I have to say the artwork was the best thing going for this title and I would say this should be for YA readers. I don't think I'm the target audience for this book, but I did think it was good, but not great.

This is a great new way to explore storylines with DC Characters. I love the artwork, the pacing, and everything else about this graphic novel. I would love to read more of this storyline!

As a fan of Gotham Academy, I was so excited when I learn about Second Semester, and this first volume did not disappoint. The art is just as beautiul as it was but the story and characters have gotten better. I wasn't as thrilled about the latter volumes as I was at the beginning of the GA run, but this volume has gone back to its origins and both the tone and the plot are greatly interesting and engaging. I cannot wait to read more and I am so happy about the new direction.

I love the Gotham Academy comics. I know they're aimed at a young audience but I think anyone can have fun with these! I am trying to catch up with all my reviews but I am about to move from Germany to Portugal, so life is crazy. I am reading these and I will put full reviews up on my site once things settle a bit.

Gotham Academy: Second Semester, Vol.1: Welcome Back by Brendan Fletcher is a terrific and creative series that has one foot in the Batman Universe and for the rest, stands quite comfortably on its own. If there was a comic that was begging to be made into a television series, this one is it!

For Gotham Academy student Olive Silverlock, the winter holiday are the worst. As the school empties out, even her little detective club leaves, a new student arrives to help keep Olive company. The new girl is Amy and soon the duo find themselves up to no good as Amy convinces Olive to vandalize the Chapel.

Soon the detective club returns from break and Olive quickly finds out that there is much more to Amy than meets the eye. The detective club soon finds itself battling against a new group who call themselves the witch club. The witch club begins to pull dangerous pranks on the other students and soon Olive's good friend Maps goes missing. The detective club discovers that the witch club has taken her and that they are being controlled by circuit boards in their hats.

The detective club figures out who is leading the witch club and stop him but not before one of their own is expelled and an even greater mystery is unearthed. The Lost Book of Gotham.

Gotham Academy is a book that you would not think to take seriously, but demands to be taken seriously. With its cast of characters, it is more suited for something aligned with Archie Comics than Batman but that is where you make your mistake. It is gritty and stylist and noire and at its core, a detective story. Its artwork cries out Scooby and the Gang or even Buffy but its story is pure Gotham.

DC made the right choice continuing this series with the Rebirth line and hopefully more and more fans will find it!

Gotham Academy did not strike as much of a cord with me as I would have enjoyed. While having students go through Gotham's prepschool was interesting, it didn't strike me as something for particularly young children or older adults. It seemed to fall into the realm of something enjoyable by young teenagers and the occasional adult.

New friends and new enemies make the new semester at Gotham Academy another wild time for everyone's favorite group of mystery-solving young Gothamites. Secrets about Olive's family history are uncovered and everybody's life is put at risk...so just another day at Gotham Academy. The newest volume in this graphic novel series definitely does not disappoint! 5/5 stars.

I started this one not expecting to like it too much...but I did! The story arc was fun and the art and layout is stellar. The mysteries, characters, flashbacks, etc. made this a really great read and I'm all in for the next one.

I have to admit, I expected so much more from this series. It came heavily reccomended so all I'm feeling is annoyance and disappointment at the missed potential.

The plot is somewhat nonsensical, jumping from place to place, with new plot threads being introduced and dropped seemingly willy-nilly. One of the major villains is just dropped sleeping on the floor and left there, unrestrained and then apparently disappears from existence between scenes. There was so much filler that I caught myself thinking "you have only 20 pages per chapter, why are you wasting it like this??" repeatedly.

Amy, Olive's new roommate was such an horrible, insufferable person that I was groaning out loud every time she appeared on page, and by the time the "cool twist" came around, I was so annoyed I couldn't even appreaciate that yes, that was actually a really nice plot point. Characters kept acting completely nonsensically in ways that nobody would actually act in their situation, and turns out most of the main group are just horrible bullies?

The only thing that kept me reading was the wonderful art and Maps. I would walk through fire for Maps Mizuguchi.

New semester new mysteries to solve. I was excited for this to come out and I think that is mostly because I love the idea of Gotham Academy. The problem for me is that I think I just do not like Olive and I cannot figure out why I cannot extend feeling of likability towards her character. The issues she deals with are interesting and intense but they do not endear her to me or even induce feelings of sympathy. I love Maps and her roommate is pretty awesome. I was not a fan of Olive’s new roommate. Pom is more prominent in this volume but her concern isn’t really the team. There is an interesting connection with Olive and Pom. Love the art and the Gotham history.

If you haven't read the first semester, never fear, you shouldn't get lost. Here we have supernatural meeting high school. The characters are very well developed and while you may not like all of them you will fall in love with some. I love the art style and overall I'd say this is one of the better comics to aim towards YA audiences.

