So I Read The Umbrella Academy: Dallas

A 250 word (or less) review of the second The Umbrella Academy collection

By Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba; Dark Horse Books

Now this is more like it! I liked the first collection of The Umbrella Academy, Apocalypse Suite. I thought it had some neat ideas, amazing art, and solid storytelling, but felt that it was maybe too conventional? Too adverse to risk? Like, that the premise had a certain amount of untapped potential, which, if it could be wedded to Ba’s astounding art, could make The Umbrella Academy a truly great comic. I am happy to report that Dallas lives up to the full The Umbrella Academy potential. Dallas picks up where Apocalypse Suite leaves off, with the super-powered orphans of the academy traumatized, maimed, and scattered from the fallout of the previous chapter. Against this stark tableau the secret future/history of Number 5 is revealed as well as the horrific mission he and his family must undertake to save the future.  It is, more than anything, a confounding and brave comic. Where Apocalypse suite is kind of an avant garde take on the Superhero formula, Dallas is just balls out crazy originality.  It’s almost as if, with the basic foundations of The Umbrella Academy world established, Way and Ba are free to capitalize on their creativity. Every single page crackles with this manic energy and nearly every scene goes in an unexpected, yet satisfying direction. The entire comic is expansive and interesting and just utterly weird. Dallas is absolutely its own thing and it’s great. The Umbrella Academy: Dallas is the complete, realized Umbrella Academy package. It’s well worth reading.

Word count: 250

Previously:
So I read The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite 

So I Read The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite

A 250 word (or less) review of the first volume of The Umbrella Academy

By Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba, Dark Horse Books.

The Umbrella Academy starts with a pro wrestler delivering an atomic flying elbow to a giant space-squid which caused the spontaneous birth of 43 children with amazing powers. Seven of these children are collected by The Monocle, Sir Reginald Hargreeves, an adventurer, inventor, and secret space alien who raises the seven in his mansion/school The Umbrella Academy. And this is pretty representative of the in-the-past part of the comic: it’s a big goofy, superhero romp, with kind of a Victorian-orphan-fiction vibe that captures the childlike wonder of comics. The other half of Apocalypse Suite, set years later, starts with the death of The Monocle and the reunion of the grown up Umbrella Academy seven. This half of the story, while still campy and comicky is much more adult, rife with violence and death and stakes which makes it feel designed for a more mature audience. The way the two halves of the story play off one another makes me think that The Umbrella Academy is really trying to contrast the different ways children and adults experience comics. The Umbrella Academy is written by Gerard Way, who is apparently the lead singer of My Chemical Romance, which doesn't really matter since the writing is quite clever and exciting and well paced. The artwork by Gabriel Ba is amazing and really elevates the good script and makes The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite a pretty great book. I'd recommend The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite as a nice alternative fix for a superhero comic.

Word count: 250

Previously:

So I Read Casanova: Luxuria

So I Read Casanova: Gula

So I Read Casanova: Avaritia
So I Read Daytripper