If you havent caught up on Gotham Academy, issue #8 (like #7s single issue story) is a perfect place to start while youre waiting for that trade of #1-6 to arrive. This is a book made for all ages, certainly women and men, and most importantly, for anyone who loves a good mystery. Dont let this one pass you by. Read Full Review

GOTHAM ACADEMY #8 is another very strong installment in what's quickly becoming my favorite series to read each month. The story is a multi-layered character piece in its own right and lays the groundwork for numerous mysteries that should play out in the coming months. Read Full Review

With enjoyable writing for all ages and breathtaking art, Gotham Academy is an instant favorite for any reader. Cloonan and Fletcher tackle real-life issues like grief, jealousy, and fear about one's identity in ways that kids can understand. The writers use Kyle to show the many pressures teens face, as athletes, students, friends, and more than friends. The end of this issue teases there is more to Olive's mom's death than meets the eye, and we're eager for the next chapter. Read Full Review

Gotham Academy is an excellent gateway comic for young readers in your life. Becky Cloonan and Brendan Fletcher have managed the perfect mix of Victorian gothic and teen boarding school dramedy, perfectly reflected in Karl Kerschl's art. Read Full Review

All together this book is presenting another mystery that I can't wait to see unfold. What is the secret behind Olive's family? Who is the creature that attacked Tristan? And whats up with all the firestarting. I don't know but I am looking forward to next month to find out more. Read Full Review

While the tone of the series has changed a little bit with this issue, as well as the focus, it still maintains its same high standards that it has proven so far. The sub-plot with Tristan is distracting in a way, but then the idea here was not to bring back the series' protagonist with a flash but rather with a slow burn. It is an effective way to pave the way for what will be Olive's future, but as a good story should do, it is taking its time and not rushing in, and this issue is better for it. Read Full Review

Though I certainly had no issue with the guest artist the last time around, there's something reassuring about having Kerschl back to tell this next round of stories. There's a wonderful moodiness that comes from this issue with the weather and tone set by the story and it plays out beautifully as Kyle's getting more frantic about protecting his friend and warning her of danger while she's closing herself off more and more. With some very good supporting character moments, a little more time with Langstrom in the lab and Tristan potentially being something far more than expected, it's building a pretty solid story here. The visual presentation really is the big seller for me, but it's working with the right kind of story and characters for it to be told with. Read Full Review

My feelings on how I wish the story was going aside, Cloonan, Fletcher and Kerschl continue to create one of the most unique and interesting books at DC. Read Full Review

Keep supporting this book! It's just getting warmed up. Gotham Academy is fantastic overall and now that the plot is really taking hold it's a lot more enjoyable. I like the characters and want to see where this story leads for them. What is the mystery behind the Silverlock family and their fire (powers?)? Is Olive's mom really dead? We'll have to see! Read Full Review

"Gotham Academy" #8 is a strong issue in a typically strong series; Cloonan, Fletcher and Kerschl should be proud of what they've created here. There's a lot going on here, and it's the kind of comic that deserves a huge audience. This book is so much fun, I want to read it for years to come. You will want to as well as soon as you pick up an issue, too. Check it out. Read Full Review

A nice break from the overarching plot, the creative team shine the spotlight on a character I never gave much of a second thought and spin a fine yarn out of it. That, while also delicately handling subjects like the loss of a parent, grief, and guilt, plants the seeds for some intriguing plots to come in one of the best surprises of the past year. Read Full Review

Overall, Gotham Academy #8is a solid start to the latest storyarc. While there are a lot of reveals and story development throughout,the real pull is at the end and the story that can evolve out of that. Shifting the focus to Kylebrings a unique perspective to the book, and allowing readersto get to know the character more. It will be interesting to see if he will remain a main character or will the gang of Olive, Maps, Colton, and Pomeline take the spotlight to themselves again. This is something that might not be a bad thing either as there is already an emotional connection and truest between the characters and are people that Olive will share the mystery with while keeping Kyle at arms distance still. Read Full Review

The high quality of writing and art is alive and well in Gotham Academy, it's just the focus that suffers. Read Full Review

Finally getting back to the main story we open to a tragic event that has occurred to one of our characters, but this issue does not focus on moping. No, we begin to discover more mysteries, not in the school, but in its' students. Read Full Review

The two lead characters feel quite one-note when they are away from each other; their interplay is key to the dynamics of the book and when it is absent, as it is here, the 'magic' of the characters tends to disappear.

If this develops into the love triangle I'm sensing, we'll have a bland, 2D female protagonist who initially had feelings for tall, dark and handsome, but then drama strikes as a dashing werewolf...sorry, werebat enters the picture. Remind you of anything? This series started off so promisingly, but Kyle continues to lack personality, as does Olive, who's starting to feel like a fan-fictionesque self-insertion job, which takes some doing for someone who starts fires with her mind. If not for Maps, this series would be seriously tough going.