Red Robin

Today is Bisexual Awareness Day, the finale of Bisexual Awareness Week. As a bisexual comics fan, I'm always on the lookout for bi characters. It's exciting how many are official now, like Catwoman, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, and probably some characters who aren't female Bat-villains as well. We could certainly use more, though, and there are a lot of established characters who have already been hinted to be bisexual, or who very plausibly could be. So here's a list of characters who would we'd like to see come out as bi, to their benefit, our benefit, and the benefit of the companies that publish them.

James Tynion IV, Eddy Barrows and Alvaro Martinez's Detective Comics has been one of the absolute stand-out comics from the DC Rebirth initiative, melding X-Men style team dynamics with fan-favorite Batman characters and providing the highest of stakes for the heroes on Batwoman's team. Heading into this week's Detective Comics #940, things didn't look too good for Tim "Two Weeks From Retirement" Drake as he faced down a horde of killer drones, but the conclusion of "Rise of the Batmen" and the revelation of Tim's fate are more shocking than anyone could have predicted.

With Detective Comics #934, James Tynion IV, Eddy Barrows, Eber Ferreira, Adriano Lucas and Marilyn Patrizio ushered the Batman Family into DC's brand-new Rebirth era --- but it's not exactly a version of the Batman Family that we've ever seen before. Instead, with a new villain in town targeting Batman's sidekicks, partners, and associates, the Dark Knight put together a new team led by Batwoman to train them to survive a conflict that has already left Azrael critically injured. But with a new team that includes classic sidekicks, new versions of old favorites, and at least one supervillain, it raises the question of just how these characters were put together. So with the second issue of his new run just over the horizon, ComicsAlliance spoke to Tynion about his choices for the new roster, his goal of redefining the relationship between Batman and Batwoman, and who his all-time favorite character is.

Since the dawn of the Silver Age, legacy characters have been a staple of superhero fiction, and having a new character step into a well loved role can open up new opportunities for writers and artists to tell different kinds of stories. In The Replacements, we’ll look back at the notable and not-so-notable heroes and villains to assume some of the most iconic mantles in the superhero genre. The first truth of Batman is that he was never alone, he always had help and he's almost always had a Robin by his side. Bruce Wayne has always needed the lightness of Robin to balance the darkness of Batman, and despite some tragedy along the way, the title of Boy (and Girl) Wonder is one of the most enduring legacies in the DC Universe.

With the New 52's arrival a few years ago, Tim Drake moved out of the Batcave and shed his Robin uniform for a new home and new duds. Taking up the Red Robin persona, Drake has focused primarily on being the leader of the Teen Titans, though he still finds the time to aid Batman when the call is made. No matter how far from home the bird flies, he'll always be a part of the Bat-family, and his inclusion in Kotobukiya's growing Batman ArtFX+ statue line was a no-brainer. Coming in at 7" tall, the piece (sculpted by Naoya Muto) captures Tim Drake in his cocky glory. So far the other characters in the series have all been relatively serious, with the exception of Damian Wayne who's always looking to stir up trouble. Red Robin's pose is a bit intimidating, but for reasons beyond a grim stature. Instead, you know just by looking at him that Tim Drake knows all your secrets, and will wipe the floor with you before you can even twitch.

Although cosplay has been present for decades within the comics, anime, and sci-fi/fantasy fandoms, social media has played an integral role in the thriving communities of costuming that exist, such as Cosplay.com and the Superhero Costuming Forum. Over the years, the cosplay community has evolved into a creative outlet for many fans to establish and showcase some impressive feats of homemade disguise, craftsmanship, and sartorial superheroics at conventions. In honor of the caped crusaders of the convention scene, ComicsAlliance has created Best Cosplay Ever (This Week), an ongoing collection of some of the most impeccable, creative, and clever costumes that we’ve discovered and assembled into a super-showcase of pure fan-devoted talent. The comics, sci-fi, gaming and fantasy communities’ talents for homemade disguises, craftsmanship, and sartorial superheroics are definitely on display this weekend at Boston Comic Con, and we were there to check out the show as well as capture some of the stellar cosplay on display. Photos by Betty Felon & Lauren Moran.

It's easy to get lost in the sea of companies offering statues, figures and other collectibles at San Diego Comic-Con, but it's awful hard to miss Kotobukiya's bright green banners wherever it sets up. With a display full of statues, the company's SDCC 2015 showings introduced new items a range of sizes and from a variety of licenses.

Although cosplay has been present for decades within the comics, anime, and sci-fi/fantasy fandoms, social media has played an integral role in the thriving communities of costuming that exist, such as Cosplay.com and the Superhero Costuming Forum. Over the years, the cosplay community has evolved into a creative outlet for many fans to establish and showcase some impressive feats of homemade disguise, craftsmanship, and sartorial superheroics at conventions. In honor of the caped crusaders of the convention scene, ComicsAlliance has created Best Cosplay Ever (This Week), an ongoing collection of some of the most impeccable, creative, and clever costumes that we’ve discovered and assembled into a super-showcase of pure fan-devoted talent.

DC's big Convergence event seems set to bring back a lot of familiar faces, with solicitations teasing new stories featuring characters ranging from Ryan Choi through to the married Clark Kent and Lois Lane. But more than anyone else, it's the return of a certain blonde Batgirl that really got people talking. After recently showing up in Batman: Eternal under her guise as Spoiler, this April sees the return of Stephanie Brown as Batgirl, for a two-part story from the creative team of Alisa Kwitney, Rick Leonardi, and Mark Pennington. Trapped under one of Brainiac's domes as part of Convergence, the two-parter sees Stephanie, Cassandra Cain and Tim Drake join forces to protect Gotham from -- what else? -- a giant rampaging gorilla. Gorilla Grodd, no less. And Catman's there too! With so much going on in just two issues, we spoke to Kwitney about what we can expect from Stephanie Brown's return this April.

DC Comics may be concluding its New 52 Teen Titans series next month, but the characters live on through DC Collectibles, which will be releasing action figure versions of Wonder Girl, Superboy, Kid Flash and the newly revealed Red Robin. What's more, they've also let loose Arsenal from Red Hood and the Outlaw's wildly unique action feature -- the action figure can spin its ballcap backwards to fu