Witch club would you join?
Creative Staff:
Story: Becky Cloonan, Brenden Fletcher, Karl Kerschl
Art: Adam Archer, Sandra Hope, MSASSYK
Colors: Serge Lapointe
Letterer: Steve Wands
What They Say:
Despite Olive’s new friendship with the rebellious Amy, she, Maps, Kyle, Colton and Pomeline are back together at last. The only thing they’re missing…is a mystery! Maps campaigns to recruit new cases, but stumbles on a threat that might be too big for even the Detective Club.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The return of Gotham Academy under the Second Semester banner was definitely a smart move overall as it helped it to avoid the main Rebirth branding while coming across as fresh and new. New semesters after being away are always a little problematic because it takes some time to get back into the rhythm of things and this series is no different. On the plus side, it’s already working a lot better than the Year Book material we finished out the previous series with as that was causing me to rethink coming back to it. With this second issue it feels like we’re starting to get adjusted to being back in the academy and coping with some of the weirdness that we’re feeling.
A lot of that comes from the addition of Amy to the cast as Olive’s new roommate. It worked well giving her the previous issue with Olive but not the rest of the gang to try and get a bit of a handle on her. What we’re seeing here is familiar as well as Oliver is in a place where she’s trying to do the right thing by helping Amy get used to the place and show her around while also thinking about bringing her into the group some – if she can handle Amy herself. But as we know, this particular group and the Detectives Club is kind of a close group and Pom makes it clear to Olive that they’re not adding new people – Pom can barely tolerate Oliver herself. There’s a good look at the way a new person makes others feel and how it shifts the dynamic, especially with how Maps is coping with Oliver not being as available as she was before.
Amid all of this we also get the new mystery getting underway as a lot of kids are starting to go missing at the academy. We see this with a few being tantalized into following someone in flowing purple robes and an old school witches hat – it feels like it’s right out of an Archie Comics design, in fact – and seeing how everyone is starting to realize something is wrong has the right kind of pacing to it so that we’re not just thrust fully into a new mystery. Maps has the first encounter with those under this woman’s thrall, which isn’t a surprise, and it’s hilarious at first since they’re promoting a Witches Club and she’s kind of flippant about such a thing while putting up her Detectives Club flyer for people who have mysteries to solve. It’s no surprise that Maps gets taken into this as it seems to be her lot in life but I like how it’s presented and the overall pacing of it.
In Summary:
While I’m still getting back into the mindset of a Gotham Academy book, this is the one that’s doing the heavy lifting of getting me there. I liked what the first issue presented with a way to bring Amy into the mix and to showcase Olive, but this one shows the fallout from a new person angling toward the group and how easily things can fracture – especially at this age. The book feels closer to the artwork of the original run with Kerschl, though not quite, so there’s a lot of appeal to be had in that as well. I like the mystery of who the new villain is as she’s presented well visually and we get a couple of subplots slowly kicking up here, with Eric and his symbols that Pom’s after and whatever the truth may be about Amy as well. Good stuff that has me hopeful that the series can recapture a good portion of what made the original early run so fantastic.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 17+
Released By: DC Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: October 12th, 2016
MSRP: $3.99
