Gotham Academy #9

The young detectives of Gotham Academy look anything but ready for a quiet school day on Karl Kerschl's bright, energetic cover — a girl with blue-white hair and a younger student clutching a golden sword stand at the center of the group, flanked by a tennis-racket-wielding teen in a yellow jersey, a cool-shaded figure with a strawberry, and a dark-haired girl with an uneasy expression, all rendered against a vivid green backdrop. The body language says something's gone sideways at Gotham's most mysterious prep school, and the story title "Calamity" only adds to the delicious sense of impending chaos. With Becky Cloonan and Brenden Fletcher writing and Kerschl's clean, expressive linework throughout, this 2015 issue promises the blend of school-days charm and gothic intrigue that makes this series so easy to love.