The gang is back for another semester and a new student is causing Olive to act out in destructive ways. Will her friends discover what is really going on before it is too late? Also, a strange new club appears to be hypnotizing students to join. How will the group save Maps when she comes under their spell?

I struggled a bit with this volume. The characters felt a bit off and I felt one of the characters was being bullied by his friends. A wtch has taken control of several students minds, forcing them seal and destroy books with unique symbols. The outcome of this adventure will change many of the characers relationships going forward.

Gotham Academy is joined by a new student over the holiday break. But Maps and company are not so sure about Olive's new roommate and her influence on Olive. But then a Witch Club taking over students' minds leads to Colton being in danger of being expelled over a stolen map filled with strange symbols. To resolve this the Detective Club dives underground and Pomeline gets her heart's desire while Batman and Olive go head to head. Oh, what fun the second semester of Gotham Academy holds!

The Good: Wow, I can't believe how much better this was than previous volumes. The story was much more focused and interesting. The background paintings by Michele Assarasakron were gorgeous. After seeing this, I'm not sure why DC hasn't given her her own book to illustrate. With Adam Archer's pencils in the foreground it gave the book an animation feel to it.

The Bad: Did not like Amy's deal at all. I saw where the story was headed the second she appeared and dreaded every panel she appeared in.

The Ugly: I didn't care much for the ending at all. Hopefully they'll right the ship in the next volume.

Received an advanced copy from DC and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I am not *typically* a huge DC comic fan, but MAN does Gotham Academy just rock. The gang is back in year 2, and they do NOT disappoint!

I couldn't resist requesting this one--even though I haven't finished all three of the first semester graphic novels. I still intend to go back and pick up the one I missed, but it didn't seem to hamper my enjoyment of it.

This volume brings a lot more to light and ends with some pretty big changes. Some might see the ending as a bit of a cliffhanger, but I think it's just ushering us into the new turn that the story is taking for Olive and the gang.

Not one of my favorites that I've read in this series, but it's mostly wrap up/set up for what was and what's next.

This is one of the better books for the younger audiences under DC’s banner.

This series is well written with a strong link in storylines from the first volume to the last so you get a high rate of consistency which allows you to feel like you’re binging on one long novel instead of shorter installments strung together.

The overall fun with these storylines will appeal to kids and make them wish for a school like this just like Potter fans eagerly await their acceptance letters delivered through owl mail. The mysteries, interactions, friendships and character set ups are family friendly rated which is a breath of fresh air when trying to find something you can let your kids read without feeling like you need to be looking over their shoulder.

I loved the images with its beautiful architecture and Hogwartsesque feeling between the buildings, staff, students, passageways, and off limit areas (remember the Forbidden Forest and Fluffy?). The artwork is so attention grabbing, detailed and well-done it fits perfectly with the story and just seems expertly well done.

With seemingly so many reboots, spin-offs, whatever you want to call Rebirth and New 52 this feels like an innocent and fun way to get to know the characters we’ve shared our lives, dreams and hopes with for years.
As a parent I adore these stories and I’m glad they are something I feel comfortable letting my kids read so they can use them as a stepping stone to the wider DC world.

Phew. For a title sorta aimed towards kiddos, this TPB got super intense.

It starts during the break for Gotham Academy. Olive is the only one there (for the most part) and she's lonely. Then all of a sudden she gets a new roomie, Amy.

That's just the start of things though (Maps has a lot to do). There's Professor Pio, who's missing, there's a librarian who could be cool or creepy. There's also the strange Arkham symbols and then there might be mind control, oh, and there are kids going missing too. Add in Batman and the new 'Symbolist' and this book is intense and chock full of stuff.

But, my favorite part, (other than Maps) is her roommate Katherine. Very, very cool. And I'd definitely like to see more of her. Awesome.

I was given this ARC by Netgalley on behalf of DC Entertainment.

Olive Silverlock stayed at Gotham Academy for the winter break. Before school started, a girl showed up in her room, claiming to be her new roommate. Amy convinces Olive to do bad things. They throw a rock through a window. They break into a house on the school property and then torment Eric. Then, a new club starts up, competing with Maps’s detective club. The new club is filled with witches who plan on burning the library books. Maps’s friends have to rescue her after she is brainwashed to join their club. But after saving her, Colton gets caught breaking into a classroom. The headmaster wants to expel him but he gets a trial first. He disappears during his hearing, so the rest of the gang set out to find evidence that he should remain at school and Olive has to face her past yet again.

This is my favourite book in the Gotham Academy series. It was cohesive from the first comic to the last. It followed one major storyline throughout. Some of the other graphic novels have started with one plot and then drifted off into something else. This one was very consistent.

The new characters also had a purpose in the story. In past graphic novels, some characters have been introduced but then they disappear. The new character, Amy, shows up for a reason which is revealed at the end of the story.

I loved this new volume of Gotham Academy. It’s the best one so far!