Gotham Academy thread

[willtupper]

That April solicitation has got me worried about the fate of the Academy.

I feel like I'm concerned about it every month, but... still!

IT'S NERVE WRACKING!

#savegothamacademy #longlivemaps

[millernumber1]

I'm more concerned because it seems like Fletcher and Cloonan are not smart enough to finish up this very, very unpopular arc next issue, and start a new arc so they can argue for a full year at least of issues. If the arc ends with #8, there's not a really strong argument for keeping this series alive, since the sales are incredibly bad.

[willtupper]

I think it's pretty presumptuous (not to mention somewhat mean) to claim Fletcher and Cloonan "are not smart enough" to do that.

I'm sure they have plans. And I suspect those plans have been in place for a long time, and couldn't easily be changed.

And also, they created Maps Mizoguchi.

Optimism in Gotham City.

So they'll always be comic geniuses to me!

[millernumber1]

I think it's pretty presumptuous (not to mention somewhat mean) to claim Fletcher and Cloonan "are not smart enough" to do that.

I'm sure they have plans. And I suspect those plans have been in place for a long time, and couldn't easily be changed.

And also, they created Maps Mizoguchi.

Optimism in Gotham City.

So they'll always be comic geniuses to me!

Apologies. I am not a fan of Fletcher's work or interaction with fandom in general, even though I do agree that the creation of Maps is very worthwhile. I maintain my analysis that their structuring of this season of Gotham Academy has not been very effective.

[willtupper]

It's cool. Thank you for explaining.

Looking at the list of books he's written, I've enjoyed a number of them. Especially Gotham Academy, obviously. But also Black Canary, and Batgirl.

I'm not really familiar with Mr. Fletcher's "interaction(s) with fandom in general." Or at all, actually.

Could you elaborate on what you mean?

[millernumber1]

It's cool. Thank you for explaining.

Looking at the list of books he's written, I've enjoyed a number of them. Especially Gotham Academy, obviously. But also Black Canary, and Batgirl.

I'm not really familiar with Mr. Fletcher's "interaction(s) with fandom in general." Or at all, actually.

Could you elaborate on what you mean?

Well, I don't want to derail this lovely thread about a very nice comic, but I'll try to tl, dr it.

Fletcher doesn't handle criticism well (he's not very nice to people who disagree with him on twitter), and he seems to have difficulty keeping a schedule (Batgirl, Gotham Academy, and Black Canary had serious schedulling difficulties near the beginning of Rebirth - and while it could have been other people, he was involved in all three of the titles). Now, taking over Batgirl from a beloved writer, especially when the title itself has both Cass and Steph fans irritated already, makes for a challenge, but Fletcher is not respectful to the history of Batgirl or fans who want that kind of respect. How much of that is DC's insistence on n52 continuity, and how much is Fletcher is a bit hard to tell, but it's a barrier to me wanting to follow his work in general.

With regards to Fletcher's writing, I find he tends to disregard internal story logic a bit too easily (things like Olive and Maps being able to catch themselves while falling from a great height, all the villains being teachers, not explaining whether Katherine Karlo is Clayface or has her own selfhood, etc), which detracts from my ability to believe in these seemingly mundane characters. It's a bit more forgiveable in a superhero comic, particularly one with powers, like Black Canary, but then you run into the very difficult issue of history of characters. I think the idea of Black Canary in a band is perfect. Absolutely brilliant. Writing songs for her band and releasing a single? Amazing. The actual story...um...aliens? Super sekrit government stuff? That's not the Black Canary I love (of course, neither is the n52 Birds of Prey Dinah, which is why I've loved the new Birds of Prey that's deliberately calling back to Simone's Dinah).

Hope I've been fair, here.

[daningotham]

I hope the series doesn't end. I'm not sure what I will do without my monthly fix of Maps....she is the best.

[millernumber1]

I hope the series doesn't end. I'm not sure what I will do without my monthly fix of Maps....she is the best.

I feel ya. I really do. Here's to hoping that even if (hopefully not) the series ends, Maps will be in Gotham's orbit for a long time to come.

[willtupper]

I guess that's cool. Thank you very much for taking the time to explain it to me.

Has he been particularly mean to anyone on Twitter recently? I mean, I just went through about a month of his tweets, and all I can gather from reading them is that he's a dude who's just genuinely psyched about what he's doing. Like, he's making stuff, he's getting paid to make that stuff, and he's geeked as can be to be doing it.

I can't knock that. Not one bit .

As for the stories, and deference to character legacy... I doubt we'll ever know how much of it is writer influence, or editorial mandate. I wasn't in love with the aliens in Black Canary, either. But the indie rock, touring band structure & characters... all that I thought was just perfect.

I love Ms. Simone's take on Black Canary (and the Birds, for that matter). She set a pretty high bar for everyone that follows. She's also (to get back to the "fandom interaction" thing) brilliant (and hilarious) in her Twitter musings & interactions online with readers.

I adore her.

But, back on topic:

2 weeks, 3 days until our next Academy adventure!

