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A review by adamskiboy528491
The Umbrella Academy Library Edition Volume 1: Apocalypse Suite by Gerard Way
3.0
The six issues of The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite by Gerard Way & Gabriel Ba open a giant, peculiar, yet breathtaking world of superheroes and science-fiction.
One day, 43 extraordinary children were all spontaneously born on the same day to women who had shown no signs of pregnancy. Of these children, seven are adopted by the inventor (and space alien) Reginald Hargreeves and groomed into superheroes. However, Hargreeves does not prove to be a good father figure. His inability to give emotional warmth to the children, along with his unwavering ambition to push them to their limits, inevitably scars them all as adults. There's Luther/Spaceboy, Diego/TheKraken, Alison/The Rumor, Klaus/The Séance, Number Five/The Boy, Ben/The Horror and Vanya/The White Violin.
After going through the brilliant Netflix series, reading the comic book version of The Umbrella Academy made me realise that it is both deconstruction and affectionate parody of Gold and Silver Age comics, joyfully embracing absurd and wonderful classics like talking monkeys and space squids while exploring the real psychological effects of being groomed from birth to be a hero in the care of a wealthy man of intrigue. In The Apocalypse Suite arc, the antagonist has constructed an orchestra of the sadistic and suicidal to play a symphony that will end the world. Similarly, The White Violin can make heads explode, and bodies tear themselves apart by barely scraping her strings.
Although the show takes its time with character development, the comic feels very short and rushed. The brilliant designs by Gabriel Ba keep everything and place, which will make readers, like me, reread the story. The library edition also includes the short stories "Mon Dieu!" and "…But the Past Ain't Through With You".
One day, 43 extraordinary children were all spontaneously born on the same day to women who had shown no signs of pregnancy. Of these children, seven are adopted by the inventor (and space alien) Reginald Hargreeves and groomed into superheroes. However, Hargreeves does not prove to be a good father figure. His inability to give emotional warmth to the children, along with his unwavering ambition to push them to their limits, inevitably scars them all as adults. There's Luther/Spaceboy, Diego/TheKraken, Alison/The Rumor, Klaus/The Séance, Number Five/The Boy, Ben/The Horror and Vanya/The White Violin.
After going through the brilliant Netflix series, reading the comic book version of The Umbrella Academy made me realise that it is both deconstruction and affectionate parody of Gold and Silver Age comics, joyfully embracing absurd and wonderful classics like talking monkeys and space squids while exploring the real psychological effects of being groomed from birth to be a hero in the care of a wealthy man of intrigue. In The Apocalypse Suite arc, the antagonist has constructed an orchestra of the sadistic and suicidal to play a symphony that will end the world. Similarly, The White Violin can make heads explode, and bodies tear themselves apart by barely scraping her strings.
Although the show takes its time with character development, the comic feels very short and rushed. The brilliant designs by Gabriel Ba keep everything and place, which will make readers, like me, reread the story. The library edition also includes the short stories "Mon Dieu!" and "…But the Past Ain't Through With You".