哥谭学院 (2014)

Gotham Academy was an American comic book series published by DC Comics from October 2014 to August 2017. Created by writers Becky Cloonan and Brenden Fletcher and artist Karl Kerschl, it ran for 18 issues and an annual under The New 52, then continued for 12 issues as Gotham Academy: Second Semester under DC Rebirth. Set in the DC Universe's Batman mythos, the series follows Olive Silverlock, a teenage girl, and her friends as they investigate the mysteries and threats of Gotham City's most prestigious prep school, Gotham Academy, which sits across the road from Arkham Asylum.

In 2016, the series had a crossover with Boom! Studios' Lumberjanes a prequel limited series titled Gotham Academy: First Year was published in 2025-2026. Aspects of the series were used in the Gotham Knights television series.

Publication history

Gotham Academy was launched on October 1, 2014 as a part of the ninth and final wave of comics under DC Comics' The New 52 imprint and the short lived DC You initiative. It was created by writers Becky Cloonan and Brenden Fletcher and artist Karl Kerschl. The team began conceiving the series in 2014 as they all lived in Montreal. At the time, it was one of only very few young adult books in the main DC Universe. Cloonan identified Batman mysteries, Harry Potter, and Nancy Drew stories as the influential touchstones the team wanted to hit. Gotham Academy ran for eighteen issues and one annual until May 11, 2016. The final three issues were subtitled as Gotham Academy: Yearbook. A one-shot comic titled Gotham Academy: Endgame #1 was also published on April 1, 2015 as a tie-in to the "Batman: Endgame" story arc and is presented as an anthology of stories about the Joker told by the students.

A six issue crossover miniseries between Gotham Academy and Boom! Studios's Lumberjanes, written by Chynna Clugston Flores with art by Rosemary Valero-O'Connell and titled Lumberjanes/Gotham Academy, was published between June 8 and November 6, 2016. A second volume of the main series by the same main creative team, titled Gotham Academy: Second Semester, debuted in September 14, 2016, as part of the DC Rebirth initiative, with the final twelve issue released on August 9, 2017. The series had originally been announced in February 2016 as Gotham Academy: Next Semester. The creators said that they had always intended the series to end, with the final story arc wrapping up all plot points from the previous issues.

Some of the characters from Gotham Academy have appeared in other Gotham related comics throughout the years. Mia 'Maps' Mizoguchi appeared in a story in the anthology Batman Black and White (2021) #4 in March 2021 and a back up story in Batman (vol. 3) #119-#121 in early 2022, both by Karl Kersch, in which she briefly teamed up with Batman as a Robin to find a missing class mate. A Gotham Academy story by the original creative team was also included in the anthology one-shot DC's Saved by the Belle Reve #1 on August 30, 2022. The stories from 2021-2022 were later collected in the Gotham Academy: Maps Of Mystery one-shot on May 9, 2023 in preparation for the Gotham Knights television series. A third comic series, again by the same creators and titled Gotham Academy: First Year, was published as a six issue limited series between October 1, 2025, and August 5, 2026. A prequel to the original series, First Year takes place during Olive Silverlock's arrival at the Academy and introduces a new classic Batman villain to the series.

Plot

Issues #1-18

After distancing herself from her friends and boyfriend over summer, Olive begins a new school year after her mother was instated at Arkham Asylum. At the behest of her friend Mia "Maps" Mizoguchi, the two begin exploring the academy. After seeing masked figures, Olive finds that her classmates Pomeline Fritch and her boyfriend Heathcliff are part of a secret society, and are attempting to capture the ghost of Millie Jane Cobblepot, who is haunting the grounds. Olive interrupts their ritual, causing Millie Jane to run amok. Olive promises that she will help catch the ghost who is connected to a diary she owns. While searching, Olive and Maps spot a blonde boy who Olive recognizes, but she cannot recall why.

Realizing that Millie Jane's ghost is connected to the North Hall (which was destroyed by a fire), Olive, Maps, and Pom ask Colton Rivera for help, a student who can sneak them into the off-limits hall. Inside, the four find strange symbols on the ground. They accidentally alert campus security, and the hall is put on lockdown. The group decides to investigate the symbols they found. That night, Olive discovers that Heathcliff has been faking the ghost's existence to convince Pomeline that her rituals were working. Olive promises to keep it secret. When she returns to her room, she discovers tunnels that connect the campus to the underground and finds that Killer Croc has been living there, who broke out of Arkham when it collapsed.

The group figures that Croc is hiding in the North Hall. They sneak into the headmaster's office for Colton's fireworks to get through the blocked entrance. On their way, Olive spots a Batman-like figure following them, and shoots it with a crossbow from the headmaster's office. Olive finds it is the blonde boy, Tristan, who has been affected by the Langstrom Virus, causing him to sometimes become a mutated half-bat creature. He explains that he rescued Olive from the night the North Hall burned down while she was sleepwalking.