Gotham Academy is
DC Comic’s most risky book. Its main characters are two teenage high school
girls with no powers. Its setting is in an aging private school. However, this turns out to be its greatest
strength. Gotham Academy feels different from any other comic DC Comics, or
any other major publisher, is putting out.
Where Gotham Central years ago
gave us a view of how the average police officer sees life in a Gotham City in
the shadow of Batman, Gotham Academy
shows us how various children live in Gotham.
There is the fangirl who is amazed at the chance to see Batman, there is
the prankster who wants to get away from a dangerous situation as quickly as
possible, and there is the angsty teen who hates living under the constant
light of the Bat Signal.
 |
| Hope you survive the experience. |
The popular Harry Potter
series had magical school of Hogwarts which trained young witches and wizards
so that they could have the skills necessary to survive in the world of
magic. Gotham Academy is the Hogwarts of Gotham City, but instead of
learning spells, you learn how to survive the scary streets of Gotham. Classes are held on the history of Gotham and
the mysteries of the Cobblepot family.
The professors at the academy all appear to be much more than your
average instructor. Almost all of them
carry a name that is an homage to a classic minor hero. The
librarian Mr. Scarlett could be a wink towards Golden Age Fawcett Comics (the
company that published the original Captain Marvel, now known as Shazam, books)
hero Mr. Scarlet who was a human crimefighter who used gadgets like
Batman. The drama teacher Mr. Trent is
almost certainly a reference to Simon Trent, the Batman: TAS Gray Ghost (voiced
terrifically by Adam West), and even makes a reference that he has experience
playing a “ghost.” Who better to teach
the youths of Gotham than those who have fought to protect it?
