Gotham High by Melissa de la Cruz and Thomas Pitilli

Gotham High by Melissa De La Cruz and Illustrated by Thomas Pitilli

Publication Date: April 7th, 2020

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!

GOODREADS—BOOKSTORE LINK

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I received this ARC from DC Comics in exchange for a review!

Okay I’m going to be completely honest Batman isn’t my favorite person but when I read the synopsis for this I was definitely intrigued. I mean… a sort of prequel about Batman, Catwoman and The Joker before they were them? I mean, how could I not be interested?

First of all, I gotta say that the art is just STUNNING. It had like a dark texture (I’m not an artist I don’t know terminology just bear with me) that fit the whole Gotham vibe perfectly! It was dark and mysterious and I was gripped from the beginning.

The story itself was full of mystery and I honestly didn’t know what would happen! I loved the narration. It had this whole old timey TV show (you know like in Spider-Verse Nicholas Cages’ character? THAT vibe).

I especially enjoyed the little parallels and nods to all the different DC comics. I really liked Selina Kyle and I think it would be really cool for more stories in this whole High School Universe!

If you enjoy broody rich teenagers, *gasp* kidnappings!, dark and intense art and storytelling, comics and vigilantes, parties with ulterior motives and card games with hidden meanings this is definitely something you should check out! Even if you don’t know the DC Comics, this is a great story with twists and turns that even a newbie to comics will find intriguing!