J’accuse!
Creative Staff:
Story: Brenden Fletcher, Becky Cloonan, Karl Kerschl
Art: Adam Archer, Sandra Hope. MSASSYK
Colors: MSASSYK, Serge LaPointe
Letterer: Steve Wands
What They Say:
“The Ballad of Olive Silverlock” part three! A terrible revelation sends Maps on a quest for answers at Wayne Manor! With Two-Face hot on their trail, Maps and Damian Wayne must work together to stop Olive’s rampage of destruction across Gotham City.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
As the second semester of Gotham Academy hits its penultimate chapter it proves to be a frustrating one in two ones. One is that it’s another “off” issue in that it works better than most of what this semester has been like and shows the untapped potential of it all. The other is that it’s at times so plot/dialogue heavy that it slows down all the good stuff and makes you frustrated because it should have been smoothed out over a couple of issues. With a trio of writers on the book it’s no surprise that things don’t feel as cohesive as they should but at least we get some solid artwork out of the book, though that’s still not as strong as the first series was. It’s almost sad in feeling that you’re glad that a book is almost done in the hopes of a potential relaunch under a smaller, tighter, team some day.
The tensions in this book are pretty fun, though part of me still finds it a little hard to swallow. Maps is lashing out significant at Olive over what happened to Kyle, and rightfully so to some degree, but after all they’ve been through and seen there’s just that feeling that Maps should be able to manage it all a little bit better. Yes, it’s Kyle, but it’s also Olive. It’s just a force dramatic bit that doesn’t work for me. While that initial flare up happens early on, Olive is out of most of the book but Maps is just full of snark and invective while off on a new mission that again just feels like it’s out of character even in this situation. With Kyle recovering briefly and offering new information on a way to possibly save Olive, that doesn’t sit well with Maps but the team comes together to try and help Olive because it is Kyle.
What makes up the majority of the book, and works better than it should, is the gang heading to Wayne Manor to find Millie Jane’s case that could offer clues on saving Olive. This has them breaking in, which is amusing in itself, only to find Two-Face and a few cronies there looking for the same to have leverage on Penguin. It’s kind of a mess, especially with Colton being mistaken for Damian, but the real focus is the real Damian sneaking Maps away to get her help in saving the others while concealing his identity from her. The two work well together and we get some wonderful moments where Maps feels like Maps again and that all leads into an actual Robin arrival by the end, which gives Maps a chance to step up and be who she’s supposed to be. All the material between Maps and Damian is just delightful and reminded me why I do enjoy these characters even if this series is frustrating me.
In Summary:
With all the positives that I did find with this issue I’m still glad that it’s ending with the next one. This one succeeds because of Maps and Damian – and that’s hard to say considering I generally dislike Damian as a whole. The story has gotten so weirdly convoluted, the supporting cast reduced to even more minor roles, and the academy itself often just a weird footnote in events, that the thrill of the book has mostly disappeared. The characters are still a draw and even with Maps acting out of character there are still some really good flashes of fun to be had. This issue has more going for it than a lot of this semester overall but that’s damning it with faint praise.
Grade: B-
Age Rating: 17+
Released By: DC Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: July 12th, 2017
MSRP: $2.99
