Thanks so much to DC Ink for providing me with an early copy for honest review.
This was an okay, enjoyable read for me. I won't say that anything about it really blew me out of the water, but it was fine. I enjoyed the art style and coloring, although I sometimes wished Bruce had more detail in his face. His main look seemed to be a very angular face and black hair with swish. I felt like the other characters had more detail put into their appearance then Bruce did. It was still good art though and nice colors. The story was interesting enough. It never said Batman to me though. This could have been any dark, YA high school book, it had that feel to it over a teenage Batman story. Jack didn't scream Joker. Ivy was very, very background. Selena did have that murky character feel, but she was really it.
I also didn't really understand the choice to change character races. It didn't bother me, but I just didn't really see why. I also didn't really get why butler Alfred became Uncle Alfred. I think it helps shape Batman's character that he doesn't really have an older family figure checking up on him. Alfred as a butler is there to take care of him, but isn't really in a position to tell him what to do, if that makes sense. He can make suggestions, offer advice, but he's not in charge of Bruce Wayne.
The overall plot was okay. There was a little bit of danger in it. It was a very fast story.
Gotham High was fine. If you're looking for something quick, I'd say give it a read, but if you are a true Batman fan, I don't think this story will do anything for you. It didn't give me that caped crusader feel. Granted, I don't know every minute detail of Batman's life and backstory, but Batman has a feel to it and this story didn't capture that for me.



BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 3/5
Well, here it is

Overall, I really liked this book. It was fun, quick and easy to read. The illustrations and panels were absolutely gorgeous. They were rich in colour and I really loved the depiction of the characters. It is safe to say that I look forward to seeing more of Thomas Pitilli's work in the future! In regards to the plot itself, I thought it was fun and innovative. We see all of our favourite DC characters before they become the anti-heroes/heroes and villains we know. I really liked the setting of the high school because we do get to see characters like Bruce "let loose" so to speak. We see them in a more relaxed environment. This is personally one of my favourite origin stories and I cannot wait to follow these characters and see them grow. Thank you so much to The Fantastic Flying Book Club and DC Ink for providing me with a copy of this book.

I should admit that a few pages in my copy went blank so a few points might have been lost.

I'm a fan of Melissa de la Cruz, a fan of all these graphic novels that are coming out, but I'm not much of a Batman fan. I had hoped that because it was from a favorite author it wouldn't matter much, and I guess it didn't but only because it didn't feel like much. While it was a good story I'd kind of hope for more.

Thanks to Netgalley and DC Ink for providing an e-arc of this in exchange for an honest review.

Oooof, this one was a disappointment. This was the title I was most looking forward to from the DC Ink imprint (Batman high school AU! racebending!), especially given how much I've enjoyed titles like Lil Gotham in the past. However, Gotham High takes liberties with the characters to such a degree that the novelty of the premise loses all its fun and just becomes a formulaic rehash of tired YA tropes.

Reviews comparing this to Riverdale are honestly spot on -- lackluster teen soap plot, one-dimensional portrayals of teenage girls as manipulative heartbreakers, grating mischaracterizations of the leads (Seriously? Making the Joker romantically preoccupied with Selina? Uhhhh, hard pass, and downright disingenuous when every Batman writer from Denny O'Neil to Paul Dini knows that, in that love triangle, it's not Selina the Joker's obsessed with. I also can't think of a greater disservice to Selina Kyle as a character than to have her mack on that clown, but here we are.).

I really wanted to love this one, because the art is beautifully stylized and I'm so here for diversifying the DC universe, it's not even funny (and I'm sure this title will send "purist" fanboys into a frothing rage even though Selina Kyle, for example, has been a WOC at various points for literally decades now... which certainly earns Gotham High points in my esteem), but it just just wasn't for me. Too much Riverdale, not enough Batman.

