Return to Gotham Academy in 2022 with a little Maps Mizoguchi action

Batman: Black & White #4 excerpt
Batman: Black & White #4 excerpt (Image credit: Karl Kerschl (DC))

After a three-year hiatus, Gotham Academy is back in session - but only for a brief moment (for now, at least).

January 4's Batman #119 will contain a surprise backup story featuring the Gotham Academy franchise's Mia 'Maps' Mizoguchi back up to what we've come to love her for - investigating crimes and dealing with the hot goss going around the school. In this case, it's the sudden disappearance of one of her classmates.

(Image credit: Jorge Molina (DC))

There's no mention of Maps' classmates (particularly her best friend Olive Silverlock and those in their detective club at the center of Gotham Academy), so it's possible that one of her friends is the missing classmate. In this case of playing 'detective,' she's teaming up with Dark Detective himself, Batman.

Although not the main character of the original Gotham Academy series, Maps quickly became the fan-favorite from this cult-favorite book. She's a big fan of Gotham superheroes (particularly Robin), and her nickname 'Maps' comes from her obsession with urban exploration and cartography. 

Gotham Academy's original series artist Karl Kerschl returns for this brief Batman #119 short, this time drawing and writing this brief reprise of the cult-favorite 'New 52' era franchise. This is Kerschl's second Maps/Batman team-up this year, after a short in Batman: Black & White #4 in which Maps was a Robin.

Batman #119 goes on sale on January 4, and the entire Gotham Academy series is available now in these collections: Welcome to Gotham Academy, Calamity, Yearbook, Second Semester, The Ballad of Olive Silverlock, and Lumberjanes/Gotham Academy.

Gotham Academy is also available on all major digital comics platforms. Check out our recommended best digital comics readers. 

Chris Arrant

Chris Arrant covered comic book news for Newsarama from 2003 to 2022 (and as editor/senior editor from 2015 to 2022) and has also written for USA Today, Life, Entertainment Weekly, Publisher's Weekly, Marvel Entertainment, TOKYOPOP, AdHouse Books, Cartoon Brew, Bleeding Cool, Comic Shop News, and CBR. He is the author of the book Modern: Masters Cliff Chiang, co-authored Art of Spider-Man Classic, and contributed to Dark Horse/Bedside Press' anthology Pros and (Comic) Cons. He has acted as a judge for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the Harvey Awards, and the Stan Lee Awards. Chris is a member of the American Library Association's Graphic Novel & Comics Round Table. (He/him)

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