The Umbrella Academy Volume 1 (v. 1)

The Umbrella Academy Volume 1 (v. 1) Review

You walk into your local comic store. You see this trade paperback on the shelf, forcibly shoved into the corner where there had been no corner at all. You spend a tedious minute or two trying to finger it out and, finally, you start reading through the quip at the back of Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse suite. Oh my, "In an inexplicable worldwide event, forty-seven extraordinary children were spontaneously born by women who'd previously shown no pregnancy." Wow, you say. A few rows down, "...the Umbrella Academy, a dysfunctional family of superheroes with bizarre powers." You are thinking that is so X-Men and it's cool. Then you start reading the line that gets you intrigued, "Conceived and written by Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance," and suddenly you can't wait to dig into the first issue of the book.

The truth of the matter is that, whether you've heard of the guy or not, you won't know what to expect from this book even after reading the synopsis of the story or listening to a MCR record. It shows shades of Gerard's musical creativity (seen best in THE BLACK PARADE) but Umbrella Academy is an independent work, deserving of appreciation all on its own. Forty-seven children and seven of them chosen to be part of the Umbrella Academy, but to term them as superheroes would be generalizing a little much. From the first fight onwards, Gerard draws attention to these children and when he focuses on the often-overlooked member of the group, Vanya, you realize he is interested in how they, as a whole, interact and feel as well. But he doesn't see them as superheroes, no, not at all, more like super powered kids trained to be superheroes. Gerard doesn't so much emphasize their roles but use them as `vehicles' to carry forward a deeper story of morality and loneliness. What looks shallow on the surface is only the facade for a deeper character study underneath, and that can be overlooked amidst the outlandish action scenes.

He fleshes out the characters and their motivations and their quirks, so much so you doubt not Gerard's ability to juxtapose psychedelic ideas into a unified story with tons of pizzazz. Vanya feels the rejection of her `father,' the alien founder of the Umbrella Academy, Reginald Hargreeves, her loneliness compounded with a unhappy sense of isolation, and turns into a world ending force by a sound generator churning out terrible symphony.

Coming up with such bizarre plots and cramping them in, every few pages, is a tall order in itself but Gerard does it with frightening ease. Coupled with Gabriel's art, the pages read like something Mike Mignola would have written. Then you realize it isn't Mike, it isn't Hellboy, it isn't manga, it is the Umbrella Academy.

All it needs now is a payoff later on in the series to make all his ideas work fully within the Mignola-esque universe Gerard is building here. It's interesting to see how he links it all together and maybe he might just fail in the end.

Judging from his impressive dialogue and outrageous sensibilities, Gerard does indeed have the goods. But to weave everything together? That remains to be seen.

The Umbrella Academy Volume 1 (v. 1) Feature

• ISBN13: 9781593079789
• Condition: New
• Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed

The Umbrella Academy Volume 1 (v. 1) Overview

Gerard Way, of My Chemical Romance, makes his comics writing debut in this outrageous superhero epic that Grant Morrison called "An ultraviolet psychedelic sherbet bomb of wit and ideas. The superheroes of the 21st century are here at last..." In an inexplicable, worldwide event, forty-seven extraordinary children were spontaneously born by women who'd previously shown no signs of pregnancy. Millionaire inventor Reginald Hargreeves adopted seven of the children; when asked why, his only explanation was, "To save the world." These seven children form The Umbrella Academy, a dysfunctional family of superheroes with bizarre powers. Their first adventure at the age of ten pits them against an erratic and deadly Eiffel Tower, piloted by the fearsome zombie-robot Gustave Eiffel. Nearly a decade later, the team disbands, but when Hargreeves unexpectedly dies, these disgruntled siblings reunite just in time to save the world once again

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