Things That I Enjoyed About Gotham High:

The art was beautiful. I fell head-over-heels in love with the art from the very first page. In particular, the colors were stunning and added so much to the atompshere of the story. I loveeeed how the colors were used to convey different scenes, characters, and vibes!
Great representation. I really appreciated the POC representation. It was refreshing to see a line up of classic superhero characters depicted as people of color.
It was a very quick read. I managed to consume the entire thing in one late night reading sprint! I started it around 9pm and was finished just a couple hours later. This would be perfect reading material for a day at the beach or just when you need something quick to enjoy.


Things That I Didn’t Enjoy About Gotham High:

The writing was rough overall. I specifically felt that the transitions between scenes and conversations to be awkward and jumpy which made the reading less enjoyable. Also at times the dialogue followed the same awkward feeling. It was either too formal or just didn’t sit right with me. One of my biggest pet peeves is when characters address family members by “Uncle” or “Father” during every line of dialogue… and sadly this graphic novel had a lot of that. To me it just feels unrealistic and added to the general feeling of rough writing.


My final note is a neutral one, and that is that Gotham High was a bit older than I expected. To me this isn’t an issue, but I thought I would mention it here for anyone considering letting their child read this. It featured vaping, parties, romance, cursing, and a “hand gesture” which all took me by surprise. I wasn’t expecting any of it going in and wanted to give a fair warning to anybody considering this title.

Gotham High by Melissa de la Cruz is a book with an interesting and intriguing premise, the characters from the original Batman comics are teenagers and they are all in high school together. In the hands of Melissa de la Cruz, the beloved characacter are a bit different Bruce Wayne is half-Chinese and Selena (Catwoman) is Latinx. The addition of this diversity to the story is exciting and it makes it feel new and unique. All these great elements are complemented by the artwork, which is beautiful, dark and alluring, and suits the story really well.

Selena steals the show in this graphic novel because Bruce is not that interesting, he has no personality traits beside wanting to save everyone. Selena on the other hand is a really captivating character. Despite being kind of a terrible person- conniving, manipulative and a liar – Selena is still easy to sympathise with because she is desperate for a way to help her father who has Alzheimer and needs things they don’t have money for and that’s the reason she does so many questionable things. Also, she is an unreliable narrator which makes her really intriguing.

Beside Bruce and Selena, the other main character is Jack (Joker) who is in love with Selena and he stalks her. This element of the story wasn’t handled as well as it could have been. Some characters mentioned the fact that Jack is creepy throughout the story, but really the stalking wasn’t addressed beyond that and when Selena finds out about it, she doesn’t give it much importance and she seemed ok with it and I just think it was poorly handled. I think it was an attempt to make Jake look bad because he’s suppose to become this big bad guy and if it weren’t for the stalking, he would mostly be an ok kid who’s friends with the wrong people.

There’s a love triangle between Selena, Bruce and Jack, which I didn’t particulary enjoy. Selena is way too cool for either of them. But I liked how that situation was resolved. One relationship that I appreaciated was the frienship between Selena and Ivy (Poison Ivy), it was great to see two women who didn’t man ruin their friendship. It wasn’t that predominant in this graphic novel, but I would love to see that aspect explored more in the future.

Finally, one thing that this graphic novels does well is addressing the privilege that comes from having money and how different backgrounds shape people into what they need to be to survive. It wasn’t very subtle about it, but that was ok, because it’s an interesting subject to address.

The streets of Gotham are infamous for their tales of the desperate, the vigilantes who wear the emblem of justice on their sleeves, those who are inspired by the proclaimed heroes...and society's villains. Gotham's streets have been walked by all. Everyone begins at the rough corners of life with scuffed dreams, always looking towards the next turn around the bend. Gotham is the place that makes the heroes and villains we've all come to champion.


They just have to survive high school first.