And (semi-related), I don't have it yet (but you bet I'm gonna get it) because I've got all the single issues, but if you haven't read it, Maps EPIC adventure poem "Gotham Academy Defenders" is included in the beginning of Gotham Academy Volume 2: Calamity.

You can also download it free at the DC Comics website.

But I want it in print (eventually). Because it's awesome!

Well, I don't want to derail this lovely thread about a very nice comic, but I'll try to tl, dr it.

Fletcher doesn't handle criticism well (he's not very nice to people who disagree with him on twitter), and he seems to have difficulty keeping a schedule (Batgirl, Gotham Academy, and Black Canary had serious schedulling difficulties near the beginning of Rebirth - and while it could have been other people, he was involved in all three of the titles). Now, taking over Batgirl from a beloved writer, especially when the title itself has both Cass and Steph fans irritated already, makes for a challenge, but Fletcher is not respectful to the history of Batgirl or fans who want that kind of respect. How much of that is DC's insistence on n52 continuity, and how much is Fletcher is a bit hard to tell, but it's a barrier to me wanting to follow his work in general.

With regards to Fletcher's writing, I find he tends to disregard internal story logic a bit too easily (things like Olive and Maps being able to catch themselves while falling from a great height, all the villains being teachers, not explaining whether Katherine Karlo is Clayface or has her own selfhood, etc), which detracts from my ability to believe in these seemingly mundane characters. It's a bit more forgiveable in a superhero comic, particularly one with powers, like Black Canary, but then you run into the very difficult issue of history of characters. I think the idea of Black Canary in a band is perfect. Absolutely brilliant. Writing songs for her band and releasing a single? Amazing. The actual story...um...aliens? Super sekrit government stuff? That's not the Black Canary I love (of course, neither is the n52 Birds of Prey Dinah, which is why I've loved the new Birds of Prey that's deliberately calling back to Simone's Dinah).

Hope I've been fair, here.

[millernumber1]

I guess that's cool. Thank you very much for taking the time to explain it to me.

Has he been particularly mean to anyone on Twitter recently? I mean, I just went through about a month of his tweets, and all I can gather from reading them is that he's a dude who's just genuinely psyched about what he's doing. Like, he's making stuff, he's getting paid to make that stuff, and he's geeked as can be to be doing it.

I can't knock that. Not one bit .

As for the stories, and deference to character legacy... I doubt we'll ever know how much of it is writer influence, or editorial mandate. I wasn't in love with the aliens in Black Canary, either. But the indie rock, touring band structure & characters... all that I thought was just perfect.
I adore her.

But, back on topic:

2 weeks, 3 days until our next Academy adventure!

And (semi-related), I don't have it yet (but you bet I'm gonna get it) because I've got all the single issues, but if you haven't read it, Maps EPIC adventure poem "Gotham Academy Defenders" is included in the beginning of Gotham Academy Volume 2: Calamity.

You can also download it free at the DC Comics website.

But I want it in print (eventually). Because it's awesome!

I don't follow him, after the first few times I saw it happen (I've never interacted with him directly). His interviews at the start of his Batgirl run were what really turned me off. I do think he's genuinely excited, and sincere about making the best stuff he can.

I wish we'd gotten more of the band/mother stuff for Black Canary, but that silly alien plot took up too much time, and the conclusion was too trippy for me to love it. Maybe if that had been spread out more, or more time had developed Dinah's relationship/feelings about her mother, it might have worked, but ah, well.

Indeed! More Academy soon! (wow, is it that short? Hope it comes out as planned!) Any predictions on what will happen?

Maps's poem can be collected in hard copy (without having to duplicate it) if you get the issue "Convergence: Green Lantern Corp #2".

[willtupper]

I don't follow him, after the first few times I saw it happen (I've never interacted with him directly). His interviews at the start of his Batgirl run were what really turned me off. I do think he's genuinely excited, and sincere about making the best stuff he can.

I wish we'd gotten more of the band/mother stuff for Black Canary, but that silly alien plot took up too much time, and the conclusion was too trippy for me to love it. Maybe if that had been spread out more, or more time had developed Dinah's relationship/feelings about her mother, it might have worked, but ah, well.

Indeed! More Academy soon! (wow, is it that short? Hope it comes out as planned!) Any predictions on what will happen?

Maps's poem can be collected in hard copy (without having to duplicate it) if you get the issue "Convergence: Green Lantern Corp #2".

Yes, well I'm definitely not going to follow him (or anyone from Team Gotham Academy) on Twitter. The thought of anyone who helps create some comics I love being awful in other areas of the world (and to be clear: I don't doubt that he did what you said, but I never saw / read it myself) just breaks my heart.

So. I shan't do it. I shan't, I say! Ignorance will be both bliss AND in my best interest. At least in this.

As for what's to come @ the Academy, I think we're going to reach the conclusion of Olive's alternate identity mystery pretty soon. Hopefully, soon.

Although, it's weird. As of this moment, the DC Comics homepage has Issues 5 & 6 with the same cover showing with their write-ups.

Issue #7 has the Olive "crack-up" cover.

And yet, over at Comixology, Issues 6 & 7 show the same "crack-up" cover, and Issue 8 (not listed on dccomics.com yet) is new (from April 2017 solicits).

