Gotham Academy Second Semester Vol. 2 The Ballad Of Olive Silverlock

by Karl Kerschl, Becky Cloonan, and Brenden Fletcher

[Quirky Cat]

I’m been anxiously awaiting this volume for the last few months, and I am so happy that it’s finally out! The description for it does say it’s the plot conclusion, and the ending does certainly read that way. I’m not certain that this means the end for Gotham Academy, but it certainly feels that way. Which is pretty upsetting, come to think of it.



I’ll admit I was a bit confused on why the first issue didn’t continue the plot started back in Gotham Academy: Second Semester Vol. 1, but then I realized it was actually the fourth issue for the series; so it doesn’t fit in order here. I just wanted to point that out before it causes too much confusion. It is a nice short story though, and is a nice little respite before the conclusion of the story/series picks up again.
I’m pretty heartbroken about the idea of this being the end of Gotham Academy and I sincerely hope it gets revisited at sometime in the future (I like to believe that no comic storyline is truly dead; which isn’t a crazy belief, considering how often older series get rebooted). I am grateful that the authors had time to actually wrap up the plot and give us a conclusion, there’s nothing I hate more than an eternal cliffhanger.
Finally we’re given some answers about Calamity, her past, and how it all ties into Gotham City. I’ve been puzzling over this mystery for years, so it’s nice to have a canon answer finally. Though the fact that this was all revealed further convinces me that the series is over (yeah, I know I could look up the answer to this debate, but I’d really rather not lose any of the hope I have right now).
There are so many appearances and cameos in this volume, it’s almost overwhelming. Along with the obvious crew (Olive, Maps, Pom, Colton, and Kyle), some of our favorites from Gotham Academy also make appearances (Tristan, some of the professors, etc.), as do some of Gotham City’s heavy better known characters (the Penguin, Two-Face, and Damian Wayne). Bruce Wayne/Batman doesn’t make an appearance, but like many of the other volumes previous, his presence is still felt.
I’ve always been a fan of the artwork for the series, and will be making a point of researching all the artists involved in this project; so I can stalk, erm, follow them to their next project and support them further.
This was probably one of my favorite DC series (actively running, that is), so I’m pretty sad to see it go. I don’t know how the numbers ended up looking in the end, but I hope they were good enough to catch the attention of the DC higher ups, as I know Gotham Academy has a set of loyal and active fans (myself included).


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