Welcome to Gotham High where Bruce Wayne, Selina Kyle, and Jack Napier are all coming of age and forming the paths to their futures as Batman, Catwoman, and The Joker that circumstances have allotted them. Bruce returns to his past terrors that Gotham has bestowed upon him as a golden boy of financial wealth while the girl next door, Selina, acts out of love and desperation for her father's dwindling health and how Gotham's golden gates shun her from the means she needs to care for him. Then, you have Gotham's forgotten child, Jack, who roams the streets in search of his next thrill to avoid the reality of his life. All paths cross at Gotham High and when the Pranksters pay a visit and start a string of kidnappings, heroism and villainy will begin to flourish in the hearts of Gotham High's denizens.


Melissa de la Cruz never ceases to capture my attention with her detailed world-building. In Gotham High, I particularly liked her exploration of Bruce, Selina, and Jack's humanity and what was their reckoning, or the predominant forces, that eventually had them donning on masks across Gotham. More so, de la Cruz is able to convey a legacy of these characters in a way that portrays their personalities more outside the black and white lines of good vs. evil. Instead of labeling characters with these terms, we see: self-doubts, actions caused by necessity, the suffocation of feeling alone in this world, and all the moments in between that causes us to embark on paths towards unmarked futures. This was an idea that de la Cruz conveyed so elegantly throughout her narrative and that artist Thomas Pitilli captured throughout our journey in Gotham High. Pitilli was able to render the multifaceted emotional range of the characters and breathed a new era into the characters who originated inn the Batman series. He played a great homage to his predecessors through his cell work and design while still incorporating a modern artistic style.


Together, Melissa de la Cruz and Thomas Pitilli were able to bring a new era to Gotham. It's one where Bruce is still growing to his true strength, Selina demonstrates the fine dance between the black and white truths of life, and where readers will once again feel the drum of Gotham in their veins. But what makes a hero and a villain in these pages? Determine for yourself in this modern adaptation of Batman that takes a humanized look at Bruce Wayne's early years and the making of Catwoman and The Joker.

This was a book with such a great twist!

Ever thought about what it would be like to have Bruce Wayne, Selina Kyle and Jack Napier in high school? well, look no further because this is the graphic novel for you. It was different than the stories we grew up used to especially about the lives of these characters.

There was also the diversity in this which was unexpected but was also a pleasant surprise and definitely made the story a lot different. Bruce Wayne was introduces as half Chinese and so was Alfred who happens to be his uncle in this one. Selina is a Latina while Poison Ivy was Korean. Even Barbara Gordon was featured as an African-American in this one. I honestly found the diversity wonderful. The artwork was amazing! I always end up falling in love with art style in these graphic novels. I’ve been drawn to the style and colors in all the DC Ink novels I’ve read so far and this one was also wonderful. The story was a tad bit predictable but the story was fast and definitely a quick read.

The story is aimed towards a young adult audience so most of the story is around high school life. There was quite a bit of drama involved. There was still a darkish vibe to the whole thing so it did stay true to the DC Universe’s overall theme. I’m really glad that I got the chance to read this! Absolutely loving the DC Ink releases and so looking forward to more of them!

This was an exercise in using fresh creativity with beloved DC historical comic characters. While some negative reviews have shared their opinions, an open mind and willingness to make room in the DC Universe for different versions of the canon. This will appeal to YA readers who may have been looking for something outside of the Marvel Universe. This was an enjoyable version of batman, catwoman, the joker and others as teens in high school settings. Although I'm a die-hard Batman fan, I enjoyed the artwork and other graphics within this graphic novel. it is clear that Melissa de la Cruz spent a lot of time in every aspect of this graphic novel. I look forward to seeing more of her work in the future.

I can't even begin to tell y'all how much I love Batman. He was one of my favorite dark-heroes growing up, and I never could get enough from watching the movies.

Beginning this novel, I was entirely thrilled to see that Batman is not another middle-aged white man. In Gotham High, Batman is an Asian-American teen who's just been kicked out of his prestigious private school and sent back home for the duration of his high school years.

And don't even get me started on the art! For the love of God, Thomas Pitilli did an absolutely phenomenal job illustrating this book. I really loved how he fit the darker tones into it, keeping it perfect for the DC universe.

