If you're like me, you spend your work week looking forward to those weekend game and movie nights. Not only are they an opportunity to catch up with friends and family, but you can immerse yourself in different worlds, play out impossible adventures, and build great memories.

But if you and your group(s) are still sustaining yourselves on bags of Doritos and six-packs of Mountain Dew, it may be time to step up your game and actually make creative cooking and baking part of the experience.

For years now, my game and movie partners and I have made our culinary choices part of the overall experience. Toward that end, I've compiled some genre-specific collections of cookbooks below to help you explore new dishes to treat your palette. 

Here are some other related suggestions to enhance your pre-activity meals:

• Coordinate the food to reflect the theme of the night's movie, game or book.
• Take turns choosing the entrée and have your partners coordinate their sides and desserts accordingly.
• Skip an entrée altogether and make one night all about appetizers.
• Create a taco, baked potato or burger bar!
• Cook the food together before any other activities even begin.
• Break out of your comfort zone by trying something really unusual... like cooking authentic medieval dishes before you watch Lord of the Rings.
• Don't forget the drinks! Libations — both alcoholic and non-alcoholic — can add another creative element. Many of the books shown below include drink recipes.
• Add creative table settings, centerpieces or music!

Watch my social media channels for additional tips like these! 

RELATED: Hogwart's Holiday

OTHER REVIEWS IN THIS SERIES: Raven | Beast Boy | Beast Boy Loves Raven | Robin | Starfire

Beast Boy is the second installment in Kami Garcia's interlocking origin stories of the Teen Titans. If you're not a Titans aficionado, Beast Boy (a.k.a. Garfield "Gar" Logan) is one of the original Titan members. Gar contracted a rare illness called Sakutia as a child. His scientist parents cured him using an experimental serum extracted from a rare green monkey. The serum both saved Gar's life and gave him the ability to change into any animal form and create strong psychic bonds with animals of all kinds.

As the book opens, these facts are unknown to Gar. All he knows, as a semi-insecure teenage boy, is that his parents are making him take an amino acid supplement every day which he's convinced has kept him from growing taller or bulking up. (In reality, the supplement is suppressing his superpowers.) Despite a ravenous appetite and lots of working out, poor Gar can't put on any weight and his small size makes him feel unseen among his peers and invisible to the popular girl he adores. 

In desperation, Gar decides to stop taking the supplement... and weird things begin to happen. Not only does he begin growing physically, but his confidence and impulsiveness balloon out of proportion. When he rashly decides to accept a local restaurant's challenge to eat a Carolina Reaper chili pepper, the pepper strangely has no serious effect on him — similar to a tree shew who can eat the peppers freely. Later, he shows almost catlike reflexes during dodgeball. Finally, he decides to pull an Instagram stunt by breaking into a laboratory and photographing himself with a local sport team's mascot — a massive ball python. In the process, the snake seems to form an attachment to Gar who feels compelled to free it and the laboratory's other captive animals. 

With a little experimentation, Gar discovers that not only can he communicate with animals as he did with the python and the other lab animals — he can transform into them. His parents have hidden this from him all his life, but now that the, uh, cat's out of the bag, Gar wants answers. 

Yet the answers (or the promise of them) don't come from Gar's parents, but rather a mysterious stranger called Slade Wilson. (Wilson was also a player in Raven and his true purpose remains unknown but seems nefarious.)

As with Raven, author Kami Garcia and illustrator Gabriel Piccolo do an amazing job of capturing teenage angst — even when it arises from the discovery of superpowers. Gar is a delightful underdog (no pun intended), whose false bravado turns out not to be so false after all. By the end of the book, Gar departs his home to meet Slade Wilson in Nashville... and something tells me Raven will be nearby. 

RELATED: Comics Collections | Teen Titans Fans Collection

OTHER REVIEWS IN THIS SERIES: Raven | Beast Boy | Beast Boy Loves Raven | Robin | Starfire

With Teen Titans: Starfire now available, I thought I'd take a look at the entire series written by Kami Garcia and illustrated by Gabriel Picolo.  We'll start with book one, Teen Titans: Raven. 

