Gotham Academy Volume 2: Calamity by Becky Cloonan, Brenden Fletcher, and illustrated by Karl kerschl

Summary from Goodreads:

Olive has received information that her mother might be alive—and now, she and her friends must investigate! Of course werewolves, ghosts, and new student Damian Wayne won’t make it easy!

Review:

The beginning of this one is told as an Edgar Allen Poe-type poem written by my favorite character: Maps. It highlights her meeting Bruce Wayne’s son and the two of them dealing with some dark, paranormal stuff. Is it possible that I forgot how amazing the first graphic novel was? Also, how can anything else ever compare with this?

I love that this story arc has everything: darkness, paranormal, superheroes, evil villains, teenage soap operas, private school things, and this underlying, sarcastic humor that is just so amazing. Seriously, It’s kind of like someone asked me what I thought all the best things were to put in a YA graphic novel/comic and then they made Gotham Academy. Thanks for listening.

After the poem, we learn that Olive’s other new friend is part bat/part human. Also, there’s some serious drama going on with her and her ex. Then add in the super juicy family mystery. Is her mother really dead? There’s more to come with Damian Wayne. There’s fires, secret passages, escapes, hidden identities, more arkham creepiness, “ghosts,” and new friends. The book has everything you could possibly want from it.

I also love the artwork. It’s very anime looking. It’s teen/anime Gotham and frankly, I just can’t get enough of it. The only down side is it takes forever for each installment to come out, and I have a feeling I’ll have a super long wait for volume 3. I give this one a 9/10.