Call number
GRAPH N WAR
Collection
Genres
Series
Publication
Dark Horse Books (2008), Edition: 1st, 184 pages
Description
In an inexplicable worldwide event, forty-seven extraordinary children were spontaneously born by women who had 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.
User reviews
LibraryThing member rolhirst
You can tell why Grant Morrison rates this book, since it is hugely influenced by his amusing and at times mindboggling run on Doom Patrol back in the late 80s. It's not quite as good, but few things are. Way has an excellent way with storytelling. He has a large cast and a lot of backstory, but he
Way gets the origin story out of the way in the first few pages. 43 extraordinary children are born at the same moment. 7 of them are adopted by a wealthy inventor / scientist / philanthropist / space alien (love the way he chucks that last one in as a tease then never mentions it again... not yet, anyway) and grow up to be kid superheroes. They have many exciting adventures - illustrated by an immense battle with an out-of-control Eiffel Tower - and then grow up and fall apart for reasons yet to be disclosed. The death of their "father" and an unknown threat from the future (and from within their own ranks) brings them back together as adults... and that's just the first issue.
Way's script swings gleefully from cartoon shenanigans to emotional realism, from horror to sci fi to comedy. There's a maturity to his writing you really don't expect from a novice to comics - and especially not from a tourist. Ba's art meanwhile is wonderful, recalling Richard Case, Eduardo Risso, Geoff Darrow, Mike Mignola and Mike Oeming, among others, with a spectacular sense of design and loads of hidden detail.
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refuses to get bogged down with exposition. At times this can be a wee bit frustrating - I actually want him to sit me down and spoon feed me each character's name and powers and history every issue - but if I put that aside and just enjoy the thrill ride, there's exhilarating and (at times) original comic book fun to be had.Way gets the origin story out of the way in the first few pages. 43 extraordinary children are born at the same moment. 7 of them are adopted by a wealthy inventor / scientist / philanthropist / space alien (love the way he chucks that last one in as a tease then never mentions it again... not yet, anyway) and grow up to be kid superheroes. They have many exciting adventures - illustrated by an immense battle with an out-of-control Eiffel Tower - and then grow up and fall apart for reasons yet to be disclosed. The death of their "father" and an unknown threat from the future (and from within their own ranks) brings them back together as adults... and that's just the first issue.
Way's script swings gleefully from cartoon shenanigans to emotional realism, from horror to sci fi to comedy. There's a maturity to his writing you really don't expect from a novice to comics - and especially not from a tourist. Ba's art meanwhile is wonderful, recalling Richard Case, Eduardo Risso, Geoff Darrow, Mike Mignola and Mike Oeming, among others, with a spectacular sense of design and loads of hidden detail.
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LibraryThing member dr_zirk
The Umbrella Academy is an enjoyable read, and something a little out of the ordinary in the world of mainstream comics. Gerard Way's characters and basic scenario are inventive, but the primary reason to experience The Umbrella Academy is to immerse oneself in Gabriel Ba's beautiful line work - Ba
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is one of the most distinctive artists working in mainstream comics today, and the full force of his talent is put to good use in this unusual take on the oft-repeated "superhero family" theme. Dave Stewart's coloring is up to the challenge of bringing Ba's images to life, and the result is some genuine eye candy. Show Less
LibraryThing member moonstormer
Well drawn, unique graphic novel. It borrows a lot from The Watchmen, mainly in its portrayal of what life would actually be like for those with superpowers/superheroes. I enjoyed the book, but I'm not sure I see what made it voted best graphic novel of 2008 by the scream awards... I can't
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complain, though, I got it for free. Show Less
LibraryThing member dst
Kicks off great, drifts back closer to mediocrity. Still great fun.
LibraryThing member Tangraya
The Umbrella Academy: Apocalyse Suite #1 is the first comic in a series of six by musician Gerard Way and artist Gabriel Ba. The series is about a group of superheroes who reunite after many years to save the world from total annihilation but the first book explains the Umbrella Academy’s famous
I will admit that the only reason I read this comic is because of My Chemical Romance. I was huge fan of the band and a huge fan of Gerard Way. I had not read many comics, just Archie and Garfield and I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of detail that is put into them. Gabriel Ba’s depiction of the characters and of the action is incredible. I love the detail that goes into the background and how you can read the comic and over and over and still find new things in the pictures. Way’s story is also good, although it took me a few reads to get into the characters. There isn’t a lot of background for them yet, so it’s hard to get involved in the story. A lot is implied by the illustrations, not by the dialogue and I thought that there could have been more action with Gustave Eiffel but otherwise I found this to be a really great comic by a very talented artist and writer and it definitely made me want to follow the rest of the series.
