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The Umbrella Academy

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The Umbrella Academy
Promotional artwork
Publication information
PublisherDark Horse Comics
ScheduleMonthly, every third Wednesday
FormatLimited series
Genre
Publication dateSeptember 19, 2007[1] - Present
No. of issues15 (12 Including 3 short stories)
Main character(s)Sir Reginald Hargreeves
Spaceboy
The Murder Magician
The Kraken
The Rumor
Pogo
The Séance
00.05
The Horror
Vanya Hargreeves
Creative team
Created byGerard Way[4]
Written byGerard Way[2]
Artist(s)Gabriel Bá
James Jean (cover illustrations for series 1 only)[3]
Letterer(s)Jason Hvam (Internet preview only)[2]
Nate Piekos
Colorist(s)Dave Stewart[3]
Collected editions
The Apocalypse SuiteISBN [[Special:BookSources/978-1-59307-978-9%7F%27%22%60UNIQ--ref-0000000D-QINU%60%22%27%7F |978-1-59307-978-9[5]]] Parameter error in {{ISBN}}: invalid character
DallasISBN [[Special:BookSources/978-1-59582-345-8%7F%27%22%60UNIQ--ref-0000000E-QINU%60%22%27%7F |978-1-59582-345-8[6]]] Parameter error in {{ISBN}}: invalid character

The Umbrella Academy is a comic book written by Gerard Way with art by Gabriel Bá, cover art by James Jean, colors by Dave Stewart and letters by Blambot's Nate Piekos. The six-issue limited series[7] is released by Dark Horse Comics, the first issue making its premiere on September 19, 2007.[1] It won the 2008 Eisner Award for Best Finite Series/Limited Series. A second series The Umbrella Academy: Dallas followed in 2008. The series has been optioned for a film adaptation planned for release in 2012.

Main story

The members of the Umbrella Academy, a disbanded group of superheroes, reunite after the death of their adoptive father, "Sir Reginald Hargreeves". Hargreeves, an alien disguised as a famous entrepreneur, collected the members of the Umbrella Academy shortly after their birth and trained them to save the world from an unspecified threat. After his death, the members carry on his plan to save the world.

Influence

Way has stated that the biggest influence on this piece of work is his favorite writer, Grant Morrison of Doom Patrol. He has also stated that Pat McEown of ZombieWorld: Champion of the Worm was a big influence on his work. Way has said that Edvin Biuković is his all-time favorite artist and that "his Grendel Tales are like my bible to draw from".[4]

Characters

  • The Monocle (Sir Reginald Hargreeves) – An alien disguised as a wealthy entrepreneur and inventor, he adopts the members of The Umbrella Academy at birth.
  • The Umbrella Academy:
    • 00.01 Spaceboy (Luther Hargreeves) – The leader of The Umbrella Academy; his body is that of a gorilla’s and was transplanted after a failed expedition to Mars. His powers are enhanced physical strength and resilience. After his career with The Umbrella Academy he moved to the Moon and lived at the Annihilation Control outpost. On the moon, Luther is attended to by a robotic butler of sorts, named Ben. As revealed on the Dallas storyline, Spaceboy and The Boy (Number Five) are twin brothers.
    • 00.02 The Kraken (Diego Hargreeves) – The reckless and rebellious member of the group, described by The Monocle as “an insolent brat.” He has the ability to hold his breath indefinitely and has demonstrated a strong affinity for knife-throwing. He and Luther have a very clear rivalry and Diego seems unwilling to take orders from Luther.
    • 00.03 The Rumor (Allison Hargreeves) – Described as narcissistic. She has the ability to prevaricate, whatever she says becomes the truth. After her career with The Umbrella Academy, she married her boyfriend Patrick, who she has since divorced, and had a daughter named Claire.
    • 00.04 The Séance (Klaus Hargreeves) – Showcasing a fretful, morbid temperament. His powers are to contact the dead, levitate and telekinesis. He has the words "Hello" and "Goodbye" tattooed on his palms, and it has been theorized by Mr. Pogo that he's been taking drugs since he was a teenager, and he has himself said he is taking speed.
    • 00.05 The Boy (see notes at back of The Apocalypse Suite) - Disappeared at the age of ten and reappears in his childhood form 20 years into the future. 00.05 appears to be capable of traveling through time under his own power, although he was forced to spend decades in the future trying to prove the possibility of backwards time-travel before he was able to achieve it. He was shown to have aged normally in the distant future, but regressed back to his youth in transit. 00.05 claims to have read accounts of the Academy's immediate future and their connection to an apocalypse. As revealed on the Dallas storyline, Spaceboy (Number One) and The Boy are twin brothers.
    • 00.06 The Horror (Ben Hargreeves) – He possesses monsters under his skin from other dimensions. He is deceased, but no information regarding his death is given. There is a memorial statue of him located in the front of the Academy. Even though he's been dead since before the start of the series (but after the Murder Magician affair), he's been portrayed as a member of The Umbrella Academy since ever, appearing as his statue counterpart, or as images of him alive.
    • 00.07 The White Violin (Vanya Hargreeves) – The most estranged member of the group, Vanya showcases no particular powers, other than an interest in music. Vanya is known to have written a book detailing her life with the Academy and her decision to leave. According to The Conductor, leader of the Orchestra Verdammten, she's the most powerful of the Umbrella Academy, even leading to The Monocle for suppressing her powers from the beginning.
  • Inspector Lupo – A police officer, detective and friend of The Umbrella Academy. (Has a resemblance to Commissioner James Gordon)
  • Abhijat – The Monocle’s bodyguard and assistant.
  • Dr. Pogo – A talking chimp associated with The Monocle. Spaceboy's Best friend growing up at the Academy.
  • Mrs. Hargreeves (Grace Hargreeves) - Referred to as "Mom" by the members of the Academy. While the Monocle is shown in a portrait in the first issue, with a woman beside him, this is apparently not the children's "Mom," who shows up in the second issue and appears to be an only partially animate plastic mannequin. Little information is given as to her origins.
  • Hazel and Cha-Cha - A pair of extremely violent Nazi assassins working for the Temps Aeternalis. They both wear brightly colored cartoon character masks, maniacal and psychopath behaviour, and have a love of sweets.

