| The Umbrella Academy is an unusual comic book | | | | Space. The other children, who are now grown |
| about a number of odd occurrences. The world of | | | | adults make up an unusual group in that they |
| The Umbrella Academy is strictly one of fantasy | | | | each have some sort of 'powers', these powers |
| and the art work here by Gabriel Ba is | | | | don't seem too self-evident at first... and one |
| appropriate to this setting. This first trade | | | | Vanya has no powers but can play the violin. |
| paperback of The Umbrella Academy contains the | | | | Well as things progress The Umbrella Academy is |
| first 6 issues first published in 2007 or so. One of | | | | reformed after the death of their beloved |
| the telling items of The Umbrella Academy is that | | | | caretaker/father Hargreeves, who apparently |
| it is created by Gerard Way a very popular singer | | | | was admired and loved by the children but didn't |
| of the band Chemical Romance. There seems to | | | | love them back, or so they believe. There is quite |
| be a bit of carping about that, as if it mattered | | | | a bit about him not loving them, and Hargreeves |
| any, which of course it doesn't. Mr. Way is surely | | | | doesn't like them calling him father. And oh yes, |
| good enough as a writer to have a comic book | | | | there is a talking monkey as well. The Apocalypse |
| via Dark Horse Comics. You do get the sense | | | | part comes in play as some villains from in the |
| from the book that he wants to keep the two | | | | past try to kill the newly formed Umbrella |
| genres separate, and with young men hugely into | | | | Academy and Vanya, the Academy member |
| Comic Books and Rock Music he may not want | | | | without any special powers becomes a killer with |
| to be stepping on any perceptions. | | | | a violin. She plays and people die, so her brother's |
| The basic premise of these first issues concerns | | | | and sisters must stop her from apparently |
| the birth of about 43 children by women who | | | | destroying the world... by playing her death tunes. |
| weren't pregnant! There isn't a whole lot of | | | | That's the just of The Umbrella Academy, which I |
| explanation to this occurrence. 7 of the children | | | | felt was a bit loose yet promising towards the |
| are immediately adopted by Millionaire inventor | | | | end. I can't say that I was 'touched' by the story, |
| Reginald Hargreeves who informs the world that | | | | but there is surely much to work with here and |
| the children he adopted will save it one day. From | | | | perhaps I'll look further into the later issues of this |
| here it doesn't take much time for the book to | | | | series. I want to see how things Mature, if the |
| enter into the children's adult lives. One lives on | | | | characters really have that extra dimension that |
| the moon, he has been transformed into a sort | | | | will make the series noteworthy. |
| of Ape Man with ape arms and feet! He is called | | | | |