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."

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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  >>

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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. 

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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. 

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