Did you read the first few lines of the review? Buy this. Show DC that experimenting with fresher, younger content and tones is profitable if not more profitable than what they've been doing tonal-wise. That's the only way to get the company to listen to change and grow. Girls matter. Teenagers matter. 40 year old white guys reading the same junk over and over again; don't matter. Read Full Review

Welcome to the freshest take on Gotham this side of the New 52. GOTHAM ACADEMY enriches the city we know so well, stretching the scope wider than the heroes and villains we're used to, and inviting us along for an interesting tale that shares as many notes with Harry Potter as it does with classic Bat lore. The creative team has knocked this one out of the park -- it's recognizably Gotham (Bruce Wayne cameo and all), but it's brimming with heart and absolutely distinct from any other title with bats on the cover. Read Full Review

I like this book, and unlike most stuff that's come out of DC in the past five years, I'd be willing to give this one to my daughter to read. This was the company that allegedly had a high ranking editor tell Paul Pope that DC only made comics for 40 year olds. This is not aimed at that market. The only despair I have is that someday Becky Cloonan and Karl Kerschl will leave it and the next creators won't be able to sustain the magic that makes this issue so good. Read Full Review

Gotham Academy will please new readers, young fans, and anyone who loves Batman and the city he lives in. I, personally, would love to go to Gotham Academy. Read Full Review

This book is just flat out amazing. From start to finish Gotham Academy #1 is a great and refreshing read from DC Comics' Batman line. It sets up an interesting mystery while providing a fun and light-hearted change of pace from the rest of DC's publications. Read Full Review

Becky Cloonan (Batman, Conan the Barbarian) and Brenden Fletcher (Batgirl, Assassin's Creed) deserve top marks for this issue. Karl Kerschl (The Abominable Charles Christopher) absolutely murdered this book. His artwork for this issue can only be described as masterful, bringing the characters and the school itself to life. Bottom line, you should be reading this. Read Full Review

Dark, yet fun, Gotham Academy is a fun intro to a side of Gotham City that we may not usually get to see. It also includes young girls on adventures, which is also a plus. Read Full Review

Give Gotham Academy a look. Or not, if the premise isn't your thing. It's still a rewarding read Read Full Review

There is something really, truly, genuinely exciting about Gotham Academy and I cannot wait to read more. Read Full Review

I know it may sound like I'm gushing about this book, but I already love it.  The characters, setting and art are so magical that anyone that reads will surely join me.  I wonder where it fits in the grand scheme of the New 52, but for now I'm having too much fun to care. It's a pleasant surprise to me, but this book has jumped to the top of my pull list. Read Full Review

From their very first panel together, Maps and Olive's happy-go-lucky younger sister/wounded older sister dynamic evokes Princess Anna's “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?” opposite Elsa, or Ramona Quimby with Beatrice. There are so few comics (or shows, or movies) that get this relationship right. Runaways did it excellently with Molly Hayes and Karolina Dean. Cloonan and Fletcher's superb writing of these two young women, paired with Kerschl and Geyser's gorgeous art that would make Miyazaki envious, promises this series will be one of the most enjoyable in the market for any reader, young or old. Read Full Review

“Gotham Academy” #1 might be the single most enjoyable comic I've read in 2014. It's an absolutely gorgeous and unique adventure, and an adventure that can and should be enjoyed by everyone. It doesn't matter who you are – a first time reader, a long time reader, a man, a woman, young, old, whatever – Becky Cloonan, Brenden Fletcher and Karl Kerschl's “Gotham Academy” #1 probably has something for you to love in its pages. Read Full Review

So far the kid-angst hasn't been too overwhelming – just a taste of it here and there in Olive's lovingly-rendered moping – and I very much like that this comic has adventure and mystery and melodrama, and is doing it without the ridiculously overused device of going DARK. (And VIOLENT.) The idea that comics can actually be funis one that I cling to with all my heart, and while there's certainly a place in comics for the darker, more adult-oriented stories, there's now actually an in-continuity, Gotham-set, teen-friendly DC comic book that I can recommend to the young-lady set at the comic shop I work at (and there's soon to be a second, with Batgirl #35 releasing later this month), whereas before there were none. And the best part about it? I feel like my formerly cherished and adored DC Comics could actually be showing its face again – and that as a company, they just might have started to give a shit about me as a reader. Read Full Review

As I said, Karl Kerschl is the artist here, with Geyser on the colours with Dave McCaig, Steve Wands on the letters, and the cover by Karl as well. Just to get this out of the way, but I loved the artwork here. Karl seems to be the perfect artist for this title, and he definitely has the whole high-school thing down to perfection. Whether we talk body language or background details or anything else, the art is both vivid and detailed. and it is most definitely not the house style, but something more relaxed, smoother even. Geyser and Dave's colours then bring in much of the horror vibe and the subtle gradations of colours panel-to-panel and the fact that almost all the action here takes place in the night, it is all damn good. Read Full Review