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but dysfunctional past. The six children were adopted by Sir Reginald Hargreeves because of their “special” talents and he used them to fight crime. For reasons unknown, the group eventually disbanded and now, twenty years later, they are united once more by Hargreeves death and a mysterious purpose…I will admit that the only reason I read this comic is because of My Chemical Romance. I was huge fan of the band and a huge fan of Gerard Way. I had not read many comics, just Archie and Garfield and I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of detail that is put into them. Gabriel Ba’s depiction of the characters and of the action is incredible. I love the detail that goes into the background and how you can read the comic and over and over and still find new things in the pictures. Way’s story is also good, although it took me a few reads to get into the characters. There isn’t a lot of background for them yet, so it’s hard to get involved in the story. A lot is implied by the illustrations, not by the dialogue and I thought that there could have been more action with Gustave Eiffel but otherwise I found this to be a really great comic by a very talented artist and writer and it definitely made me want to follow the rest of the series.
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LibraryThing member kristenn
Bright, expressive art and your standard hipster-quirky characters and plot, but there seemed to be a lot of details that the writing just sort of skipped over. As if he planned to go back and flesh bits out later but then forgot. Still, I'll certainly get the sequel. To support the whole indie
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diversity thing if nothing else. Show Less
LibraryThing member kivarson
Written by Gerard Way of the band My Chemical Romance, The Umbrella Academy is the story of seven exceptional children, mysteriously born to women who previously showed no sign of pregnancy. Adopted by the cold and distant ("don't call me dad") entrepreneur Sir Reginald Hargreeves, these budding
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superheroes are shaped to save the world from the seemingly frequent threat of apocalypse. This apocalypse becomes imminent in their adulthood, brought on by the mournful notes played on the violin by the previously powerless Number Seven--Vanya. Can these heroes save the world AND their sister? Show Less
LibraryThing member Jac8604
I don't read a lot of graphic novels. In fact, I can count on one hand the number that I've read. What I have read however has been outstanding in both story and art (i.e. Watchmen). Artistically, The Umbrella Academy is very good and its story is engaging, if a bit lacking in development.
The
Gerard Way's story itself is also intriguing. It's very over-the-top and riddled with a perfect amount of humor. The premise of a group of extraordinary children taken and raised to defend the side of good is fascinating. What hero-worship and adoration the kids received from most of the public, they lacked from their own adoptive father and mentor, Hargreeves. Thus the cause of much of the novel's conflict and. While this makes for fascinating a backstory and provides a wealth of material that could be used to flesh out the characters, Way neglects to fully utilize it. Its evident that there is a lot more story there, but the length of the Apocalypse Suite is entirely too short to do it justice. I understand that there is another installment, The Umbrella Academy, Vol. 2: Dallas, so (hopefully) there is more in the way of character development and answers.
Ultimately, it's a fun, quick read and I wouldn't mind seeing where The Umbrella Academy goes from here.
The
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illustrator, Gabriel Bá, does an outstanding job with the visualization of the characters and the world that they inhabit. Each character's appearance suits their individually outrageous personalities without being too cartoon-like. This is mostly due to the fact that the histories of those in the core group are visible on their faces. The settings, too, are believable in their originality. His action scenes come together to create an almost palpable sense of excitement, despite the fact that one is just looking at this all on bound paper.Gerard Way's story itself is also intriguing. It's very over-the-top and riddled with a perfect amount of humor. The premise of a group of extraordinary children taken and raised to defend the side of good is fascinating. What hero-worship and adoration the kids received from most of the public, they lacked from their own adoptive father and mentor, Hargreeves. Thus the cause of much of the novel's conflict and. While this makes for fascinating a backstory and provides a wealth of material that could be used to flesh out the characters, Way neglects to fully utilize it. Its evident that there is a lot more story there, but the length of the Apocalypse Suite is entirely too short to do it justice. I understand that there is another installment, The Umbrella Academy, Vol. 2: Dallas, so (hopefully) there is more in the way of character development and answers.
