Musings on Gotham Academy

I stopped reviewing this book although I still get it. Since I'm in a bad mood at the moment I thought it was a good time to talk about one of my favorite series. Keep in mind that I haven't read the last issue or the Endgame one shot yet. With most of my funds going to the event comic I'll be holding off for a little while.

SPOILERS AHEAD

There's so much to love about this book. All the in jokes, the teachers being characters from Batman lore, the fascinating characters and the mysteries. First is the secrets of Olive, what happened to her mother, what happened over the summer and just who she actually is. Her anger at Batman something I like seeing explored. I always thought more than a few people weren't happy with him and in a way he's the bad guy. There's also the mystery of the school it's self and why it has all those passageways. A Court of Owls connections? Did Bruce find out what was going on when he went there? What's with the headmaster locking his door with a puzzle? 

Maps and her brother Kyle are endearing. Kyle is such a sweet guy and you feel bad for him yet it doesn't make Olive the bad guy either. Let's be honest, a lot of break ups in comics make one of the pair look worse than the other. I like that it's not really present here. Olive needs space after undergoing some emotional trauma and he seems to get it. Maps is just straight up adorable and would actually make a good Robin (she can solve puzzles people.) After seeing the solicits I have a feeling Damian won't stand a chance against her.

The addition of Killer Croc was a great surprise and adds to the feeling of Batman being the villain. The callback to the BTAS rock joke was certainly appreciated. It's funny but before the relaunch I never liked the character much since most wrote him off as little more than muscle. Killer Croc was invented with Pre-Crisis Jason Todd as he was the one that originally killed his parents. He was also shown in Nightwing Year One as a nod to that as he was Jasons' first villain there (he didn't kill his parents.) In the new 52 he has shown up in Batwoman acting more as a sympathic character who managed to get a love interest (who we last saw pregnant.) I guess he got recaptured since then. Over in RHATO Croc is the one that helped save Roy Harper from addiction. From what little we've seen they both seem to care about the other. 

I already pre-ordered the trade for the first vol and can't wait to show this series to the comic reading members of my family.