The Umbrella Academy

[Dread]

Reposting my review of the 5th issue, with spoilers.

UMBRELLA ACADEMY #5: Rocker Gerald Way and artist Gabriel Ba' continue chugging out one of the best superhero team launches of the past year, and definitely the most creative and quirky. THE ORDER's great, but this is for tastes who like to dip less mainstream every now and then. The whole series has a very Mike Mignola-esque feel to it and I would be curious to hear/read that creator's opinion on this.

Spoiler

The issue picks up with a waitress giving her account of .005 basically slaughtering a strike squad that came for him and his chimp comrade Dr. Pogo (and the police apparently had to bring chimp investigators because of that). Basically, #5 is not to be messed with. Spaceboy and Rumor have a bit of a heart to heart, and Kraken gets some info from the detective, AKA Batman & Gordon. Vanya, who has become a dangerous music-based killing machine, strikes the Umbrella Academy outright, slaughtering the poor Dr. Pogo and smashing The Horror's memorial statue. And it ends with perhaps the best (and funny because it is so unrealistic) newspaper headline ever.

It sounds a bit stiff when I recap things, but the charm of this series really cannot be summed up in any review. Don't let prejudice against a third party comic company or "musicians/famous professionals doing comics when Joe Schmoe's have to struggle to get in" resentment keep you from this horribly entertaining blend of superheroics and manic whimsy. This is the comic equalivent of the response to, "And now for something COMPLETELY DIFFERENT..." Way's first hit in the comic biz is a home run, which ain't too shabby. The front and back covers are of course never wasted either, with a diary entry to recap things and an Encyclopedia entry to cap them. There is only one issue of this mini left, but a ton of life in this budding franchise. Jump right in, blokes or Yanks. It's a perfect day.

 

[GNR]

Looking at the letter pages,a second series is mentioned for later this year.

 

[PWN3R]

I've only read up to the third issue, but I'm blown away. I still utterly loathe MCR, but Way has created some comic book gold here.

 

[Dread]

Looking at the letter pages,a second series is mentioned for later this year.

I actually was too lazy to read the letters page this month. Glad you weren't, and glad there will be more.

I've only read up to the third issue, but I'm blown away. I still utterly loathe MCR, but Way has created some comic book gold here.

Exactly. Good luck finding the rest of the issues.

 

[GNR]

As I said somewhere else,the last page of #5 had me saying WTF.

Turns out the newspaper is the same one shown in #2 where No.5 stands among the wreckage.

 

[AlteredEgo]

so i finally picked up all the issues to date, and although i wasnt totally sold on the first few issues, im glad i stuck with it. i think part of my problem with the beginning was that i had already heard about what was happening and it just really took me out of the action and experiance, it's like having a joke explained to you and then them telling the joke. anyways, the series seems to be moving at a break-neck pace and its got me wondering how much they can honestly tidy up in the next issue.

 

[AlteredEgo]

As I said somewhere else,the last page of #5 had me saying WTF.

Turns out the newspaper is the same one shown in #2 where No.5 stands among the wreckage.

haha, yeah i noticed that. i was like "oh *****." when i read that haha. t:

 

[GNR]

Yea,so this book is pretty awesome.

Great ending,looking forward to book 2.

 

[LemonSunday]

So I just read #6. The whole thing seemed a tad rushed, but when you've got 22 pages to wrap up a story this big, it happens. I still liked it, and I think as a whole, this book is definitely in my top 5 of the past few years. I look forward to more.

 

[Odin's Fury]

So I just read #6. The whole thing seemed a tad rushed, but when you've got 22 pages to wrap up a story this big, it happens. I still liked it, and I think as a whole, this book is definitely in my top 5 of the past few years. I look forward to more.

I agree. It seemed very rushed. Maybe the next volume will be an on-going, or at least longer issues. I think that would really help Gerard Way's story-telling. He just seems to need more panels!!

But I was VERY satisfied. Will definitely pick up the next volume, whenever that might be.

 

[dancemikedance]

Exactly how i feel. I loved loved the first issue..but every issue after that left me wanting more. not in the sense where i cant wait for the next issue..but more like there wasnt enough...ecspecially the last issue...just felt too rushed, too easy to save the world...i dont understand how the world was destroyed in the first place according to number 5...why didnt seance just do what he did in the first place?

 

[Anubis]

Because he didn't know he could.

There will be no ongoing, Way's schedule only dictates various minis ala Hellboy and BPRD. There will be more, hopefully he will have worked out his pace problems by then.

 

[Dread]

I'm fine with more in any form.

Reposting my review of the last issue, with spoilers:

UMBRELLA ACADEMY #6: The first mini of this great new Dark Horse property comes to a conclusion, but as the letters page notes, a second mini should be due out "by the end of the year", which I see as late quarter '08 or so. This is easily the best comic franchise written by a rock star, and would be solid even without that detail. To describe the manic whimsy in a review is very difficult, but I can say that this issue was a bit more straight-forward.

Spoiler

Vanya, now superpowered by music, is performing her "Apocalypse Suite" to destroy Britain & the world, after having just trashed their HQ and killing the chimp scientist Dr. Pogo. The rest of the Academy is out to stop her. Some old wounds about their childhood with the alien Hargreeves are brought up and there is a lot of violence and quirky lines.

It is a satisfying conclusion to this mini and naturally leaves plenty of room for more to come with the property. Way & Ba' have created an instant hit that managed to sell within the Top 100, hell the Top 80 and better, for the entire run, which is great for a Dark Horse book (if not as hot as BUFFY naturally). I've enjoyed this series entirely and those who "trade-waited", the trade is due out later in the year and I recommend nabbing it. That way you can anticipate more eagerly with the rest of us.

 

[Anubis]

So:

http://www.darkhorse.com/Comics/15-604/The-Umbrella-Academy-Dallas-1-of-6

 

[Dread]

Only about a month and a week away! Looks great. Can't wait for more Umbrella Academy.

 

[Anubis]

Hellz yeah.

 

[Anubis]

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/090822-GerardWay.html

 

[fifthfiend]

Sounds like an emofest.

This was 100% correct.

 

[fifthfiend]

You know, I don't really know what Emo means. It's just something people like to call stuff they don't like as far as I know. At one point I thought it was supposed to be about cutting and goth like s**t, but I've seen people call stuff EMO that doesnt really fit into the established genre or whatever. As far as I know....I don't know, maybe. That song "Helena" seems pretty EMO to me. I heard the last Album they had wasn't emo. "Teenagers" doesn't sound EMO to me. Though I could be missing the point. Not really a fan, but they do have songs I can bang my head to.

In the case of this comic, "emo" = main character who everbody HATES cause THEY'RE SPECIAL and SHE ISN'T. Then she decides to kill all of them after she learns that she was secretly THE SPECIALEST ONE OF ALL.

And just generalized boatloads of generic "we hate each other because we love each other because it just hurts so much to love each other" that would have seemed totally deep when I was like, 13 years old.

Also, quasi-incestual romance like what.

 

[Anubis]

Sooo, you didn't like it I take it?

 

[fifthfiend]

It wasn't really my personal cup of tea, no.

EDIT: Also, the bit where the darkly dark orchestra of blackly dark darkness needs the darkingly blackiest darkness of all -

white.

Okay I think that's out of my system now.

 

[Anubis]

You know Fiend....sometiiiimes...........I don't think I know you.

 

[fifthfiend]

But... you don't know me.

 

[Anubis]

......this is true.

 

[fifthfiend]

Nobody knows me.

Nobody knows anyone

WE'RE ALL SO ALOOOOOOOONE.