After working through most of the Teen Titans, author Kami Garcia and artist Gabriel Picolo have finally reached the Tamaranean superhero, Starfire. Their latest collaboration finds Kori struggling to find her place amongst her peers while her sister Kira thrives in the environment. Kori strives for the stars above, but feels trapped in her Summer job and her body, especially after her Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS) diagnosis.

On this week's podcast, we chat with bestselling author Kami Garcia about Teen Titans: Starfire, how she found herself in the character, and why that allowed her to embrace her past and present self. Famously, Garcia began her writing career as a dare from her students, picking up the pen and proving to them (and herself) that she could tell a darn good story. We discuss the details of that dare, how her teaching life factors into her writing life, and why young adult fiction often becomes necessary all-ages fiction.

Teen Titans: Starfire is now available wherever good comics are sold. You should follow Kami Garcia on Instagram, Bluesky, and her website.

However, before we dive into our Teen Titans conversations, we discuss the impending holiday season and the gift-giving stress that comes with it. We believe wholeheartedly that there is a comic for everyone in your life, and the trick is figuring out what that comic is. In an effort to help you and us, we've assembled our annual Comic Book Holiday Gift Guide. We discuss our philosophy around comic book gift-giving and a few of our favorite items from the list.

Other Relevant Links:

• The CBCC TeePublic Page

• The CBCC Comic Book Holiday Gift Guide

Final Round of Plugs (PHEW):

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Continue your conversation with CBCC by hopping over to our website, where we have reviews, essays, and numerous interviews with comic book creators.

Podcast logo by Jesse Lonergan and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou.