I'm Reading Comeeks

Bit early for back to school tales, but here we go...

As a kid I once told my nana (grandma) that my favorite days of school were the first and the last.  I didn't tell her that all the days in between were pure hell.  It seems the main character of Gotham Academy, Olive Silverlock, feels the same.

She had a very weird summer.  In fact, she can't really remember some of it.  All she knows is that she hates the Batman and she's not sure what's going on in her school, but she's gonna find out.  Some kids are certain that a ghost is haunting the closed off North Hall, but Olive has more to worry about than just a ghost.

The fact that I'm already anticipating the next volume of this series says a lot.  I read a lot of comics and most of them I pretty much forget about until I see the next issue on order at the library.  This one was fun, I loved all the characters and, despite the fact that I don't follow super hero comics, I found the story easy to follow and compelling.

One of the aspects of this comic that I really enjoyed was the fact that even though it's a spin off of Batman and has characters who appear in Batman comics it's very accessible to those of us who haven't been following every issue of the comics/movies/etc.  I also love that Batman himself is painted as a villain by the main character.

There was a good balance of characters too.  Olive is resourceful and serious, but she is also a good friend.  Her relationship with her ex?boyfriend's sister is great to read, Maps obviously looks up to Olive and wants her to be part of their family forever!  I loved Maps character, her obsession with D&D, mapping out rooms, planning attacks, she's a very adorable dork.

The other characters all added something to the mix, too, creating a fun aspect of school hijinks, that added up to a great reveal at the end that made me very curious to see what else was going on in this world.  The cast is also really diverse without seeming forced at all, I especially loved the subtly shown to the dance scene where Maps attended looking very cool in a suit with her roommate.

Awesome Fun Super Heroes (who happen to be girls):