for a ratings system much like the ESRB for video games, or the current rating for television programs.

Sad news for anyone who buys their graphic fiction at Borders Book Stores.

Diamond Distributors, the company that supplies comic books, graphic novels, manga, and the like to most shops across the country, has elected not to ship any new (or back catalog) merchandise to the chain of book stores due to late payments.

The decline in print media demand has caused most brick and mortar book retailers to see their sales slump, but Borders has been hit especially hard due to an absence of a digital business strategy.

The elimination of a graphic fiction section isn’t going to help matters much either.

Director Darren Aronofsky (The Fountain, Pi, Black Swan) revealed that he’s working on a Batman comic book project based on a script intended for film, according to a recent interview he did for Clothes To Film.

Aronofsky said the Batman comic hasn’t been officially announced — possibly indicating that he’s yet to approach DC Comics editorial office — and that the story is being adapted from a script that’s “difficult to make”.

Since Christopher Nolan is hard at work on the third installment of his own Batman trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises, it’s more-or-less safe to say that Aronofsky’s script is nothing more than a pet project at this point — meaning a comic book would make sense.