Author: Melissa de la Cruz, Illustrator: Thomas Pitilli
Release Date: 04.07.20
Publisher: DC Ink
Source: Publisher
Writing Rating: 2/5 stars
Illustrations Rating: 5/5 stars
Overall Rating: 2.5/5 stars
Synopsis: “From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Alex and Eliza and The Witches of East End comes a reimagining of Gotham for a new generation of readers. Before they became Batman, Catwoman, and The Joker, Bruce, Selina, and Jack were high schoolers who would do whatever it took–even destroy the ones they love–to satisfy their own motives.
After being kicked out of his boarding school, 16-year-old Bruce Wayne returns to Gotham City to find that nothing is as he left it. What once was his family home is now an empty husk, lonely but haunted by the memory of his parents’ murder. Selina Kyle, once the innocent girl next door, now rules over Gotham High School with a dangerous flair, aided by the class clown, Jack Napier.
When a kidnapping rattles the school, Bruce seeks answers as the dark and troubled knight–but is he actually the pawn? Nothing is ever as it seems, especially at Gotham High, where the parties and romances are of the highest stakes … and where everyone is a suspect.
With enchanting art by Thomas Pitilli, this new graphic novel is just as intoxicating as it is chilling, in which dearest friends turn into greatest enemies–all within the hallways of Gotham High!”
Disclosure: I received a free early copy of of the book from DC. Opinions are all my own.
Review:
Things That I Enjoyed About Gotham High:
- The art was beautiful. I fell head-over-heels in love with the art from the very first page. In particular, the colors were stunning and added so much to the atompshere of the story. I loveeeed how the colors were used to convey different scenes, characters, and vibes!
- Great representation. I really appreciated the POC representation. It was refreshing to see a line up of classic superhero characters depicted as people of color.
- It was a very quick read. I managed to consume the entire thing in one late night reading sprint! I started it around 9pm and was finished just a couple hours later. This would be perfect reading material for a day at the beach or just when you need something quick to enjoy.
Things That I Didn’t Enjoy About Gotham High:
- The writing was rough overall. I specifically felt that the transitions between scenes and conversations to be awkward and jumpy which made the reading less enjoyable. Also at times the dialogue followed the same awkward feeling. It was either too formal or just didn’t sit right with me. One of my biggest pet peeves is when characters address family members by “Uncle” or “Father” during every line of dialogue… and sadly this graphic novel had a lot of that. To me it just feels unrealistic and added to the general feeling of rough writing.
My final note is a neutral one, and that is that Gotham High was a bit older than I expected. To me this isn’t an issue, but I thought I would mention it here for anyone considering letting their child read this. It featured vaping, parties, romance, cursing, and a “hand gesture” which all took me by surprise. I wasn’t expecting any of it going in and wanted to give a fair warning to anybody considering this title.
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