Halloween is an exciting time for families. Kids and their parents get to decide what kind of costume they want to wear, to think about all of the candy they’re going to eat, and to enjoy some spooky tales on the TV. Even if a parent doesn’t want to dress up for Halloween, it’s an exciting time to let our kids choose whatever character they want to be. As a parent of two (currently 5 and soon-to-be-7), my wife and I have seen our kids dress up as Pete the Cat, a dinosaur, Miraculous Ladybug, a multi-colored, polka-dotted cat, a skeleton, and several others. As a parent, it’s one of the easiest opportunities to let your kids have some form of independence. Plus, giving kids the freedom to wear them again in the future, even if it’s not Halloween, allows them to extend the fun feelings they have when dressed up in character.

As Halloween approaches, there are a variety of characters that your kids might want to dress as for trick-or-treating – or perhaps avoid completely. As a parent, it’s not always easy to know when is the exact moment to introduce your kids to scary characters or creatures, but dressing up for Halloween might be one of the best ways to make that introduction. Let’s take a look at some classic villains, and intimidating heroes, that your younger kids or teens might be interested in dressing up as.

Doom II sees its 25th anniversary this year, with its original release on September 30, 1994. With the advancements in gaming technology, games look much different than Doom II in its original MS-DOS form. In most recent history, popular games over the past decade have included The Legend of Zelda: Breadth of the Wild, Red Dead Redemption, God of War, and many other franchises. Doom also saw a release in 2016 and is set to release Doom Eternal in November. If you take a look at the trailer for this new video game, you’ll realize how far this game has come since Doom II’s initial look on a computer screen. For any parents unaware, this video is not suitable for children to watch.

Technology is ever-present in today’s world, so it’s difficult to determine the best ways to introduce our kids to play-based devices. It might also be challenging to find things that aren’t connected to the internet which helps to alleviate any concerns about accidentally wandering on sites or making purchases. Today, we’ll take a look at a few devices that my kids have enjoyed this year to highlight some safe low-key options that still provide a ton of fun.

Lifeformed: Volume 2 - Hearts and Minds from Dark Horse Books is exactly what fans of the first volume needed. Writer Matt Mair Lowery and artist Cassie Anderson are back together for the second volume in this sci-fi adventure series, releasing September 4, as they dive deeper into the world surrounding Cleo and her shapeshifting alien friend, who also happens to look like her dad.

The space community has had a productive year, discovering significant data to better understand the great universe outside of our home planet. From that data, there are many opportunities for researchers to develop images or real-life simulations to better understand the magnitude of what’s happening in far-reaching locations, like the International Space Station (ISS), Mars, and the Sun.

Spencer & Locke 2 delivers in such a spectacular way that allows this volume stand on its own, while also further validating the likability of its title characters. The trade paperback for Spencer & Locke 2 is being released this Wednesday, and whether you’re a fan of the first volume or new to the series, this collection is totally worth it.

Stories that present children as wonderful thinkers, trying to find answers to their many questions in life, are a very wonderful thing. As a parent, Bolivar from Archaia (an imprint of BOOM! Studios) is a fantastic tale of a dinosaur living in New York City – and like many things in life, people are too busy to notice. Sean Rubin writes and illustrates this story and gives parents and their children a phenomenal look into those who might be overlooked in life, including the one girl who can see this dinosaur.

Fans of Shards: Volume 1 will be happy to see a second chapter for one of the stories in the first of two anthologies. In Place of Honor: Chapter One explores a world where wolves and ryders are seeking control in an ongoing war, while one wolf, Bennett, is captured and locked in chains in a cell. Not only does this character stay in wolf form for the majority of the first chapter, she ultimately has to watch other wolves being tortured and murdered, quite gruesomely, before escape is offered by an enemy that appreciates honor above horrifying prison tactics.

“Comic-Con International: San Diego began in 1970 when a group of comics, movie, and science fiction fans -- including the late Shel Dorf, Ken Krueger, and Richard Alf -- banded together to put on the first comic book convention in southern California. Comic-Con started as a one-day ‘minicon,’ called San Diego’s Golden State Comic-Minicon, on March 21, 1970 at the U.S. Grant Hotel in downtown San Diego.”  (Comic-Con Int'l)