Melissa de la Cruz did a great job with the story-line. The only problem I had with it was that it got really predictable in parts. One of those parts I was really sad to have been able to predict was the entire ending. *cue dramatic sob of frustration*

Altogether though, I really did enjoy this book. I WOULD NOT recommend it for anyone under 15, though. There were some more mature themes in this book, and while they weren't strongly focused on, they were still very much there.

For that, I rate this book 3.75 stars. I really do hope they continue this storyline, as I would love to see what happens after this.

This graphic novel takes the famous and iconic Batman characters and reimagines them as young adults; trying to survive the murky waters of high school – which we all know can be very unforgiving!

And like all the young adult books that we are so accustomed to; there are some, if not all predictive cliché that we would come toe expect, even with our beloved comic characters! But it is the author’s own interpretation to the characters that will capture your attention and never let go!

In this new DC YA Comic; Bruce Wayne is half Asian and Alfred (the butler!) is now Bruce’s gay uncle, who is married. Awesome isn’t it? These facts pretty much cemented my interest in the comic, immediately!
Now that Bruce Wayne is back in Gotham City – and when a young man, a classmate of Bruce is kidnapped for ransom while wearing Bruce’s jacket, he knows that things are going to get dicey but even he wouldn’t have been able to imagine not predict how and where the solution to the mystery would lead him to!

So, beyond the wonderfully diverse representation – the plotline is quite straightforward, if not predictable – but it is the artwork that gives off the mysterious vibes and captures the attention of the reader + makes this new comic series worth your time and keep an eye out for future volumes!

Super fun, exciting graphic novel, perfect for young adults who enjoy fanfiction. I really loved the illustration and the overall plotline of the story. I typically have a hard time reading graphic novels because I like more meat in the world building but I didn't feel like it lacked that aspect. It felt like I was being thrown back into high school and it was a great way to get out of a book slump. I think my 15 year old self would have devoured this book even more quickly than I did! Thank you so much to DC for allowing me access to this story in exchange for a quick review and promotional post.

Today is my stop on the FFBC blog tour for the Gotham High by Melissa de la Cruz. Thank you so much for the opportunity.

This is definitely not my normal type of genre but I was drawn in by the synopsis and the fact that it is a graphic novel. I am glad that I read Gotham High because I did enjoy my time reading it.

Can we just discuss the illustrations? Honestly, they are fantastic. Regardless of what I thought of the graphic novel, I would have always picked up the next in the series literally based on the illustrations themselves. I found myself spending a lot of my reading time looking at the illustrations and wanting to turn over the page just to see the next one. If this graphic novel does not appeal to you I would 100% recommend you get your hands on a copy just to look at the illustrations.

I enjoyed the characters however I found that they were underdeveloped. They had so much potential however they fell flat for me in parts. I am hoping that the next in the series, I'm pretty convinced that it is a series - anyway, I hope that the characters are further developed and I am able to build up more of a connection with them. Fingers crossed.

The plot was the biggest thing that appealed to me and whilst I enjoyed it I didn't feel like it was very original. I feel like there needed to be a little bit more in there in order to separate it from other books, graphic novels that I have read before. I hope that as it progresses more will be added to achieve this.

Overall, I would recommend based on the illustrations alone. There are flaws in the plot and the character development but it should not really deter you from picking this up. I am looking forward to reading the next instalment.

Things I Liked:
- I absolutely adored the art style of this graphic novel! It’s very vibrant and everything looks so beautiful in Gotham City. Art style is very important to me when it comes to graphic novels, and this one particularly impressed me. I didn’t want the story to end because I wanted to keep flipping through all the scenery and landscapes throughout.
- I also loved the story itself. While the plot is quite simple: they want to figure who kidnapped a kid from their High School, but I was still very much invested in all the characters.
- This is the only Batman reimagined as an Asian main character and I loved that! I made sense in the story, and it was fun to hear him talk about Hong Kong, where he lived before he came back to Gotham
- I also loved how strong and fierce Selena was. She was the typical girl next door, but also a confident and badass teenager!
- Jack Napier, aka the Joker, was super sweet in this book! He was so fun to read about, and his friendship with Bruce, albeit a bit strained at time because of their crushes on Selena, was still fun to read about
- Usually I’m not a fan of love triangles, but this one worked for me! I totally understood the appeal of both Bruce and Jack, so Selena had such a tough choice to make
- And the ending plot twist was something I totally did not see coming!