The end result is a standout issue, in truth one of the best that I have read from DC in a long time. It stepped way outside of the formulaic box with this one and it would seem only by purposefully going back that it could misstep. It is likely going to be a shame, because when more ambitious books from the big two lose the money game they get canceled, so fans of something new should get behind this while they have the chance. Read Full Review

A shining new piece to Gotham's already rich mythology, the issue almost lives up to all the hype that's preceded it. Read Full Review

Have you found yourself missing Harry Potter? Becky Cloonan, Brendan Fletcher, and Karl Kerschel seem to think you do, and fans of the boy wizard are likely to find a good deal to enjoy about the set up for the first issue of Gotham Academy. Read Full Review

This comic book was fantastic. I really enjoyed the premise and the execution. Gotham Academy is in session and i know i don't want to be late for class.I recommend this comic book and you should go pick this up right now before it sells out. Read Full Review

Perhaps the best way to describe the debut issue of Gotham Academy is that it's a pilot. It doesn't manage to avoid familiar tropes entirely, indeed it relies on them at times as a kind of cultural shorthand. Awkward cafeteria encounters, crazy old headmasters and even cameos from local famous billionaires all tick the right boxes, but it's hard not to get caught up in the sheer enthusiasm of the issue. Kudos where it's due should go to DC for trying to do something new with the Batman family of books, an impressive feat after 75 years and literally thousands of issues about Gotham City. If this is a mark of where the 'new' New 52 is going, then the Bat-Signal is shining a little brighter this week. Read Full Review

Olive makes her way to her room, to hear her roommate screaming and hiding under the bed. She says she saw a ghost outside their window. Olive looks, only to see the Batsignal instead. (There are two posters up on the wall, here, one listing “Karlo” as one of the actors… Thought that was neat.) Olive comforts her, as we see a crack in the wall with a green eye peering at them. Read Full Review

If you're interested in a fresh narrative that both acknowledges and subverts the tropes of academia in literature, plus is really adorably drawn and has a pretty cool female protagonist, I definitely recommend starting this book. Read Full Review

I'll admit that when I saw the first cover to the series, I wasn't sold. Karl Kerschl has impressed me in the past with his work on Wednesday Comics and Teen Titans: Year One, but I was a little turned off. And then I opened the book. His distinct style sells this entire book, immediately pulling you into the world that Cloonan and Fletcher craft. He makes it feel one part Hogwarts, two parts Wayne Manor. This balance plays off of the character designs, which are fresh and preppy. a perfect aesthetic that is key to understanding this book. Where I was scared away by the cover, I can flip through the book and immediately fall in love with his work. Read Full Review

The biggest problem with Gotham Academy moving forward is the nearly explosive decompression. The barest hint of a longer story only pops up on the very last page. This is a series that DEMANDS a long, unbroken run. A single arc won't cut it. But you know what? I washookedin just a single issue, and would love to see the adventures of Olive and Maps continue for years to come. Consider me sold. Read Full Review

It doesn't knock it out of the park at the start, which you may want it to in order to have a good book with two teenage female characters, but what it does succeed in doing is making you engage with them, their situation and where it can go from there. It's a solid if curious start that's full of potential. Read Full Review

As far as first issues go, Gotham Academy is certainly one of the more intriguing ones. We dont have many plot details yet, but Cloonan and Fletcher are keeping us hooked with a fun protagonist. For the foreseeable future, this comic is going to stay on the pull list. Read Full Review

We barely scratch the surface of the endless potential that this book has. And that's why it was so hard to score and critique this book. It's situations like Gotham Academy, where I wish the debut could be a trade or mini collection consisting of roughly four issues. I believe it would sell more people on adding the title to their rotation, because they would have a stronger knowledge of what they're really getting into. At the moment, and despite how much I want to, I don't feel confident in saying, "Pull this book It's amazing!!" because I don't really know if it is worthwhile or holistically accurate. What I will confidently say, is that at the end of the issue, I wanted more. Gotham Academy offers up some goodness, covered in loads and loads of potential. And it's that potential " after reading the issue a few times " that resulted in me landing on my final score. Read Full Review

Overall, Gotham Academy stands apart from previous Bat books both in tone and execution. Becky Cloonan and Brenden Fletcher are off to a fine start, though not all of their characters yet feel fully formed. Karl Kerschl proves a great fit for the book's exuberant tone, his stylized visuals sure to garner many return readers. Read Full Review

There's a lot of potential here, and I hope it finds its audience, but I have to admit, this isn't a series aimed at a geezer like me. But if it brings more female readers into the business, I'm all for it. Read Full Review