As some background, the series is new look at DC's Teen Titans, a group of young superheroes, most of whom began their careers as the sidekicks of Justice League members. The comic book series premiered in 1964 and was led by Dick Grayson (Robin), Wally West (Kid Flash) and Garth (Aqualad). The group was formed partly because the Titans were frustrated about operating in the shadow of their older and more famous mentors. 

Garcia's take is one that provides a decidedly modern young adult aesthetic to the story. The synopsis reads:

When a tragic accident takes the life of seventeen-year-old Raven Roth's foster mom — and Raven's memory — she moves to New Orleans to recover and finish her senior year in high school.

Starting over isn't easy. Raven remembers everyday stuff like how to solve math equations and make pass, but she can't remember her favorite song or who she was before the accident. And when impossible things start happening, Raven begins to think it might even be better not to know who she was before.

But as she grows closer to her new friends, her foster sister, Max, and Tommy Torres, a guy who accepts her for who she is now, Raven has to decide if she's ready to face what's buried in her past... and the darkness building inside her. 

Having the story take place in New Orleans is a great choice, as the city's literally built on supernatural lore and Raven appears to have some latent supernatural powers. She has disturbing dreams about being overwhelmed by a large, raven-shaped shadow and menaced by a multi-eyed demon whose voice frequently invades her thoughts. Even more disconcerting, sometimes her thoughts, especially when she's angry or vengeful, appear to come true. On several occasions, she's unintentionally humiliated the school's resident "mean girl." Since she has no memory of her past, she has no context for these experiences... and they scare her. 

​Fortunately, her new foster mom and sister, Natalia and Max,  have some helpful abilities.  They have the  power to summon and manipulate spirits and Natalia uses these abilities to understand Raven's mysterious past,  Meanwhile, Max trains her on how to create a psychic shield so she's not constantly bombarded by the thoughts and feelings of others. This ability makes her reluctant to connect to others — even handsome Tommy Torres — who seems unusually interested in her. 

Garcia is great at infusing humor and authentic characters into her drama. The expressive artwork by Picolo, with a limited color palette emphasizing Raven's black-and-purple brand, is perfect. (The books get visually brighter in future editions, but the colors always reflect the mood and primary characters.)

All in all, Raven is a great first installment and reboot to the Teen Titans lore, setting the stage for a much longer and more complex story arc.

RELATED: Comics Collections | Teen Titans Fans Collection

As the year winds down, so does the comic book series I looked forward to the most in 2024 — Death in the Family: Robin Lives! The October edition concluded the four-part limited run.

The series is based on 1988's Batman: Death in the Family, in which fans made a seminal choice to kill off Jason Todd’s Robin. Robin Lives! is a reimagining of that storyline where we find out what would have happened if fans had voted to let Jason live. (See my previous entries on this series here  and here.)

​In Issue #3, Jason was transformed (thanks to some illicit pharmaceuticals) into The Joker's sidekick, Jokey, The Boy Lackey. As #4 opens, The Joker insists that Jokey beat a former psychiatrist to death. But Jason hesitates... he still has a moral compass, after all . He's subsequently discarded by The Joker — another humiliation on top of another humiliation. 

Pursuing the supervillain, Jason discovers that The Joker plans to poison Gotham with the same toxin he used on him. In order to stop the mass killing, Jason puts a bullet through the supervillain's skull. In doing so, he performs the one act Batman never could — ending The Joker for good.

​Bruce is initially appalled by the murder, but later he and Dick Grayson decide to cover it up. They decide that The Joker's death did indeed serve a greater good and would allow Jason to finally escape his tormentor. We see that this works. Jason goes onto college, earning advanced degrees in sociology, psychology and psychiatry. 

The narrator (Dr. Dev) tells us: "We were so proud of [Jason]. He'd faced so much, come so far — and we knew, beyond a doubt, that Jason Todd had a good, a valuable, life ahead of him. That like Bruce and Dick... he'd leave a positive imprint on this world."

​That's good new, right? Unfortunately, the story doesn't end there.