Over all I did while Gotham High wasn’t the most well plotted or complicated story, it was still such a blast to read! And the art is so beautiful and aesthetically pleasing that i will definitely check out the other works of the artist.

*Arc kindly provided by Netgalley*

De la Cruz’s reimagining of the Batman gang is set in Gotham High School, with all the major goodies and baddies recast as either high school students or high school student-adjacent people (such as Commissioner Gordon becoming Principal Gordon and Alfred Pennyworth becoming Bruce’s uncle). Most of the necessary changes to make the new setting work well enough, due in large part to the skill of artist Thomas Pitilli, who seamlessly weaves in activities, objects, and behaviors associated with the Generation Z students this cast is intended to be.

Another instance where Pitilli’s skill comes to the fore in this adaptation are the changes to characters’ race. De la Cruz’s storytelling and Pitilli’s art combine to demonstrate that although superhero comics started out as a white dudes’ club, it definitely doesn’t have to be: Bruce’s family now hails from Hong Kong, and many other familiar faces are no less interesting or effective for being of a different race than their original creators imagined. It was a bit of a stretch to see that Bruce’s mother’s name was originally Ma-sha but changed to Martha, and to learn that it was <i>her</i> money that founded Wayne Enterprises, but that’s a largely immaterial change as far as the story goes (though it’s great to see Martha Wayne cast as anything other than a convenient corpse). Alfred being a married gay man was kind of thrown in as an “oh, by the way,” and made me seriously wonder where his husband was for a lot of the action, but that’s also pretty minor.

Some of the characters readers will recognize in this adaptation, beyond those already mentioned, are Richard Grayson, Jack Napier, Harvey Dent, Barbara Gordon, Ivy, and Selina Kyle. Selina Kyle is our narrator, by the way, which is an interesting way to tell the story, but also a little odd, as not too long ago DC published a different Catwoman-as-high-schooler graphic novel, also with very good art. (Seriously, Pitilli’s art is great, and the colorist, Miquel Rodriguez, makes some great choices in the use of bold colors often associated with Generation Z - and the 1980s!) Many of the characters who would be baddies in the standard comics come from Sad Backgrounds in this version.

Anyway, the story is narrated by Selina Kyle, who is Bruce Wayne’s girl-next-door and childhood love. Her narration picks up when Bruce returns to Gotham to live with his Uncle Alfred, just as a wave of kidnappings hits Gotham High School. The two of them, along with Jack Napiers, who has been her best friend since Bruce’s departure, and a few other members of the Batman cast go through some teenage drama while trying to figure out who’s behind the crime spree. There is a love triangle, but the outcome is not going to satisfy any romantics in the audience. Selina being unapologetic about hooking up with two guys is a positive message, and as an older reader I genuinely appreciate how she resolves the matter.

There is a lot to like about this graphic novel as far as representation, art, and empowerment. That said, the story itself feels like reading an episode of a CW teen drama, and while that’s certainly marketable, it feels more like something to check out from a library than actually purchase.

Y’ALL, THERE BETTER BE A SEQUEL TO THIS BOOK. The book opens with Bruce Wayne getting kicked out of his fancy private school, Arkham Academy for defending a kid and beating up some bullies. With no other option, he’s forced to join his public school, Gotham High, where he runs into his old friend, Selina Kyle.

Bruce, whose parents were murdered when he was a kid, was shipped off to boarding school by his uncle Alfred, who was too distraught over the death of his sister (Bruce’s mom) to take care of a kid.