Gotham Academy #1 is a pretty solid start to this new series. While it's setup for the most part and not a book for everyone, it's a very engaging and enjoyable read overall. Combined with good writing and beautiful looking artwork, I'd say Becky Cloonan and Brenden Fletcher are on to something with this book. Definitely keep an eye on it since I see plenty of potential with the title going forward. Read Full Review

I’m waiting to see where the story develops a little more before I’m completely sold on it, it’s only natural for a first issue of this nature to raise more questions than actually begin to answer anything, but so far the entire creative team has sold me on the art (most definitely), and the concept and all I can say is that I’m very excited to see where it goes and how much this first arc will choose to explore. Read Full Review

"Gotham Academy" #1 is a treasure of a first issue, but to become a treasure of a series, it will need to give its characters some more complexity going forward. It may not be a great expansion of teen dramas, but it's shaping up to be a great expansion of the Batverse. Read Full Review

I'm disappointed in myself for not paying more attention to Gotham Academy when it was first announced. I think the fact that it got revealed alongside the groan-worthy Arkham Manor turned me off to the whole idea. But I am definitely eating crow now! This book is delightful, and exactly the sort of thing I look for in comics these days. Read Full Review

This book looks superior, but reads like last year's model. Having a book set outside the normal crime fighting happenings of Gotham is a terrific idea, but the story has really got to improve if this is to survive. Read Full Review

Gotham Academy is a step in the right direction for DC and for superhero comics in general but the creative team, specifically the writers, are going to have to give us more if they want us to keep coming back. So far, we've gotten a somewhat derivative story set-up with little in the way of direction or characterization coupled with mostly gorgeous artwork. It's not a terrible base to start from and the general comics buying public seems to agree. But a notoriously fickle audience could turn pretty quickly if the creators aren't able to deliver. Read Full Review

At the end of the day Gotham Academy feels like a comic created by committee, a Frankenstein-job of various bits and pieces of popular other works forced together into something that is definitively less than the sum of its parts. It also reminds me a little of Destiny because despite the corporate push behind it and the very nice artwork and design work that went into Gotham Academy it's essentially soulless, none of the characters really have any identity beyond the most cursory roles of new girl, mean girl, man meat, and protagonist and the whole thing ends up with a hollow center where its beating heart should be. Not recommended. Read Full Review

This is what every comic aimed at young adults and teens should aim at, really. While it is modern and relevant to the youth of today, it doesn't over-use technology and social media as a means to tell its story - it barely them at all in fact. I'm absolutely in love with the art, with the Hogwarts-esque school, with Maps, with the overwhelming presence/absence of Batman... As usual with titles from the Bat-family, the tone has to be dark and grim, which hasn't prevented the writer from bringing humour and emotion into the mix. Fantastic read, highly recommended.

I was a bit uncertain as to how this book was going to play out, since this is a new take on Gotham, and the Bat mythos as a whole. But I'm glad to say I was surprised. Gotham Academy, so far at least, seems like a lot of fun, and reminds me in a lot of ways of Harry Potter. I'm glad DC is taking a risk by not publishing another superhero book, and instead going with teen drama. So buy this book, and give it a few issues. Now, the writing is really good, but I still think we need more time to get to know these characters. This is the first issue, so we're in the establishing phase, but I'm wanting to know more about these students, which is a good sign for the future of this book. The art by Karl Kerschl is really superb. I love the designs of these characters, and the overall style of the world he's building. The Gothic design (apropos, for obvious reasons) of the school reminds me of the old cathedrals. This has the potential to be a really fun book that reaches a younger audience to start reading comics. If for no other reason, go buy this book. I recommend it, since the beginning plot threads seem interesting enough for me to get the next issue in November. Let's show DC that books like this will sell. more

This is how DC is going to make amends for the New 52. A group of new, fresh series have been announced and I have no problem to say that "Gotham Academy" #1 is an experiment gone right. Its artistic style is heavily digital, making it almost look like an online comic, but the attention given to it is a lot. What really makes the title worth it is the fast paced writing: a lot happens here, and at the end of the issue you feel home. It's still to be understood how this series will involve the Batman (or get involved by him), but the premise is strong. The threat is original for a superhero-ish book. I don't love the teen drama style, but it's bearable.

There is a lot to like here. It is a well written and well drawn book. I love the facial expressions. The protagonist is a teenage girl and is supposed to be drawn that way, unlike some other heroines out there. I am not sure if I should enjoy this book since it is a teen drama and it's been a long time since I was a teen. Should that matter? I don't care. I love Gotham lore. Highly recommended!

I found the first issue a bit too slow, yet there's a LOT of potential, so I'm staying with this for a while.

Really fun art with a lot of potential for the story, but not enough happens to make this issue awesome, just enough to keep me a little intrigued.

Am I missing something here? Because this is not the perfect book many have made it out to be.