​In an M. Night Shyamalan-type twist, we witness Jason putting on clown makeup and changing his clothes... only to reveal himself as The Joker reborn.  As with most M. Night Shyamalan-type twists, this one was both ineffectual and irritating. It was also completely unneeded.  

Jason's story has already addressed — and continues to address —  his suffering at the hands of The Joker. If the idea behind Robin Lives! was to give Jason a different, less tragic ending, then maybe it was okay to let him recover and thrive?

​RELATED FEATURES: Jason Todd / Red Hood Fans  |  Batman Collection  |  Nightwing Collection  |  Jason Todd's Empty Grave

Vampires and sex have always gone hand in hand. From Bram Stoker to the modern day horror authors, vampirism is as much about seduction as it is about manipulation, fear and death. After all, the vampire can hunt by using many techniques — and getting their human prey to willingly fall into their arms appears to be one of the most enjoyable.

And where better to seduce and feed than on the sun-drenched Greek Isles?

Nick Landry is searching for his ex on the unspoiled island of Avraxos. Anthony was the love of his life, and without knowing why he left, Nick can't move on. But Anthony isn't the only one to disappear on Avraxos. Coast guard officer Alekos Kourkoulos is on the trail of another young man who disappeared there. Both men had fallen in with the glamorous set onboard a jet-black superyacht moored offshore before vanishing. As the mystery deepens, Nick and Alekos discover that the brighter the sunshine, the darker the shadows...

Acclaimed writer John Harris Dunning (Tumult. Wiper, Salem Brownstone) and talented artist Ricardo Cabral (Wiper) team up again to bring you this darkly seductive horror, described as "The Talented Mr. Ripley meets Dracula."

PREORDER FOR APRIL 2025 SHIP DATE >>

RELATED:  Pride on the Big Screen  |  Northranger: The Horror of Being Gay in Rural Texas |  Sins of the Black Flamingo: Occult Noir Meets Miami Sleeze

DC fans love the Bat Family — and especially the Robins! In 2021, DC Comics held its first Round Robin Competition, a contest that allowed fans to vote on what proposed titles would be brought to publication.  Robins: Being Robin was the clear winner.

In this six part series, which is now compiled into one graphic novel, the five heroes to have donned the Robin cape and mask find themselves at a crossroads in their lives. Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown, and Damian Wayne come together to discuss the big thing that binds them together: Was being Robin, and Batman's sidekick, the best choice they could've made?

But before they can get to the heart of the matter, they're ambushed by an unknown assailant with a bone to pick with them. She claims to have been the first Robin, and she's out to prove Batman should've never trained any of them.

Not wanting to turn to Batman for help, the five former wonders start to investigate on their own by digging deep into their pasts. But what is their assailant's connection to the Robin name, and why are they coming after the ex-sidekicks?

PURCHASE  >>

RELATED: Batman Collection  |  Nightwing, Batman and Adoption Problems  |  Jason Todd's Empty Grave

DC Comics has kicked off the Halloween season by opening up its vault (or is it a crypt?) and reissuing Batman #237, which was originally printed in December 1971.  Over half a century later, it's always fun to look back at Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson during their long-hair-and-bell-bottoms era.

This issue opens with Dick and some friends (one of whom appears to be stoned throughout) taking a break from their college studies to attend the Halloween Parade in Rutland, Vermont. The parade is a real event held in this small town every year since 1960. The festivities include a float featuring  citizens dressed as both Marvel and DC superheroes — a tongue-in-cheek gag that is repeated throughout the story as Halloween may be the only time of the year when you can dress in tights and capes and look normal.

However, Dick and company don't get to enjoy the parade for long when they stumble upon a group of men savagely beating Robin, The Teen Wonder. It's not really Robin of course, just a bewildered man in a store bought costume who can't understand why strangers would choose to attack him. 

