Gotham Academy, Volume 3: Yearbook

Gotham Academy #3

by Brenden Fletcher (Writer), Adam Archer (Illustrator), Sandra Hope (Illustrator)

Gotham's best and brightest come together within the halls of Gotham Academy. Whether they'll turn out to be the city's best and brightest heroes OR villains remains to be seen.

THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES!

A slew of comics’ top writers and artists pay tribute to the coolest school in the DC Universe as GOTHAM ACADEMY ends its first semester with a bang!

They faced magic, monsters and mayhem-along with quizzes, crushes and dining-hall food-but Olive, Maps and the rest of the Academy gang survived their first term at Gotham City’s most prestigious school. Now it’s time to look back by putting together their yearbook. But it wouldn’t be Gotham Academy if there weren’t an all-new, untold adventure on every page!

What happens when students sneak into a faculty party full of (mostly) reformed super-villains? What kind of trouble can kids get into at the mall when an elite assassin is their chaperone? And why is Robin, the Boy Wonder himself, interested in Maps’ maps?

In GOTHAM ACADEMY VOLUME 3: YEARBOOK, writer Brenden Fletcher (BLACK CANARY) and artist Adam Archer (SCRIBBLENAUTS: UNMASKED) lead an all-star team of killer creators including David Petersen (MOUSE GUARD), Michael Dialynas (THE WOODS), Hope Larson (BATGIRL), Katie Cook (MY LITTLE PONY), Derek Fridolfs and Dustin Nguyen (LI’L GOTHAM), Faith Erin Hicks (The Adventures of Superhero Girl), James Tynion IV (BATMAN ETERNAL), Annie Wu (BLACK CANARY), Rafael Albuquerque (AMERICAN VAMPIRE), Steve Orlando (MIDNIGHTER) and more!

Collects: Gotham Academy #13-18, Annual #1.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Young Adult, Dc Comics, Superheroes, Fantasy, Graphic Novels Comics

176 pages, Paperback

First published November 8, 2016

About the author

Brenden Fletcher is a writer who's worked on DC Comics titles including the bestselling Batgirl of Burnside, Gotham Academy, and Black Canary.

He contributed the acclaimed Flash story to the Eisner and Harvey Award winning Wednesday Comics and has recently launched a Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Pink series for Boom! Studios.

Reviews

[Jayson · Rating 2 out of 5]

(B-) 71% | Satisfactory
Notes: A slice-of-life anthology, it's clip-show artificial, so indie superficial, just off-brand storytelling, and hardly beneficial.

*Progress updates: Preamble ◦ Issue #13 ◦ Issues #14-15 ◦ Issues #16-18

[Shayna Ross · Rating 2 out of 5]

I flipped through this. I don't like when comic series decide to do a bunch of random short stories and I really hate when the art changes every fourth page. I want to go back to the main story and I want to stick with the main art. Ugh.

[Chad · Rating 1 out of 5]

With this volume, Gotham Academy has been turned into an anthology series. The stories are mostly 4 to 6 pages long and leave little room for any character development or excitement. Feels like they are just limping along until cancellation at this point.

[Ben Howard · Rating 3 out of 5]

I probably would have rated Gotham Academy, Volume 3: Yearbook higher if this wasn't the last volume of this run, and we only got 2 volumes with Second Semester. I just wanted a storyline continuous from volume two. I'm mainly just sad that this series isn't ongoing.

This was a fun read and I'm always happy when following the Detective Club's antics. And while I do prefer the classic Gotham Academy artstyle, it was interesting to see the guest artists take on these characters and their setting (some better than others).

The set-up for this volume, is Map's making her own yearbook after being denied entry to the yearbook club. With the help of her friends, we get to see stories of their time at Gotham Academy; interspersed with a present day storyline that culminates with the big end fight scene.

[Shadowdenizen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still enjoying this series. The premise is fun and exciting, and the characters are likable and well defined. That said, I found this volume a bit of a letdown. 3.5 stars, rounded down.