Apocalypse Suite

Main article: The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite

The six part series, Apocalypse Suite, began with the release of the first issue on September 19, 2007. One issue is to be released on the third Wednesday of every month for six months.[1] The series editor is Scott Allie, and the series assistant editors are Rachel Edidin and Sierra Hahn. The series designer is Tony Ong.

Plot

In an inexplicable worldwide event, forty-three 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".

Dallas

Main article: The Umbrella Academy: Dallas

A second series called The Umbrella Academy: Dallas, began publication on November 26, 2008.

Plot

The aftermath of the "Apocalypse" leaves the city devastated. The Kraken begins to feel suspicious about 00.05, who has traveled back in time. Meanwhile, Spaceboy has begun an addiction to television which angers The Kraken. The Rumor has lost her voice and now carries a notepad as her speech outlet. The White Violin is bedridden with amnesia and 00.05 begins to be terrorized by men in red suits.

Hotel Oblivion

Gerard Way announced at the 2009 San Diego Comic Con that the third series would be entitled The Umbrella Academy: Hotel Oblivion.[8] It is hinted that this could be the return of Dr. Terminal, a reference to Spaceboy saying "no one could escape from the Hotel" in Apocalypse Suite issue #3 (maybe referring to "Hotel Oblivion"), the "hotel" most likely referring to a prison/mental institution. The series may not appear for quite some time due to the release of My Chemical Romance's next album. Gerard quoted that the series will show much of what happened to previous villains.

Short stories

A first short preview story of the series was released on November 2, 2006 on the Dark Horse Comics website.[2] The first printed story was “…But the Past Ain’t Through With You.” which appeared in the 2007 Dark Horse Comics Free Comic Book Day issue.[3] Another story, “Safe & Sound”, was published in July 2007 in Dark Horse Presents online on MySpace.[9]

“Mon Dieu!” (Internet Preview)

An Internet preview was released on November 2, 2006 on the Dark Horse website. The story was colored by Dan Jackson and lettered by Jason Hvam.[2] It is included in the Apocalypse Suite collection.

Plot

The story is only two pages long and contains two main characters, The Séance, appearing as an adult, and The Boy, #00.05. A time-travel machine causes the The Séance to briefly experience life as a French military commander.

“…But the Past Ain’t Through With You.”

Cover of the 2007 Dark Horse Comics Free Comic Book Day issue, featuring the first printed story of The Umbrella Academy, “…But the Past Ain’t Through With You.”

The first printed story of the series, the title is a line from the B-side track "Kill All Your Friends" by Way's band, My Chemical Romance ("And you can sleep in a coffin, but the past ain't through with you"). "…But the Past Ain’t Through with You.", appeared in the 2007 Dark Horse Comics Free Comic Book Day issue. The comic book was released on May 5, 2007, Free Comic Book Day. It is included in the Apocalypse Suite collection. The comic book also features the début of Pantheon City written by Ron Marz and illustrated by Clément Sauvé and Zero Killer written by Arvid Nelson and illustrated by Matt Camp.[3]

