Gotham Academy: Year One #6 – Brendan Fletcher, Becky Cloonan, Karl Kerschl, Writers; Marco Ferrari, Artist; Eva De La Cruz, Colorist
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: Gotham Academy has been one of my favorite books out of DC in the last decade, giving us some of the best original characters from the company in a long time in the form of troubled Olive Silverlock and irrepressible Maps Mizoguchi, the BFF duo who formed their own mystery-solving squad that somehow grew to include Clayface’s daughter and a teenage Man-Bat, among others. This whole flashback mini has been from Olive’s perspective, following the girl as she investigated her mother’s fate during her first year at Gotham Academy, bringing her into conflict with the Scarecrow. But as this final issue opens, the story switches to Maps. Now it’s her turn to join the campus, starting her freshman year and reuniting with her new best friend. But as soon as she gets there she realizes something shocking – Olive is missing in the aftermath of her close encounter with the Scarecrow last issue.
This series has dealt with some serious delays along the way, but it really hasn’t lost any momentum at all. One of the best things about the series is that every issue sort of stands on its own, telling a specific chapter of the adventure rather than seamlessly flowing from issue to issue. Having the finale from Maps’ perspective allows us to see things through her eyes, discover the terror of Scarecrow’s presence and somehow pushing past it to save Olive. A lot of characters get small roles in this issue, but Maps is the undisputed star and really shows how she’s one of DC’s breakout characters in recent years. This is Fletcher’s first DC work in a while, but I’m really hoping there are more plans for the characters he co-creared after this, and that more readers discover the series in the YA trades. And please, more of Maps Mizoguchi’s unconventional Robin adventures.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes
