The Umbrella Academy Volume 1 (Umbrella Academy) | 
 enlarge | Author: Gerard Way
Creator: Gabriel Ba
Publisher: Dark Horse
Category: Book
List Price: $17.95
Buy New: $9.30
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Avg. Customer Rating:  10 reviews
Sales Rank: 9999
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 192
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 10.1 x 6.5 x 0.4
ISBN: 1593079788
Dewey Decimal Number: 741
EAN: 9781593079789
ASIN: 1593079788
Publication Date: July 16, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: This item is BRAND NEW and factory fresh (sealed if applicable). This item is NOT returned or refurbished. May have store or price stickers affixed.
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Product Description
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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| Customer Reviews: Read 5 more reviews...
 A Warning! September 15, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I didn't laugh, didn't care and had to push myself really hard to finish this barely readable comic. The art is fine. This story is not. Well if you could really call it a story. It's a mish-mash of hastily thrown together parts that certainly doesn't add up to anything much. It took me about 10 attempts to get through it. I put in down on several occasions threw sheer frustration at the juvenile story and dialogue. The worst thing you can say about a comic or any story for that matter is when you just aren't interested in finding out what happens next and what happens to the characters. WHO CARES was the resounding answer for me with this comic unfortunately. This is the worst comic I have read in a very long time.
 It was entertaining enough, but... September 14, 2008
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
Ultimately not a very satisfying or good story. It was spurred along by random cool gimmicks and ideas, but in the end I think that was all it was. The parts were greater than the whole. I won't be buying volume two unless Way comes up with an even cuter instrument of world destruction.
Ok, maybe that was a bit too harsh. It was a great start and had it's moments. I just think the story would have benefitted alot if he fabricated the plot a bit more seriously and thoroughly in certain parts. I'd upgrade my review four stars if it let me.
 I Live For Stuff Like This September 4, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I just finished reading "The Umbrella Academy" and I have to say that this comic--and others like it--is one of the many reasons why I'm becoming more of a graphic novel fan. Its originality made me turn the page and I love the fact that Way played up the dysfunctional family angle throughout the entire volume. Because the characters are so complex, they remain interesting by not coming off as these cheesy individuals who just come together to save the world. And the writing. Though it's dark, it's funny to the point where I'm laughing at the most inappropriate parts. It's as if Way uses his comic to express what he can't say through his music.
In other words, I love it. I love it. I love it. I'm not just saying this because I'm an MCR fan. There has to be another volume in the works. I hope there is.
An interesting experiment. August 26, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
One could be forgiven for expecting that a comic miniseries by one of the members of the band "My Chemical Romance" would be a gratuitous vanity project. That is, however, not the case. While I do not rate is as highly as many others here do, Gerard Way has produced a genuine story, with nice art by indie favourite Gabriel Ba (also known for Matt Fraction's Image series "Casanova").
As the description says, an unexplained global phenomenon saw numerous children born to women who had not previously shown signs of pregnancy. Seven of these are adopted by an eccentric millionaire, Sir Reginald Hargreeves (secretly a space alien), and raised to fight evil. This is the classic superhero setup of the X-Men. Well, it is, and it isn't. Way subverts some of the basic idea, particularly regarding the Professor X figure, Hargreeves (aka The Monocle). Hargreeves is a cold and demanding person who is not interested in providing the children with a genuine father figure; he is merely their boss. He even refers to the children by numbers, rather than names (their names are supplied by the 'mother' he deigned to provide, an animated clothes dummy; the kids are split in how they treat her, with some accepting her, while the rebelious Diego sees her as just another layer of artifice in their upbringing). Hargreeves' parental neglect is the catalyst for the primary villain plot, revolving around #7, Vanya, who has no powers, and thus was just not "special" as Hargreeves tells her directly. However, she may indeed have some purpose for an eccentric villain out to bring about the end of the world.
Way's style has been compared to Grant Morrison (who provided strong praise for the series, and an introduction to this trade paperback), and, indeed, one can draw strong comparisons between this series and Morrison's "JLA". High concepts are thrown out quite frequently, there is a lot of action, and there isn't a huge amount of characterization. The two most interesting powers concepts are the White Violin, the weird villain of the piece, and, even moreso, those of Allison/The Rumour, who can literally warp reality by lying (most clearly demonstrated in a bonus story included in this collection written for Free Comic Book Day).
Recommended for people interested in a Morrison-esque superhero experience.
Artistic Team Makes "Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite" Greater Than Its Parts August 23, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I tried. I really tried...but no matter how many story angles I slide in and out of to gain a foothold on this beautiful, melodic jam of funny pictures, at the end, it's hard to steer clear of musical comparisons when talking about Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba's The Umbrella Academy.
In the first place because the trade collecting the first six issues of the series is sub-titled, Apocalypse Suite; next, because one of the heroes turned main evil dudette is a living, lethal musical instrument hellbent on destroying the world with her music; and lastly because Gerard Way is the lead singer of My Chemical Romance.
But it doesn't stop there.
When you stop sucking in the story in separate layers of pictures, words and color, and really let the thing coalesce in your noodle, what is heard high above the campy noise of pseudo-steampunk-end-of-the-world-heroics is how well the creative team riffs off one another. That near perfect jam is so rare in comics, it's worth getting this collection to witness it, even if you're not a fan of doomsday storylines.
To begin with, consider Gabriel Ba's artwork. Clearly taking stylistic cues from Mike Mignola, Ba takes what could have been one-dimensional characters created to invoke the ludicrous nature of superhero teams and turns in character designs and sequentials that grab you sometimes by the shirt collar (if not your cojones) and at others by your funny bone. Either way, his linework is clearly in the service of his storytelling mojo and they don't let go. And honestly, you don't want them to either, which is why this story works so well as a graphic novel.
The artwork in black and white is stunning. But it's not until Dave Stewart joins in the storytelling that the characters and the emotional undercurrent begins to rise. Stewart is an accomplished colorist, and really, an artist with few peers. Hellboy stories, for example, owe plenty to Stewart's genius for translating emotional tension into color. But he isn't an artist because he can use Photoshop really, really well. In The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite, Stewart blends his brand of magic to extend Ba's kinetic linework. Take a look at any action scene in the collection and you'll see that Stewart doesn't simply lay down flats that are color-appropriate to the scene. He goes far beyond the production work to draw with the color, echoing and amplifying Ba's line. And if you think that's Stewart just doing what he always does, you'd only be half right. As a counter measure, take a look a his work on Hellboy: Darkness Falls. It's just as powerful, but he let's Duncan Fegredo's complex and nuanced linework take lead. In TUA, Stewart is front and center with Ba in transforming the high concept into an emotionally resonant story that gives credence to Way's tight script and characterization.
Which leads me to consider the story itself. Being a newbie, you'd forgive Gerard Way if he had taken himself too seriously in this first story arc and tried to convince us with a straight face that it's a story of aliens born through human female hosts and trained from birth to save the planet. The rest of the book is so strong in art, color and lettering (kudos to Nate Piekos for knowing how to treat words as art without pushing Ba and Stewart offstage to get all the attention), it would still have been worth buying. But Way didn't go there. Instead, Way seems to stand confidently under the spotlight (as surely he is used to) and with the mash-up allure of a lead singer channeling P.T. Barnum, tells us his outrageous premise through characters that seem to have backstories to fill ten graphic novels -- characters so fully formed and relationships so exquisitely dysfunctional, you want to buy into the spectacle, for it's one grand show.
Way, Ba, Stewart and Piekos have achieved something rare in comics. In an industry that models itself around "production lines", this bunch of beautiful anarchists have managed to create a work that transcends all of them. It's not perfect, but you want to see and hear more. Get me a lighter. Anybody got a lighter? Suddenly, I feel the urge to be a groupie. Anyone...anyone?
Ommus
Editor, Indiepulp.com
Editor's Note: As we finished sprucing up this piece for publication, it was announced at the San Diego Comic-con that The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite won the Eisner Award for best limited series. Dave Stewart won for best colorist. Gabriel Ba and his twin brother, Fabio Moon won for best anthology, 5.
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