Review: The Umbrella Academy, Vol. 1: The Apocalypse Suite

Title: The Umbrella Academy, Vol. 1: The Apocalypse Suite
Author: Gerard Way, Gabriel Bá, Dave Stewart
Genre: Graphic Novel
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Source: Library
Format: Ebook
Release Date: October 17, 2007
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

In an inexplicable worldwide event, forty-seven extraordinary children were spontaneously born to 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.

Collecting: The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite 1-6, as well as out-of-print short stories and an expanded sketchbook section featuring work by Gabriel Bá, James Jean, and Gerard Way

Review:

Whenever I hear a book has been adapted into a movie or tv series, I have to check it out. I saw ads for The Umbrella Academy on Netflix, so I wanted to read the graphic novel before watching the show. I was shocked when I saw that it was written by Gerard Way, the lead singer of My Chemical Romance. I loved their music when I was growing up, but I never expected that Gerard Way would write a super hero graphic novel.

This was a great graphic novel! It has an ensemble cast of people who grew up together, and had special powers, but drifted apart as they got older. They are reunited when their father dies, and they have to save the world from the apocalypse.

This story reminded me of Marvel’s Runaways because of the ensemble cast of characters with different powers. The narrative style reminded me of Lemony Snicket’s voice in the Series of Unfortunate Events. There were funny comments on events in the story, which is a great way to bring the reader into the story.

I loved this story! I can’t wait to watch the show now.

What to read next:

Have you read The Umbrella Academy, Vol. 2: Dallas? What did you think of it?