Popverse's top stories

• What is Superman saving movie audiences from? Meaningless superheroes and bad movies, says DC Studios chief James Gunn
• How do you go about creating a realistic villain in The Walking Dead? "Suffering," says Clementine's Tillie Walden
• The Stranger Things Instagram broadcast channel just came back online after 18 months of silence - to tease a season 5 trailer of the Netflix hit

Before Netflix's Wednesday, before the big screen Wicked, before A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, there was Gotham City's Olive, a teen searching for the truth behind their mysterious school in the same city as the Caped Crusader and his many, many foes. It’s been more than a decade since fans first got to visit Gotham Academy — a YA spin-off of Batman lore set in the city’s most prestigious prep school, filled with mystery, danger, and maybe a member or two from the Dark Knight’s rogues gallery. This fall, DC is taking readers back to school in a brand new Gotham Academy series… along with the characters and creators that started it all way back when.

The six-issue Gotham Academy: First Year reunites series creators Brenden Fletcher, Becky Cloonan, and Karl Kerschl, along with newcomer Marco Ferrari, to continue the story of Olive Silverlock: a student from Gotham’s working-class district The Narrows, who ends up in one of the best schools in Gotham City, out of her depth and unwilling to let go of the many mysteries she discovers once she arrives. And… when we say “continue,” we actually mean, ‘begin’ — as this series is set before the original Gotham Academy, showing how Olive got to the school in the first place.

“We went back to where it all began,” co-creator Brenden Fletcher said in a statement. “Gotham Academy: First Year takes us into Olive Silverlock’s pivotal first year — the mysterious summer before it all started — and introduces one of Batman’s most iconic villains to the series for the very first time. We can’t wait for readers old and new to join us this October, exactly 11 years to the day since the original series debuted!”

He added, “I’m so excited to return to the world of Gotham Academy with Becky and Karl. It’s a joy to be back with the original team, and to welcome the incredibly talented Marco Ferrari to the fold. His work brings such life to these characters and to the halls of the Academy itself.”

Gotham Academy: First Year will be written by Fletcher, Cloonan, and Kerschl, with art from Ferrari. (Steve Wands provides letters and Eva de la Cruz colors.) Covers for the entire series will come from Kerschl, who was the artist on the original series; the first issue also features covers from Dustin Nguyen and Sweeney Boo; you can see both in the gallery above.

The first issue of Gotham Academy: First Year will be released October 1, 2025.