Trying to befriend her and other classmates, Bruce gets caught up in a kidnapping scheme when his classmate Harvey Dent is kidnapped after Bruce believes Harvey was mistaken for him. Things only spiral downhill from there as he finds more questions than answers, forcing him to question who his real friends are.

You can say what you want but this is the best YA DC comics adaptation I’ve ever read. Bruce Wayne is ASIAN and it didn’t mean he was any less Bruce-like! Alfred Pennyworth is reimagined as his uncle and he’s gay!! And the art is stunning. The dark color scheme, even in positive situations, works so well to foreshadow events.
Selina is the narrator and main female character, who is running out of money for her father’s declining mental ability treatment, and her trust fund money doesn’t go to her until she turns 21. If her dad doesn’t continue receiving medication and care, he’s likely to die.

Bruce may seem like the protagonist, but it’s really Selina pulling the strings. She knows how to manipulate everyone around her to get what she wants, even if it means leaving behind a string of chaos.

Selina’s best friend Jack Napier is clearly a high school version of the Joker but this one didn’t sit well with me. Jack came off as too dumb and naive in comparison to her for me to believe he even has a chance of growing into the Joker. The one super creepy thing about him was the fact he was clearly obsessed with Selina, even having a wall of photos of her in his room. Yikes. It bothered me that this potential to be a creepy future-villain was brushed off just to make him look like the victim compared to her.

However, the book did end on a bit of a cliffhanger so hopefully we get to see the beginnings of him changing his persona in a potential sequel?

I was actually a bit apprehensive about this read this at first because of the whole high school dynamic and because of the obvious love triangle BUT I am pleased to let you all know that I actually read this in one sitting and it was really fun to read. Of course if I had noticed that my girl Selina Kyle was the Voice of this graphic novel I would have picked it up a lot sooner.

I’m so over the top obsessed with the art style of this graphic novel I can’t get over it! The colors, the details, the shading!! It just all makes my artist heart very happy. I won’t lie there are some scenes that I would definitely frame if I could. The twists on each character were also very interestingly done. I like that there were different ethnicities in this and that some characters were flipped around, this has probably been one of my favorite of the DC YA comics so far. I of course blame Selina Kyle she is probably one of my favorite DC characters – aside from Ivy of course 😉

I think over all this one deserves 4 stars – and I’m not just being biased cause I love Selina..okay maybe just a little bit – Gotham high is out now! make sure to get your copies! what else is there to do in this Quarentined life except quarenread!

This was such a fun reimagining of Gotham! It was a good book for sure and I love retelling a lot. Thank you NetGalley for this copy!

I received this book in exchange for an honest review which has not altered my opinion of this book.

I am a big fan of DC in general and comic books as well. I will admit that the three main characters we find here are not my favorite in the universe, but I really liked the way it was approached. I loved that the characters were try to the personalities that we know them for. I think my favorite was Jack because I feel like the Joker is one of the most complicated characters in the DC universe and this comic matches that. It’s interesting to see that they are a lot like their adult counterparts. You can see how their teenaged personalities are a lot like their adult counterparts.

The art was beautiful and fit the story so very well. I highly recommend this story, it is full of great moments and a solid storyline. Overall, I give this 4 out of 5.

Thank you so much to DC Comics and The Fantastic Flying Book Club for a copy of Gotham High! Gotham High follows a young Bruce Wayne, Jack Napier (aka the Joker) and Selina Garcia Kyle (aka Catwoman). Expelled from Arkham Prep, Bruce enrolls in Gotham HS where he is reacquainted with Selina and meets Jack. Having fun and participating in photography club, Bruce's "normal" life falls apart as kids around him start getting kidnapped.
🦇
Absolutely loved the art style, and Selina is a total hot villain character! Bruce is ever the hero, and I enjoyed seeing Jack Napier's relationship with the two of them. I can't wait for more of this story!
🦇