Concerned, Dick changes into his Robin garb and takes off after the assailants, only to find another town resident (dressed as Batman) impaled to a tree with a large wooden stake. There's an obvious pattern here, but before Dick can investigate further he's attacked by scythe-wielding Grim Reaper. Batman rescues his injured partner and takes him to the home of Tom Fagan. (Fagan, who passed away in 2008, was a comic book enthusiast who was instrumental in developing the Rutland Halloween Parade.) At Fagan's house, Dick's injuries are treated by Dr. Benjamin Gruener, a Jewish German survivor of the Nazi holocaust.

Batman informs Dick that he's come to Rutland in search of an escaped Nazi war criminal named Colonel Kurt Schloss, whom Dr. Gruener has been tracking for years. Batman is convinced that Nazis are responsible for the attacks against both the Batman and Robin lookalikes, and are somehow using Fagan's costume party to locate a cache of gold stolen by Schloss. 

But the question remains — who or what is the Grim Reaper?

​I won't ruin the fun by giving away the ending. Suffice to say that this throwback is a lot of fun, if only to giggle at the ridiculous dialogue...

Dick's friend: "Why'd those cats jump you, fella?"

Dick: "You guys go ahead to the party! I'll search for our zonky pal!"

Dr. Gruener (with German accent): "Zur clerk in zur shop tells me he rented him pirate suit!"

...and a plot that starts out like a Scooby-Doo mystery but ends up being pretty grim. 

The reissue also includes an earlier story from 1940 entitled "Down Memory Lane with Batman" which is not Halloween themed. This edition is currently available in local comic book stores. 

RELATED: Batman Collection  |  Nightwing Collection

SYNOPSIS: Nightwing is back — and his drive to keep Blüdhaven safe has never been stronger! But his adoptive city has elected a new mayor with the last name Zucco. When Nightwing enlists Batgirl's help in investigating the politician bearing the same name as the man who murdered his parents, she unearths details that will shock and fundamentally change the hero.

​Dick Grayson's big heart has protected those persecuted by bullies in his youth, combated evil alongside Batman as Robin, and pledged his newly inherited wealth to enriching Blüdhaven as Nightwing. His kindness and generosity have always guided his life. But now a new villain stalks the back alleys, removing the hearts of the city's most vulnerable. Who is this terrifying new menace named Heartless, and will he be able to resist plucking out the biggest heart in all of Blüdhaven?

This volume collects Nightwing #78-83, which ran from March to August 2021. Written by Tom Taylor and drawn by Bruno Redondo, this run garnered many accolades, including Eisner Awards for Best Continuing Series and Best Cover Artist (Redondo), and an Eisner nomination for Best Penciller/Inker (also Redondo). Since it's safe to say you have to judge a comic book as much by its artwork as its story, Redondo has distinguished himself as probably one of the best artists to give life to Dick Grayson. Combining a stark graphic style with great emotional expression, his NIghtwing covers are downright iconic (see below). I can also say he's the first modern artist I can think of who made the use of old timey dot patterns seem cool as fuck. You can see some additional examples of Redondo's work in my post Nightwing Uncovered is a Must-See. 

Stories about Dick Grayson are at their best when they tie together his tragic past (his parents killed in front of him), and how he chose to channel his rage and pain in entirely different ways than his adoptive father, Bruce Wayne, whose parents were killed in a very similar way. In this storyline, Dick is forced to confront some old ghosts when Blüdhaven's new mayor, Melinda Zucco, turns out to have a lot more connections to Dick's parents than her last name.  While Dick has often considered his biological parents to be less flawed than Bruce, certain revelations reveal them as being very imperfect human beings. 

While Dick is figuring out his past and current relationships, he's also determined to become Blüdhaven's savior — by taking down a mobster called Blockbuster and using the vast fortune left to him by Alfred Pennyworth on a variety of public works to help the city's poor and disenfranchised.  Alfred's legacy and how Dick chose to use it also sets up a direct comparison to Bruce Wayne. While Bruce shied away from public displays of altruism, Dick is front and center with it. But his generosity also puts a target on his back from a serial killer called Heartless — whose calling card is to rip the beating hearts out of the chests of his victims. 