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

Really uneven volume with some great stories and some not-so-great ones that ended up bogging down the book.

[Maggie Gordon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gotham Academy Volume 3 meanders. It's a collection of shorts with nothing really pushing the narrative as a whole. A definite departure from the first two volumes, and not one I was particularly fond of. The ever changing art styles did not help as most of them were rather weak, and while the idea of a "yearbook" of stories sounds cute in theory, it takes us away from the ongoing story for A WHOLE VOLUME. That's at least six months before we get back to normal :l Probably more!

[Alexa (Alexa Loves Books) · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is a particular story tangent I enjoyed because of who was in it, and most of the collected issues are fun to read!

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow, I'd have to classify this volume as grossly (and shockingly) disappointing. The first issue is OK. It somewhat clumsily crosses over with the Robin War arc, but it's mostly understandable and it even offers some interesting setup of a new student with a secret and a promise of danger in the future.

But then, I don't even know what the heck happened to the comic. It becomes a short story anthology by a number of different authors and artists. It's not consistent and it's not particularly interesting. Meanwhile, it totally kills the flow of the comic's actual plot. A couple of issues in to this horrible "Yearbook" arc, I just gave up and skimmed through until it ended, and that's something that I almost never do with a comic, let alone one I paid for.

There is an Annual at the end of the volume, and it's really quite clever, but it's way too late. And that's the end of the comic unless the much delayed Rebirth ever comes about.

It's not just a disappointing volume of Gotham Academy, it's the horribly disappointing end, in which nothing of note happens. Wow.

[Bunny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Won via GoodReads First Reads program.

Gotham Academy is the DCU meets Harry Potter meets Scooby Doo. And if that doesn't get you pumped to read it, I'm afraid we can't be friends.



The best part of this volume is that multiple artists are involved, giving different styles to each story. You really get the feel for the flashbacks, along with the main arc tying it all together as the gang goes over Maps' "yearbook" stories.

I am kind of in love with this series. It's the Batworld told by the civilians. Poor Olive with her hatred for the bat because of her mom, but also we meet villains, and hey, they're not so bad, they're just misunderstood. And since Batman is Mr. Gray Area, it's fun to see this from the perspective of teenagers.

Love love love.

[Bookishrealm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok so this definitely wasn't my favorite of the Gotham Academy series. Here's what I did like:

-The idea that we get to learn about their year at the academy through a yearbook.
-We find out so much about characters that weren't previously introduced.
-The friendship between all the characters. They've come a long way from the first volume.
-Some of the artwork...not all of it. I didn't like some of the guest artists.
-Maps played such an important role in this volume and I absolutely love her as a character.

Things I didn't like:
-The fact that there were so many guest artists.
-The stories didn't exactly flow together the way I thought they would have.
-I wanted a little more of where we left off from the last volume.

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's almost never that I want to skim a comic, but here we are. I liked seeing the various artists' styles depicting the adorable characters... and otherwise found it a waste of time. More of the main story, please.

[Dan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm obviously not the target audience but switching of artists every few pages made me really dislike this. I think this series is more like Scooby doo and the gang minus the dog and mystery machine. Few brief appearances by Robin are not enough to keep me interested.

[R J Royer · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing sequel to book two. I just love Olive and Maps. Their friends are just as good as they are and they are some of the best enablers I have ever seen.

Just a great continuation of a great story.

ilu eh

[Logan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun volume, better then volume 2! Artwork was all over the place though!¬

[Patty · Rating 2 out of 5]

**1.5 / 2 stars**

WTF.
what the actual heck did I just read?
If I didn't know any better I would think all the writers completely forgot about how vol 2 ended and decided they just didn't care anymore for this series and put together THE MOST USELESS AND STUPID PLOT. Yearbook? REALLY?! Y'all were THAT bored? Sure, some of the stories might be a tad interesting but they do NOTHING TO ANSWER THE QUESTIONS WE HAD FROM VOLUME 2!!!

