Sharpen your pencils and grab your Batarangs, Gotham Academy is officially back in session! DC Comics has announced Gotham Academy: First Year, a brand-new six-issue series launching October 1, 2025, reuniting the fan-favorite creative team that started it all: Brenden Fletcher, Becky Cloonan, and Karl Kerschl. Joining them this time is artist Marco Ferrari, bringing a fresh look to the spooky, secret-filled prep school nestled in Gotham City.
Set before the original series, First Year dives into the backstory of Olive Silverlock, a shy student from the Narrows who arrives at Gotham Academy after a traumatic event involving her mother. With Batman looming large over her past, Olive is thrown into a world of elite students, buried secrets, and haunted hallways. Along the way, she’ll cross paths with Arkham Asylum, eccentric billionaires, and for the first time ever in the series, one of Batman’s most iconic villains.
“We’re going back to where it all began,” said Fletcher. “This is Olive’s first year, the summer before it all started—and it’s packed with new mysteries and familiar faces.”
Fans can expect Kerschl to return for main covers on all six issues, with variant covers by Dustin Nguyen and Sweeney Boo. The creative team promises a perfect jumping-on point for new readers, while giving longtime fans deeper insights into the series’ beloved characters.
Main Cover
Following the single issues, Gotham Academy: First Year will be collected into a Young Adult graphic novel edition coming August 4, 2026, ideal for classrooms, libraries, and fans of all ages. And for those eager to catch up on the original run, the Gotham Academy trade paperback (ISBN 9781779521712) is still available wherever books are sold. There’s also Gotham Academy: Maps of Mystery, now available wherever comics are sold.
Whether you’re brand new to Gotham Academy or a proud returning alum, this is the perfect chance to enroll (or re-enroll) in one of DC’s most charming, mysterious, and heartfelt corners of the Batman universe.
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