Review: Gotham Academy Second Semester Vol. 1- Welcome Back

Quick Summary

Pros: The main storyline is exciting and centers around a wonderfully tantalizing mystery. The answers provided here are very satisfying to learn. The characters are as fun as ever. The artwork looks nice and complements the tone of the book.

Cons: One of the characters is written in a way that doesn’t suit the narrative well.

Overall: The return of Gotham Academy also heralds the return of high-quality storytelling. This collection has captivating mystery, great tension, beautiful artwork, and, above all else, delightful characters. The entire read really succeeds in advancing this series and turning it into something greater than it was before. Anyone who enjoyed the Gotham Academy series, particularly those who were curious about Olive’s story, should continue reading here.

Story

Gotham Academy: Second Semester Vol. 1: Welcome Back, by Brenden Fletcher, Becky Cloonan, and Karl Kerschl, is a fantastic return to form for the Gotham Academy series. It is almost entirely focused on the mystery behind Olive Silverlock, finally answering questions and revealing secrets that have been around since the beginning. This dramatically ups the book’s excitement levels and leads to an awesome cliffhanger conclusion. Meanwhile, the characters continue to shine the whole way through and their antics continue to entertain in small places here and there. All in all, this is the most fun I’ve had reading about these characters since their debut.

(spoilers start here)

The biggest positive in Welcome Back is the renewed focus on the mystery of Olive’s past. While the previous volume, Yearbook (Review), was a nice change of pace that focused on individual adventures, it is nice to see this series return to what made it so great in the first place. Here, readers see Olive’s sanity start to fracture, as the dark spirit within her begins to gain more control. Readers also learn that this spirit is Amity Arkham, a woman who was burned at the stake in the past and is now attempting to have her revenge on those who wronged her. Learning this gives some satisfying answers to questions that have been present since the series started.

All of this also helps set up a climactic conclusion for Olive’s story in the next volume. Welcome Back closes with Olive completely under the control of Amity Arkham’s spirit and ready to burn Gotham City to the ground. Batman is even trying to capture her, which ups the stakes pretty significantly. By the time this volume was over, I was more excited than ever to read more about what is happening at Gotham Academy.

Speaking of the series returning to what made it so great in the first place, Welcome Back also places a renewed focus on the characters and the relationships between them. The origin behind Pomeline’s obsession with the occult is revealed, Maps’ love and appreciation for Olive becomes more apparent, and Colton’s crush on Kyle is finally vocalized. Even Clayface’s daughter, Katherine, gets a chance to save the gang and show how much they all mean to her. These characters are all great and the way they fit together makes this entire series even more enjoyable to read.

The only real problem with Welcome Back is that Olive’s Amy personality is written pretty ridiculously. Nearly everything she does and says is so over-the-top and unrealistic that readers know something is wrong with her far too early. It negatively impacts the reveal regarding her character’s secret and simply doesn’t fit in that well with the rest of the narrative.

(spoilers end here)

Art

The artwork in Welcome Back is positive and is a great match for the story being told here. Adam Archer’s pencils and Sandra Hope’s inks come together well. They give the characters a great level of charm but prevent them from looking as exaggerated and cartoonish as they did back in Yearbook (Review). Then, MSASSYIK’s background images ensure that the grounds of Gotham Academy look as sinister and foreboding as ever. Together, this blend of styles allow Welcome Back to maintain its balance between youthful exuberance and horror/mystery, which suits the tone of this series well. The artwork here still isn’t quite as crisp and beautiful as it was when Karl Kerschl was on art but it is the closest it has been since that point.

Continuity

Gotham Academy: Second Semester Vol. 1: Welcome Back is the first volume in the second stage of the Gotham Academy series. It directly continues the story from Gotham Academy Vol. 3: Yearbook (Review).

The story started here continues in Gotham Academy: Second Semester Vol. 2: The Ballad of Olive Silverlock (Review).