Wow! At the risk of sounding overly biased, Gotham Academy #8, subtitled, Requiem, is as good as a single issue gets. Lurking inside the dark pages, we not only get superb writing and great artwork, but also two big reveals and a creepy new mystery in the storyline.
The story begins with the students dismissed from class to attend the funeral of Olive Silverlock’s mother. After the funeral, Kyle goes to console Olive by the gravesite but gets there too late and ends up watching from a distance as Tristan, his main competition for Olive’s affection, puts his arm around Olive and leads her away.
Funeral
The first big reveal comes as Kyle hearkens to his distrust of Tristan and follows him to Doctor Langstrom’s office, where he accidentally discovers that Tristan is a Were-Bat and the two of them (Tristan and Doctor Langstrom) are secretly working together to find a cure. Scared for Olive’s well-being, Kyle runs to Olive to share his ground-breaking information, but she isn’t biting (If you recall, Olive already knows Tristan is a Were-Bat. She knows because she grazed him with an arrow outside the North Hall in issue #5 ). While it’s obvious that Kyle thinks Olive should be grateful to learn this revelation about Tristan, she is instead (falsely) disbelieving and frustrated by his bad-timed cheap shot at Tristan that she suggests is motivated by jealousy.
The only taker Kyle finds to believe his story is the ever exuberant Maps, who overhears his talk of a resident Were-Bat on campus while she is inconspicuously exploring the secret passageways hidden within the walls of the Academy.
Meanwhile, Kyle and Maps track down Tristan and confront him about the events in Langstrom’s office, but Tristan has no interest in talking. Instead, he quickly transforms into a Man-Bat and flies out the window toward the graveyard to escape their questioning. But Kyle and Maps are not so easily deterred and give chase after him on foot. When they are just shy of the first tombstones a terrifying shriek suddenly pierces the cemetery’s silence immediately followed by painful sounding human groans. The two of them quickly rush toward the direction of the groans to find Tristan, still in his Man-Bat form, badly injured after being attacked by an unknown predator.
Soon after the attack, Kyle and Maps deliver Tristan into the trustworthy hands of Doctor Langstrom before Kyle goes in search of Olive to make sure of her safety.
While searching the campus, Kyle finds Olive standing alone on a dock overlooking the water and rushes to her side. She seems disoriented, but tells Kyle she has some concerning personal news she needs to share. That’s when the second big reveal takes place. Olive admits that, like her mother, she has a mysterious history of starting fires without remembering doing it; a trait which landed her mother in Arkham Asylum. She further reveals that she was responsible for starting the fire in the North Hall last summer and then again a second time more recently, all seemingly without her control or memory. Kyle pulls her close, promising to protect her before initiating a short kiss after which Olive asks to be left alone.
The issue ends with an unknown ghostly figure (possibly her mother’s ghost) looking on as Olive scoops up and reads a sealed letter floating in the water. Endorsed to Olive, she opens the envelope to discover it’s a letter from her deceased mother.
Aside from the writing and artwork, which are both fantastic, I really enjoyed the creative frame designs and page layouts. The slanted angles and fresh design of the overlapping overlays are all set up for emphasis and appeal and they work perfectly together for a truly exceptional presentation.
With literally no fluff, each page builds on the next. I truly enjoyed this issue as much as any issue thus far and can hardly wait for next month.
My rating: 10/10.