I'd love to see Maps other friends. Like, the people she plays "Serpents & Spells" with.

I'd love to see Maps the DM. Dungeon Maps.

And a Maps solo series.

Detective Club comics. With their all-star #1 selling series, BATMAPS!

And a live-action TV show. On Netflix. Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets at Hogwarts meets Riverdale.

MAKE IT HAPPEN, DC.

TANGENTALLY RELATED: If it's ever released on Blu-Ray or DVD, there was a TV show called "Dracula: The Series" (I don't remember "The Series" in the title when it ran, but it WAS a long time ago) that aired from 1990 - 1991. It was SO MUCH FUN. And it reminds me a lot of Gotham Academy. And I wish I could see it again.

(EDIT: Um... I just checked that one website? The one with all the videos? The REALLY popular one? YOU know which TUBE site I'm talking about right? Anyway, someone has PUT THE ENTIRE SERIES - ALL 21 EPISODES - ON THERE. So, you know. Bye, message boards! I GOT ME SOME SHOWS TO WATCH).

[Red obin]

Although, it's weird. As of this moment, the DC Comics homepage has Issues 5 & 6 with the same cover showing with their write-ups.

Issue #7 has the Olive "crack-up" cover.

And yet, over at Comixology, Issues 6 & 7 show the same "crack-up" cover, and Issue 8 (not listed on dccomics.com yet) is new (from April 2017 solicits).

The reason why was because #4 was not originally going to be a standalone issue and instead a part of the main story. However, due to issues (hah!) they make that issue a standalone complete with new cover. The originally solicited cover for #4 was moved too #5, #5 to #6 and thats why #6,7 were solicited with the same cover.
So now #4 has new cover, issue #5 had issue 4s original cover featuring pom, issue #6 had issue 5s original cover with Eric, #7 has the cracked Olive cove originally solicited with both #6 and #7. #8 has the flame horse cover in April solicited.

So here is a question, what was everyone's favourite yearbook story or issue. My favourite issue was definitely the final one(#18) but my favourite story was probably the black canary one, followed by the Ham story.

[millernumber1]

The reason why was because #4 was not originally going to be a standalone issue and instead a part of the main story. However, due to issues (hah!) they make that issue a standalone complete with new cover. The originally solicited cover for #4 was moved too #5, #5 to #6 and thats why #6,7 were solicited with the same cover.
So now #4 has new cover, issue #5 had issue 4s original cover featuring pom, issue #6 had issue 5s original cover with Eric, #7 has the cracked Olive cove originally solicited with both #6 and #7. #8 has the flame horse cover in April solicited.

So here is a question, what was everyone's favourite yearbook story or issue. My favourite issue was definitely the final one(#18) but my favourite story was probably the black canary one, followed by the Ham story.

Was there a release or interview that hinted or explained the issues?

I think my favorite Yearbook story was probably the Pomaline/Maps talent show in #18 - it had the best balance of fun friendship stuff and character depth. Though James Tynion IV's story (with new Batgirl artist Christian Wildgoose!) about Maps waiting for Batman sort of like the Great Pumpkin was really delightful - exactly how I'd like to see Batman's interactions with those he protects.

[HsssH]

That would make no sense to me
I think Eric is completely unrelated to Katherine

My guess is this:
Whatever was the plot of the begining of the first book with the connection with Arkham, the diary and everything else, involved Damian. which is why he joined the Academy to begin with, and his part was going to somehow investigate the "diary plot" on his own. However editors of DC couldnt let Damian to stay, most likely because of the launch of Son of Batman or Robins War or maybe some other issues with the continuity, which is why he came and left so quickly and also thats why the end of "season 1" involved a very weird thing where he comes back to pretty much give a vage conclusion to his part because at the end of the day there was no reason why Bruce should had enrolled Damian in to begin with just to end up like how it ended.

Here is where Eric comes from, he is here to just pick the leftovers of Damian's part of that plot. Everything on the character is involving the connection with the symbols.
Also maybe why he has this obsesion with Maps, maybe a leftover on trying to create some kind of ship with them... or something.

I dont know maybe im just looking way to deep on it.

No, I thin thats pretty spot on.


As for whole second semester thing, I don't get where this is going. First semester had many problems with its execution, but it was easier to overlook those flaws because we were getting some interesting new ideas and concepts. But now? Same old, new things that got introduced like Amy got old in two issues and supposedly its going to be resolved only in, possibly, last issue? Underwhelming to say the least.

[Red obin]

So issue #6 was good. I really enjoyed it and it is still one of my favourite books every month, but this issue felt like it didn't have the charisma of previous issues. Tristan and Pom are still a great team up. Kyle and Colton's moment was done very well and felt nice, I think it was one of Kyle's best moment. Eric was..... Crazy but I did think we would see more of him after the tease last issue, i just looked it up and I'm surprised the symbolist isn't some deep cut reinvention of an old bat character. Amy thing is way to obvious now, but it's good she is not real cause she's a pain. Olive was ok, she didn't do too much this issue same with Maps.