As the Detective Club returns we can expect the usual fun fare from Gotham Academy, this time around including great art by Adam Archer. This is one of the best all-ages comics on shelves. Read Full Review

A great start to a new arc, Gotham Academy: Second Semester #1 sets up another year's worth of mystery wonderfully. Trying to fit the puzzle pieces of together with the Detective Club would be a fun and engaging enough story on its own, but when you throw in bad apple Amy" things are about to get very interesting, indeed. School is back in session in Gotham City, which feels precious somehow; it's something we knew we wanted but we didn't know how much until it appeared. I suppose that's what Gotham Academy is " it's something that's become very precious to us. A gift. Read Full Review

There are a few pages that the scenes get confused. The dialogue is all over the page which makes it difficult to follow the pattern of the story. It was a bit frustrating. There wasn't a big connection to the prequel released a few weeks ago. This isn't necessarily a bad thing but being a new reader to this series I was hoping for some background conclusions. The plus is this new series starts fresh and you don't have to read and Annual-I would recommend you do anyway. Read Full Review

That aside, can Archerand Hopedraw hands? As I've already raved about the art of course they can. As with some other artists hands aren't used so much in conversation or as a tool of communication, at least that how it felt when the story focused on Olive. She seems to have her hands by her side most of the time. Which is a well-used tool as it communicates her uncertainty and an apparent lack of confidence in herself. As with the rest of the art, very good overall. 8.5/10 for hand drawing skills! Read Full Review

While I'm not ready to go back on subscription mode with this series as I'm still feeling a touch wary, this is a pretty solid start to the second semester. I'm curious to see what kind of role Amy will play, partially because I want her to get smacked down for being so intrusive, and I'm also excited to see the gang all back together and finding new things to explore within the academy and all its lore. There's a lot of fun things that can be done in this setting and the first series only scratched the surface. This installment also works better for me than some other recent pieces as the artwork gets back closer to what it was at the start of the first series, which was a huge part of the draw for me compared to the varied yearbook designs. Read Full Review

Gotham Academy is back, and while this issue may be a slow-ish start, with the full cast reassembled the real mayhem can begin. Read Full Review

Perhaps it's not a book for everybody, but man is it ever a book for me when its respective strengths are at the forefront. I'm glad to have this team back! Read Full Review

I am not going to even pretend that I am able to be objective about Gotham Academy. Gotham Academy is my favorite comic book and I am very happy it has returned. I am not going to over do my rating here as I think this comic will get even better. Yes, because I love this book so much I grade it on a curve which isn't really fair, but that's how it goes. If you like your mysteries classically spooky with a team of heroes that are committed to each other, you are going to enjoy Gotham Academy very much. Read Full Review

Folks that read and enjoyed the first semester will find a lot of payoff in the second semester, though the story is a little different than the madcap antics we're used to. New characters are introduced, new information is learned, and kids skulk around in the passageways between walls, which is what this book is all about. The art is fabulous, and retains the "painted animated cel" style of the previous volume. All that, and Professor Macpherson's fresh cranberries! Read Full Review

This book has not cast the widest of nets. However, if you, like this reviewer, find that sometimes you need to read a book for and about kids to remind you that life is not as horrible as you think it is, this book is for you. There is something about a story that focuses on a kid that puts your own life in perspective. The lens through which adults view angst is different than the lens the kids are using. Angst is real pain. We can see it for what it is and be glad that our problems are not those. This book is all about growing up. Sure, growing up literally in the shadow of the Bat, but growing up nonetheless. I appreciate the truth that is told in this tale and you should too. Read Full Review

School is back in session, and for once I'm glad. This book has always been about its characters just as much as it is about mysteries, so having a whole issue to focus on Olive is nice. In fact, that's an apt description for this issue: nice. It's slow, but never boring, lays some nice groundwork for where the series is headed, and in the end feels like reconnecting with your best friends. Read Full Review

This end is ultimately where the story begins. The rest? A prelude. Read Full Review

What happens in this issue doesn't seem important right now and looks to have the only purpose to introduce Amy and make you dislike her, but don't fool yourselves, this will have bigger ramifications down the road as this is only the first part of a bigger story you wont start to understand until the real plot develops a little more