The Good
I think I've pinpointed what makes GOTHAM ACADEMY such cool book. It's this mixture of a Harry Potter setting with a group much like The Goonies, set in the DC Universe, and more importantly, in the world of Batman, with droplets of Batman: The Animated Series sprinkled throughout the book. Writers Becky Cloonan and Brenden Fletcher, along with artist Karl Kerschl and colorists Msassyk and Serge Lapointe, take the readers on a classic adventure that's reminiscent of every 80s adventure film I loved as a child.
The big moment in this issue is that Olive finds out about Tristan and the fact he has the Langstrom Virus. This little tweak is something that makes this book great. GOTHAM ACADEMY stands out on its own, in its own little pocket, but the reader gets little pieces of Gotham lore, like the Man-Bat virus, to pull the readers back in. On top of that, we also find out what happened to Olive that night at the North Hall. It's this cool, mildly romantic moment we don't see too much in comics anymore, and scenes like this speak to a whole new demographic of readers, which the industry needs.
The ending of this issue may be one of the greatest of the week and nothing really gigantic happens. Sure, there's this final page reveal where a character we all know and love pops in, but what I really loved was the couple pages prior to that where Olive, Maps, and crew bring Killer Croc some food and they share this real moment with each other. It's the first time, in a long while, where we see Croc as a person with real feelings and not just some rampaging monster.The reader can really sympathize with a character like this.
The art is simply wonderful on GOTHAM ACADEMY. Kerschl, Msassy, and Lapoint compliment the writing of this book and vice versa, delivering something that is not only fun but has an element of mysteriousness to it. Kerschl's page set-ups continue to be unique and fresh on every page giving the reader different ways to look at a specific scene. The layouts become just as important and interesting as the art itself. And I just love Kerschl's take on Croc, which really is just the first version of Croc from Batman: TAS, but regardless, it's such a cool looking version of the character.
The Bad
About halfway through the issue, the pace slows down and the book gets a tad dull. It doesn't last very long, roughly a page and a half, but it can take the reader out of the book for a moment.
The Verdict
GOTHAM ACADEMY is a series that won me over right away, lost me for an issue, but then grabbed me right back in. It's easily one of the most interesting books DC currently puts out and breaks the mold from what DC is traditionally done in the best way possible. It's a much more light-hearted and fun book with dark and mysterious undertones to it and this issue really highlights the ideas of adventure and camaraderie. This is quickly becoming one of my favorite on-going series and I highly recommend checking this book out.
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