Gotham High
Melissa de la Cruz/illustrated by Thomas Pitilli
DC Graphic Novels for Young Adults
High school is tough enough what with all the jocks, rich kids and party people to deal with, so imagine just how difficult it would be if your name is Bruce Wayne and you’re the heir to the Wayne Enterprises’ billions? That’s the premise behind this imaginative re-telling of the Batman legend in Gotham High.
Gotham High is the freshest re-take on the character of Batman in decades. Melissa de la Cruz’s storytelling is spot on …
This time around the Dark Knight is a half-Chinese/half-Caucasian adolescent, and his late mother was a mega-wealthy Hong Kong heiress who helped Bruce’s father become a billionaire. Bruce currently lives with his guardian and uncle, Alfred Dean Pennyworth, and Alfred’s husband John. At the story’s opening he’s been bounced out of an exclusive Arkham Preparatory School and forced back into public high school at Gotham High. There Bruce becomes reacquainted with his childhood sweetheart, Selina Garcia Kyle–a sympathetic yet unreliable narrator–and her pal Jack Napier, a working class card shark and member of the Pranksters gang. Bruce immediately gets into trouble with his new principal, Ms. Gordon, when he finds himself almost kidnapped, but fellow student Harvey Dent is mistakenly taken instead. Bruce examines the drugged dart with the help of a young apothecary named Ivy. He then follows a trail that eventually leads him to Selina. Could the pretty girl-next-door who works so hard taking care of her ailing father be the super-villain she appears to be?
Gotham High is the freshest re-take on the character of Batman in decades. Melissa de la Cruz’s storytelling is spot on with intriguing action scenes and believable character conflicts. The eye-popping illustrations by Thomas Pitilli are page turners in themselves. Batman aficionados and YA graphic novel lovers alike will not be disappointed.
