The young prince Damian Wayne was raised to be the heir to the fearsome League of Assassins — to follow in the footsteps of his deadly mother, Talia, and the Demon's Head himself, his grandfather Ra's al Ghul.

But everything changed when his father, the Batman (Bruce Wayne), reclaimed him and brought him back to Gotham City.

The young prince Damian Wayne was raised to be the heir to the fearsome League of Assassins--to follow in the footsteps of his deadly mother, Talia, and the Demon's Head himself, his grandfather Ra's al Ghul. But everything changed when his father, the Batman, reclaimed him and brought him back to Gotham City.

As Robin, young Damian suddenly discovered he was merely one of a number of princes, preceded in the role by his brothers Richard Grayson (Nightwing), Jason Todd (Red Hood), and  Timothy Drake (Red Robin)... and Damian doesn't care to be merely anything.

But when his father is forced to leave the city on urgent business, and a rash of abductions is accompanied by whispers of a demon stalking Gotham's dark alleys, Damian will find himself battling alongside his adoptive brothers--and in the process, learning what the mantle of Robin really means!

​Visionary writer/artist Juni Ba makes his mark on the timeless story of Batman and Robin, synthesizing the characters' complex history into an accessible and heartrending fairy tale! Ba's lyrical text and highly stylized artwork may not be what a lot of DC Comics fans are used to, but trust me, it a wonderful diversion. 

If you're not familiar with Juni Ba's work, you can learn more about this award-winning writer and artist on his website or see his books below.  

RELATED FEATURES: Damian Wayne Collection  |  Batman Collection  |  Nightwing Collection  |  Tim Drake Collection  | Nightwing, Batman and Adoption Problems 

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

​Beast Boy Loves Raven is the third installment in the reimagined and compelling Teen Titans series by Kami Garcia. While the first two books were, for lack of a better term, origin stories, #3 begins the formation of the Teen Titans team.

Raven and Beast Boy have stumbled upon each other in Nashville, Tennessee. Both have been lured there by a need to solve some persistent mysteries about their personal histories and burgeoning powers — and an ominous mercenary named Slade claims to have the answers they seek. 

Much of the book deals with the burgeoning relationship between Raven and Gar as they tour Nashville and anxiously wait for Slade to show. Over several days, their relationship slowly takes on a romantic component. This is not an easy development for either character. Raven was burned in Raven by a handsome basketball player named Tommy who turned out to be one of Slade's agents assigned to gather intelligence on her. Gar, on the other hand, is sweet but horribly awkward.  Plus, he doesn't want Raven to know he can unintentionally transform into a wild animal under certain circumstances. 

Two other characters of the future Titans team get play time in this edition. The first is Max, Raven's foster sister, who was introduced in book #1, and who has secretly followed her to Tennessee. The second is Damian Wayne, the fourth Robin and biological son of Bruce Wayne, a.k.a. Batman. Damian has also been enticed to Tennessee by Slade, but thanks to his natural paranoia he doesn't fall so easily for the man's line of attractive patter...

When Raven and Gar are abducted when they head off to meet Slade, Damian's suspicions are confirmed.  He and Max track the pair to a hidden laboratory in the woods where they are being tortured by a scientist named Adeline Kane. Kane is trying to provoke them to use their powers — and she apparently has designs on other young people with super powers.
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This sets up the next phase of the series... where we will undoubtedly begin to see these characters getting control of their powers and new team members being introduced.

​Teen Titans: Beast Boy Loves Raven is my favorite book in the series so far. Not just because Raven and Gar are awesome characters, but because we're beginning to see the team dynamic that Teen Titans' fans so know and love. I'm also looking forward the the next book, Robin. I'm a huge Damian Wayne fan and he promises to provide some chaos to the mix!

RELATED: Comics Collections | Teen Titans Fans Collection

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