By Brenden Fletcher, Becky Cloonan, Karl Kerschl, Adam Archer, Sandra Hope, Massyk, Rob Haynes, Steve Wands

Olive Silverlock (under the influence of Calamity) continues her quest for vengeance in the name of Millie Jane Cobblepot, against her last living descendent, Oswald. Olive’s friends back at Gotham Academy search for a way to help her, but Maps has to deal with the Terrible Trio first.

In this iteration, the Terrible Trio is a secret club at the Academy who hold all the deepest secrets of the history of Gotham. With Maps making it her personal mission to uncover all the secrets she comes across, the Trio has her in their sights to be silenced.

While its been a long road getting here: the secret of Millie Jane Cobblepot, the intricacies of Gotham Academy, Olive Silverlock’s parentage and relationship to Kyle Mizoguchi, seeing it move forward a tiny bit is still as entertaining as ever.

Adam Archer’s art is distinctive, expressive and animated. Together with Massyk’s backgrounds and Haynes’ breakdowns, Gotham Academy remains one of DC’s most visually unique books, even against other Bat titles. The characters all have a Manga influenced style to them, while the world they inhabit is lush and detailed. These contrasts help to craft the children’s innocence against the complexities of the adult world which they must navigate to reach their goals.

While the inclusion of the major Gotham residents has never been necessary, Fletcher, Cloonan, and Kerschal have built a plot where it seems fitting to bring in characters like Batman, Penguin, and Two Face. Calamity is tearing through Gotham, and her targets have to be those that are instantly recognizable to readers as well as those who they know as important to the DCU. At the same time, Gotham Academy retains its human, or rather youthful, heart as Olive’s friends continue to solve mysteries and deal with their own drama while the larger plot plays out.

Rating: Poor, Fair, Good, Great, Excellent