Ultimately, it's a fun, quick read and I wouldn't mind seeing where The Umbrella Academy goes from here.
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LibraryThing member shannonkearns
this book was quite good. very nice artwork and an interesting story. i would have liked more of the back story filled in. there seemed to be a lot of things left out, but it was a good beginning.
LibraryThing member callmecayce
An entertaining, well drawn graphic novel. Sadly, the plot is a bit disjointed, but that being said, I enjoyed the story enough that I'll seek out the next volume. Hopefully the writing/plot will improve. The art, though, it good and because I prefer my graphic novels with glossy pages, I found
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this easy to read. I also enjoy the characters and grew attached to some of them and was disappointed about who died (though bravo for killing off characters). Show Less
LibraryThing member BrynDahlquis
Nice art and I liked the characters and the slight absurdity to the plot. Fun read.
LibraryThing member goodinthestacks
I hated this book because it's not fair that Gerard Way is not only both an excellent comic book writer and artist, but he's the lead singer of a very popular band. That's just me being jealous though.
The truth is that I thought this was a great read. The art was phenomenal. The story was unique
The truth is that I thought this was a great read. The art was phenomenal. The story was unique
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and intriguing. I cared about the characters. I wish I could hate it, but I loved it. Show Less
LibraryThing member jawalter
Sometimes these things can kind of choke on their own unique quirkiness. The hero with the body of a gorilla; the villain with the scheme to destroy the world with a symphony. This one manages to tread the line very carefully. It's helped by great art (and great title design, which I don't usually
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notice), but in the end my only frustration was that I want to know more. Show Less
LibraryThing member CheapRegrets
It took me only two hours to read this one. Simply amazing. It's so dinamic and interesting. I can't wait to read Dallas Suite. Now I can confirm that Gerard Way is a genius.
LibraryThing member TheAlternativeOne
Book Reviews - The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite and The Umbrella Academy: Dallas by Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba
The Umbrella Academy
Story by Gerard Way
Art by Gabriel Ba
Volume 01 Apocalypse Suite
Cover Art by James Jean
Trade Paperback
192 pages
Publisher: Dark Horse; 1st edition
Publication
ISBN-13: 978-1593079789
The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite by Gerard Way (lead vocalist of My Chemical Romance) is a weirdly beautiful concept and story. A group of seven gifted orphans have been collected after their birth by Sir Reginald Hargreeves, a.k.a. “The Monocle” to save the world from evil threats. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before…
Spaceboy has enhanced physical strength and a human head grafted onto the body of a Martian gorilla; The Kraken, a Batman-like superhero can hold his breath indefinitely and is an expert knife thrower; The Rumor can alter reality by lying; The Séance can levitate, talk to the dead, and use telekinesis but only when barefoot; Number Five (The Boy), is considered to be “The perfect assassin” since he has the DNA of the best killers in history, he can time travel too; The Horror, possesses monsters from another dimension under his skin and is dead; and The White Violin who shows no visible powers but is believed to be the most powerful of all the members of the Umbrella Academy, she’s capable of releasing destructive waves of energy when she plays her violin.
Together the seven adopted siblings of the Umbrella Academy defend Paris against the Zombie Robot attack of Gustave Eiffel, save the world from “The Conductor” of “The Orchestra Verdammten”, defeat Dr. Terminal’s Terminauts, stop the final apocalypse, and fight (like siblings do) each other. Like I said, weirdly beautiful…
One note about the characters and their abilities; creatively speaking the names and abilities of most of the superheroes in the Umbrella Academy are mostly unique. We’ve all seen super strong and time travelling superheroes in the comics before, but this cast of characters is so flawed in so many ways that they go around the bend from weird and slingshot back to normal again. Gerard Way has an active and seriously warped and wonderful imagination and I hope he continues to create graphic novel stories for a long time to come.
