Authors/Illustrators: Becky Cloonan, Brendan Fletcher, and Karl Kerschl
Publisher: DC Comics
Format: Comic Bindup (Digital Copy)
Length: 160 Pages
Source: Hoopla Digital/Public Library
Goodreads Summary: Welcome to Gotham Academy, the most prestigious school in Gotham City. Only the best and brightest students may enter its halls, study in its classrooms, explore its secret passages, summon its terrifying spirits...
Okay, so Gotham Academy isn't like other schools. But Olive Silverlock isn't like other students. After a mysterious incident over summer break, she's back at school with a bad case of amnesia, an even worse attitude...and an unexplained fear of bats.
Olive's supposed to show new student Maps Mizoguchi the ropes. Problem: Maps is the kid sister of Kyle, Olive's ex. Then there's the ghost haunting the campus...and the secret society conducting bizarre rituals.
Can Olive and Maps ace the biggest challenge of their lives? Or are they about to get schooled?
Collects Gotham Academy #1-6
First off, let's talk the story! Gotham Academy is the story of Olive Silverlock, daughter of a notorious Gotham supervillain and her time at Gotham Academy. While at Gotham Academy, Olive and her friends begin to investigate a ghostly mystery, and discover that there may or may not be darker forces at work.
I loved the story. It was dark, yet age appropriate for a teenager. The plot was intricate enough and the ending left readers with enough hints as to what was going on, but also left readers with even more questions. I thought it was all very well done.
Okay, so the characters. I adored the characters. Olive and her friends are each given such distinctive personalities. This made it really easy to connect with all of them. The relationships were all really developed and significantly complex too. I really liked how Olive grew through her relationships with others. At the beginning of the story, Olive begins as a loner, but by the end she's developed this ragtag group of lovable friends. I particularly loved Pomeline Fritch and how sour she was! #PersonalFave
The only aspect of the writing I disliked was how many info dumps there were at the end and how they just didn't really even fit in with the story. Yes, they were necessary, but the dialogue's transition into the info dumps was pretty clunky. But that's something that I hope to see fixed as the writers grow with the story and flesh it out a bit.
And I also have to say--that art! The art is beautifully detailed and colored and feels really young, hip, and fresh. The style seemed to verge a little bit on the side of manga, but I thought it worked really well! The color palette chosen was appropriately dark, yet managed not to get too grim. I just really loved it!
All in all I'm so totally in love with Gotham Academy. I think it's a great place to start if you're new to comics like me and a great introduction to DC Comics! 10 out of 10, would recommend (and would do so glowingly)!
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