​Tom Taylor's story provides plenty of humor and more quiet character-driven moments — those moments that make these heroes more relatable and have ultimately made the "Bat Family" so popular. There are also some nice team-ups between Dick, his adoptive brother Tim Drake (a.k.a. the third Robin), and his girlfriend Barbara Gordon, (a.k.a. Batgirl). The story also introduces us to DC's most famous dog since Krypto, The Super Dog, in the form of a three-legged orphan puppy Nightwing saves from a group of cruel college boys. He and Barbara adopt the puppy, whom Tim names "Bitewing" — but whom Dick insists is named "Haley" in honor of the circus he grew up in. See more about "Bitewing" in Bitedentity Crisis is the One-Shot You Didn't Know You Needed. 

RELATED: Nightwing Uncovered is a Must-See  |  Nightwing Collection  |  Nightwing, Batman and Adoption Problems  |  Batman Collection

Join THE MIDNIGHT, one of the world’s top synthwave bands, comprised of Tyler Lyle and Tim McEwan, on an electrifying and original sci-fi adventure inspired by the poetic storytelling and the neon-soaked aesthetics of their music.

​Jason has spent his life running from his problems, but now he and his childhood sweetheart are on the precipice of parenthood, and he’s struggling with the loss of his adolescence. Then he re-discovers his favorite old video game, THE MIDNIGHT, a nostalgic 1980s fantasy adventure about a helmeted hero who travels to a cyberpunk world to save the people from eternal darkness. Seeking to repair his broken game, Jason ends up at a mysterious arcade in an abandoned 1980s mall, where he plays the old arcade game of The Midnight and suddenly he’s transported to… 

…a post-apocalyptic Neverland in the year 2085. A world of perpetual night where time stands still. A final bastion of humanity in a glistening futuristic city. And a shocking reveal – they know him as the hero who once vanquished the shadow monsters, and they believe he’s returned to his true reality to do it again. More surprising, his wife is here, but only with a memory of Jason as this world’s hero. As this lost boy tries to embrace his new hero powers, with the help of his true love and her cyberpunk warriors, he must face the responsibility of protecting an entire world from danger and discover which world he truly belongs to.

For The Midnight fans and newcomers, created by rising comics writer, Zack Kaplan (Break Out, Mindset), artist Stephen Thompson (Star Trek: Year Five-Book 1, Star Trek: Year Five-Book 2), artist Jahnoy Lindsay (Superboy: Man of Tomorrow) and The Midnight, follow your dreams to a visually stunning cyberpunk metropolis, find love in the darkness, defeat shadow monsters and explore what happens when we hide in our fantasies. Are we escaping life’s monsters or simply escaping ourselves? The answers lie in the Midnight Graphic Novel.

ORDER NOW FOR AN OCTOBER 1, 2024, SHIP DATE >>
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RELATED: Comics Collections  |  Science Fiction YA

The next to last issue of Death in the Family: Robin Lives, has Bruce Wayne standing on the edge of a moral precipice. In the previous edition of this creative reimagining of the Jason Todd story — had he not been killed off by the Joker in 1988 (see Jason Todd's Empty Grave) — Bruce is still reeling from Dick Grayson (the original Robin and later Nightwing) having admitted that he sometimes wishes he'd never been inducted into Batman's world. Like Bruce, Dick saw his parents die violently in front of him. Was becoming a vigilante the best way of dealing with that? (See Nightwing, Batman and Adoption Problems for more about this question.)

When questioned about it, even Alfred Pennyworth admits that he's frequently had qualms about what they did to the two boys.

"There were days I was sure it was [the right thing to do]," says Alfred. "When I saw those young men growing into their full potential, but I must admit — there were nights I thought you were a reckless fool — and I was just as reckless for going along with you..."

Were they helping the boys by giving them a way to face tragedy through strength? Or was Bruce trying to re-create the family he lost — by making it a family of vigilantes?

The question becomes even more troubling when Batman is faces off against Mother Grimm, a psychopath so desperate to nurture children that she kidnaps and brainwashes them into loving her. When Bruce rescues Mother Grimm's current brood from her mind control devices, he's startled to find that they love her anyway — and he realizes that children can bond even with the adults who abuse them.

Bruce wonders... is he one of those adults?