5 out of 5 stars
The Alternative
Southeast Wisconsin
The Umbrella Academy
Story by Gerard Way
Art by Gabriel Ba
Volume 01 Apocalypse Suite
Cover Art by James Jean
Trade Paperback
192 pages
Publisher: Dark Horse; 1st edition
Publication
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Date: June 24, 2008 ISBN-13: 978-1593079789
The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite by Gerard Way (lead vocalist of My Chemical Romance) is a weirdly beautiful concept and story. A group of seven gifted orphans have been collected after their birth by Sir Reginald Hargreeves, a.k.a. “The Monocle” to save the world from evil threats. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before…
Spaceboy has enhanced physical strength and a human head grafted onto the body of a Martian gorilla; The Kraken, a Batman-like superhero can hold his breath indefinitely and is an expert knife thrower; The Rumor can alter reality by lying; The Séance can levitate, talk to the dead, and use telekinesis but only when barefoot; Number Five (The Boy), is considered to be “The perfect assassin” since he has the DNA of the best killers in history, he can time travel too; The Horror, possesses monsters from another dimension under his skin and is dead; and The White Violin who shows no visible powers but is believed to be the most powerful of all the members of the Umbrella Academy, she’s capable of releasing destructive waves of energy when she plays her violin.
Together the seven adopted siblings of the Umbrella Academy defend Paris against the Zombie Robot attack of Gustave Eiffel, save the world from “The Conductor” of “The Orchestra Verdammten”, defeat Dr. Terminal’s Terminauts, stop the final apocalypse, and fight (like siblings do) each other. Like I said, weirdly beautiful…
One note about the characters and their abilities; creatively speaking the names and abilities of most of the superheroes in the Umbrella Academy are mostly unique. We’ve all seen super strong and time travelling superheroes in the comics before, but this cast of characters is so flawed in so many ways that they go around the bend from weird and slingshot back to normal again. Gerard Way has an active and seriously warped and wonderful imagination and I hope he continues to create graphic novel stories for a long time to come.
5 out of 5 stars
The Alternative
Southeast Wisconsin
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LibraryThing member regularguy5mb
Excellent! This is what comics should be. It's dark, it's funny, it's zany. I've enjoyed Gerard Way's showmanship and songwriting as a performer with My Chemical Romance, and his storytelling abilities are just as good. Everybody compares this book to Watchmen, but to me it is more reminiscent of
A quick read because I didn't want to put it down.
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another of Moore's masterpieces, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. For me, it was the League by way of the X-Men with a little Hellboy and Goon supernatural wackiness thrown in, and that was a brilliant blend.A quick read because I didn't want to put it down.
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LibraryThing member diovival
First off, I don't have that much experience with graphic novels (as in only one previous to this read). This particular one was definitely not a dull read and my eyes did eat up the pages, but....BUT....something was missing. It was like diving head first into cool water on a hot summer day but
I want to know more about the seven and their abilities. I want to know what happened to number 6. I wanted to know more about the tension that exists between Spaceboy and the Rumor. Without these wants (**read needs) fulfilled I didn't care about what happened to the characters. Except Dr. Pogo...
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realizing too late that the pool is too shallow. The story zipped along so fast that, by the end, I was left feeling unsatisfied. I would have really liked some pit stops along the way. I want to know more about the seven and their abilities. I want to know what happened to number 6. I wanted to know more about the tension that exists between Spaceboy and the Rumor. Without these wants (**read needs) fulfilled I didn't care about what happened to the characters. Except Dr. Pogo...
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LibraryThing member blurble
Great, high-contrast art, with a strange, dark "superhero" story.
LibraryThing member TheDivineOomba
This is an okay graphic novel - its about a family of adopted siblings all born on the same day. They are trained as super heroes - all but one, who is powerless.
Generally, good character design, but I found the story to be lacking. I'm not sure why - maybe I could see where it was going since the
Generally, good character design, but I found the story to be lacking. I'm not sure why - maybe I could see where it was going since the
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first few pages - or maybe it just felt similar to a lot of other things I read. Either way, I've already forgotten most of the characters and the details of the plot. Show Less
LibraryThing member ragwaine
I used to say, "I like to take college classes to be around young people, it keeps you young." So reading this brought me kind of the same conclusion. It was a suggestion from my 12-year-old daughter and thanks to her and her youthiness I am no much cooler than I was before I read this. Having kids
I imagine that after writing this while touring on the Black Parade tour, Gerard Way just withered and wrinkled a way into a desiccated husk. The expenditure of so much epic creativity in such a short period of time should be illegal. How does one manage to write the Bohemian Rhapsody of Generation Y and Z (which is the Black Parade in case you were wondering) AND... I said AND also write one of the most kick ass comics in the past 10 years? (that's a very arbitrary number, I probably could have said 20 but I think 10 is enough for you to get the point).
Umbrella Academy is original, it's compelling, the art is fantastic, and maybe best of all it's comprehensible while still being complex. The characters were deep, in fact they were so deep that at the end I felt I had missed the first 50 issues of the comic. I wanted more, I wanted it to be a novel (with illustrations).
Anyway, there's still another graphic novel to go and because I'm a masochist I'll wait a couple weeks to read it and I'll read it one comic a day, absorbing its awesomeness slowly, hoping that it's catchy.
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definitely makes you less cool by making you more domesticated, but if you pay attention and hang out with them enough, you might have a chance at being cool again.I imagine that after writing this while touring on the Black Parade tour, Gerard Way just withered and wrinkled a way into a desiccated husk. The expenditure of so much epic creativity in such a short period of time should be illegal. How does one manage to write the Bohemian Rhapsody of Generation Y and Z (which is the Black Parade in case you were wondering) AND... I said AND also write one of the most kick ass comics in the past 10 years? (that's a very arbitrary number, I probably could have said 20 but I think 10 is enough for you to get the point).
Umbrella Academy is original, it's compelling, the art is fantastic, and maybe best of all it's comprehensible while still being complex. The characters were deep, in fact they were so deep that at the end I felt I had missed the first 50 issues of the comic. I wanted more, I wanted it to be a novel (with illustrations).
Anyway, there's still another graphic novel to go and because I'm a masochist I'll wait a couple weeks to read it and I'll read it one comic a day, absorbing its awesomeness slowly, hoping that it's catchy.
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LibraryThing member mirikayla
It's really pretty good, but way too violent for me.
LibraryThing member elmyra
A little silly for my liking.
LibraryThing member Lucky-Loki
"Umbrella Academy" is one of those things that defy description, but I'll give it a go. Imagine if Terry Gilliam did an "X-Men" comic. Or if Mignola's "Amazing Screw-On Head" was set a century and a half later, but was about a very dysfunctional family of now-adult adopted super-children and
I'm predictably not getting very close, but if you're somehow getting the impression this is a book of zany, silly, crazy super heroics that never forgets to take itself and its characters seriously, and somehow delivers on both fronts, then I should be close enough for you to read it. Which you should.
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supplied with a real, emotional core. Or if a ten year old John Connor was the one to come back from the future in "Terminator", only his family was an over-the-hill disillusioned group of former "Teen Titans".I'm predictably not getting very close, but if you're somehow getting the impression this is a book of zany, silly, crazy super heroics that never forgets to take itself and its characters seriously, and somehow delivers on both fronts, then I should be close enough for you to read it. Which you should.
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LibraryThing member rickklaw
Gerard Way, the lead singer of My Chemical Romance, and [author:Gabriel Ba] created a surreal world of super powers, musical villains, and intelligent chimpanzees. Forty-seven children were spontaneously born to previously unpregnant women. Sir Reginald Hargreeve (a.k.a. The Monocle), a Nobel
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Prize-winning scientist and inventor, adopts seven of the children "to save the world." The children, collectively identified as the Umbrella Academy, encounter a myriad of bizarre villainy in the guise of the zombie-robot Gustave Eiffel, the chronal-irregularity fixing entities known as The Terminauts, and the musically-empowered White Violin. Not since [author:Grant Morrison]'s (who wrote the introduction to this collection) kinetic [book:Doom Patrol] of the 90s has a series successfully mixed an equal quality of insanity and social commentary with a group of uniquely odd characters. Each gorgeously crafted page contains artistic and intellectual delights galore. Show Less
LibraryThing member andsoitgoes
Didn't like this that much. If I had read this before I saw the Netflix series I would not have watched. I really enjoy the series on Netflix. Hated the cover of this book.
Awards
Eisner Award (Nominee — 2008)
Harvey Award (Winner — 2008)
Pages
184
ISBN
1593079788 / 9781593079789