I'm so upset that I waste my money and bought this. I'm currently trying to decide if I should ever bother reading Gotham Academy: Second Semester #1 . Because if it's just as messed up as this waste of a volume I swear I will set it on fire. Not really though LOL

[Christy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The yearbook issues had some great things going on and some not so great things going on. It's worth reading but understand there's little plot furthering and very inconsistent.

There's a lot of strength in seeing a variety of authors and artists. We get to see the GA kids through the lens of many people, which brings a lot of depth but also a lot of eh-moments.

My favorite issue was #16 because Maps/Damien OTP. My favorite stories were: Scottie Dog, Hammin' Around, Maps' Day Out, and Boring Sunday.

Overall it's a cute set of side stories to fill in while the universe rebirths.

[Cassandra Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

ORIGINALLY POSTED: https://bibliomantics.com/2016/06/30/...

The latest Gotham Academy trade is less a full story arc and more a compilation of shorts set in the DC Universe. While there are some really adorable hits, the collection has way more misses, making this the most disappointing volume of the series. Hopefully the next arc will be worth the extended wait!

[Jadyn❀ · Rating 3 out of 5]

The annual at the end was strong, but the Robin War tie-in at the start was weak. So weak, in fact, that I read it before when I read that event collected and didn’t remember a thing of it. The yearbook stories in between the tie-in and the annual were cute, but of varying importance and relevance. Some show the growth of the characters and friend group, but others are just there for the joke (which is okay, too. I like the lighthearted tone). I miss the clear direction the series had in the beginning. This volume was also much more focused on Maps than on Olive, which is fine, but a perspective shift you can feel.

[Ashley]

Pretty much as soon as I opened this book, I had no idea what was going on. Couldn't remember what happened in the previous installments, and skimming though, it looked like a collection of different artists drawing short comics. I hate artwork changes. So I skipped this and went right into Second Semester.

This book is definitely skippable.

[Emily]

Um compiladão de várias mini histórias do Clube de Detetives, escritas e desenhadas por vários roteiristas e artistas diferentes. Gostei de umas, achei outras meio sem graça. Igual os outros Academia Gotham, tem horas que tudo acontece rápido demais e é muito absurdo, mas eu gosto da amizade de todo mundo – e AINDA quero saber mais sobre a história da Olive.

[Annalise Kraines · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was just lovely. It's been cool to see these friendships grow, and I loved the inclusion of so many artists and art styles in this issue! The plots are clever and creepy, and I can't wait to see what happens in the next issue!

[dandelion · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my favorite volume from the current run unfortunately.

[Miss Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

confusing but the art was still mostly cute? 2.5 stars

[Ula · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Peter Krol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Satisfying ending, but much of the rest was mediocre.

[Radwa · Rating 2 out of 5]

this felt really weird.
it was a collection of short stories, very loosley tied together, and each story had a different artist, so different art style, writing style and even different portrayl of the characters, so even though we're following them on their recollections, they don't feel like the same people from one story to another.
I don't think I liked it that much.
Though I love Maps, and I wouldn't mind reading more about her alone.

[Ma'Belle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love these characters and the tone of the book. This was a pretty fun mystery, but it was dragged out a bit and didn't compel me to finish it in a short period of time.

[NoaChloé Saffer · Rating 5 out of 5]

C est trop bien 😊

[April Poole · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume of Gotham Academy continues the fun, lighthearted adventures of the first volumes and reunites the reader with their favorite troublesome Gotham teens. This one is more episodic than the other volumes, and while I missed an overarching story, I enjoyed these vignettes and enjoyed the chance to get these peeks into the gang's lives and exploits. The framing of the "yearbook" is fun and I liked the way they led into each flashback. The different art styles were fun, and I liked seeing what each artist did with it. This volume lived up to the tone and delight of the first volumes, and I can't wait to keep reading.