Gotham Academy has finally returned from its two month break and I’m quite excited to see what new adventures await our young heroes. Is it good?
Gotham Academy #7 (DC Comics)
In this story, Maps Mizoguchi takes center stage. Back in issue #5, she and her friends took a couple of things from Headmaster Hammer’s office, including a quill. However, when she starts using it, things start getting weird, including the fact that she ends up stuck holding hands with a new student at the school: Damian Wayne of all people! Will the two of them be able figure out a solution to this strange magic?
Reading this issue of Gotham Academy, I can’t help but feel that this is a bit like filler. There’s no real storyline starting up or any subplots being developed in the issue, outside of the cliffhanger indicating something big will be going down. This is just a simple done-in-one tale involving Maps and Damian teaming up. But you know what? It’s still a great and really adorable issue. I was smiling the entire way through, watching these two characters interacting and working together to solve this situation they got stuck in. Pretty much the only real problem I took with the story was that Damian got expelled from the school at the end and that was very disappointing. I thought the character was going to be around for much longer in the book, especially when it felt like there could be potential for him interacting with the other characters.
The writing on the book is still very good and wonderfully handled. The characterization was strong and the two leads here had some great chemistry (or in Damian’s case a lack of it due to how much he wanted to get out of this situation). The humor was handled well and there was at least something on most of the pages that can get a smile or chuckle out of you, like Maps’ form of revenge she uses or her reaction to a grapple gun. The dialogue was enjoyable, while pretty much all of the writing mechanics worked. While there isn’t a lot to analyze, there is still an undeniable amount of joy and entertainment one can get from this book.
Stepping in as a guest artist, we have Mingjue Helen Chen taking care of this issue. She has a completely different style of art than our usual artist, but it’s still pretty good overall. The layouts are constructed well with everything being easy to follow and there are a lot of great looking images or shots on display. The colors are lovely and help bring out the tone and mood in some of the shots. The only problem I have with the artwork is the fact that both Maps and Damian are drawn similarly in the facial and hair department at points, which was a bit confusing at some points. Other than that, a great looking issue from beginning to end.
Is It Good?
Gotham Academy #7 is a simple and quick one-shot that was an incredible amount of fun, seeing both Maps and Damian team up for a little bit. There were some minor problems and a disappointment at the end, but overall, this was easily one of the best issues of the series so far. I hope the series can keep this excitement going forward.
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