Plot

The story begins with Spaceboy, The Rumor, and The Séance finding The Rumor’s body in an alley. The scene changes to the studio of the Lucifer Clark Show, a late night talk show, with the Murder Magician, accompanied by his assistant, The Assistant. The Murder Magician matter-of-factly admits to killing The Rumor in front of Lucifer Clark and a live studio audience, both of which seem to not take him seriously. The Murder Magician goes on to reveal his Murderbot, which he claims he will use to murder people. The scene changes to Inspector Lupo complaining about the situation in the studio with two police officers, while they await the appearance of the Umbrella Academy. All five members appear, just having teleported from Tokyo after fighting a sea serpent. Inspector Lupo explains the situation: the Murder Magician has hypnotized Lucifer Clark and the audience, activated the Murderbot, and demanded ten million dollars and a date with a soap opera actress named Gina Barbeux. The scene changes to the inside of the studio, which is now being destroyed by the Murderbot. The Murder Magician and The Assistant are dancing on stage and Lucifer Clark is in a Dagger Head Box. As the Murder Magician is about to saw Lucifer Clark in half, the Murderbot crashes to the ground. The Umbrella Academy appears and Spaceboy orders the Murder Magician to surrender. The Kraken attacks the Murder Magician as The Assistant flees. Spaceboy grabs hold of the Murderbots arm, orders The Horror to grab the other arm, and The Séance to loosen the bolts of the robot. The Horror and Spaceboy each pull a hand, severing the robot’s arms, effectively destroying it. The Rumor seeing The Assistant on the lighting rig lies and tells her that the rig was assembled in a “rush job”. The rig collapses, seemingly killing The Assistant. The Monocle (Sir Reginald Hargreeves) appears in the studio to everyone’s surprise and asks how The Rumor’s body could have been found if she is still alive. Spaceboy explains that The Rumor lied about going to the library after she was found out of the house after midnight. She was actually sneaking out to see her boyfriend. Spaceboy explains that her lie had manifested into another Rumor, which was killed by the Murder Magician. The Monocle commends Spaceboy on his work and states his amazement that he led the Murder Magician to a copy instead of the actual Rumor. The Kraken, enraged, asks The Monocle why he would have told the Murder Magician where to find The Rumor. The Monocle responds by saying, “to teach her a lesson”. The story concludes with The Monocle exiting the studio as he says, “class dismissed”. An editorial note at the end of the story informs the reader that the next installment of the Umbrella Academy some characters “may or may not be living and/or dead”.

“Safe & Sound”

“Safe & Sound” is an eight-page story published in the first issue of the second volume of Dark Horse Presents in July 2007. The second volume of Dark Horse Presents (an anthology comic book, which was the first comic ever published by Dark Horse) appears monthly exclusively online on the social networking website MySpace for free. The title comes from a Song Gerard Way Worked on with Japanese rock singer Kyosuke Himuro for the Movie Final Fantasy 7 Advent Children. The comic book also features stories for the series Sugarshock! written by Joss Whedon and illustrated by Fábio Moon (Gabriel Bá’s twin brother) and Samurai: Heaven and Earth written by Ron Marz and illustrated by Luke Ross.[9]

Plot

The story begins with The Kraken on top of a moving car occupied by criminals. The credits on the page say “Safe & Sound / featuring The Kraken / Formerly of the Umbrella Academy”. The cars occupants, a driver, a man in the passenger seat with a Tommy Gun, a Gypsy fortuneteller in the back seat, and a little girl in the back seat are all aware that The Kraken in on top of the vehicle. After The Kraken stabs the top of the car, the fortuneteller, who is holding a green crystal ball, orders the man in the front to shoot The Kraken, who manages to escape injury. When the girl in the back says that she wants to go home, the fortuneteller tells her she can as soon as her father pays the ransom. The Kraken punches the man with the gun through the window, prompting the fortuneteller to order the driver to slam the brakes. The Kraken and the man with the gun are ejected from the car, the latter going through the windshield. The Kraken flies through a window of an unoccupied clothing store. The other occupants in the car exit the vehicle and the fortuneteller produces a cartomancy card that portrays death. The driver than indiscriminately shoots at the clothing store with the Tommy Gun. The Kraken emerges on top of the car (behind the fortuneteller) and demands the release of the girl. She pulls out another cartomancy card with devil. The driver shoots at The Kraken, who jumps towards him and punches him. The knocked-out man falls to the ground. The fortuneteller, still defiant, tells The Kraken not to produce his blade, or else she will drop the green crystal ball, which she claims holds the life of the girl she is holding hostage. She claims that if it drops the girl will die. The Kraken throws his knife at the fortuneteller’s shoulder and she drops the crystal ball, which shatters on the ground. The fortuneteller is in shock to see that the girl is still alive and is surprised by a punch delivered by The Kraken. The next scene shows the fortuneteller being arrested who is hysterically saying that the girl should have died. Inspector Lupo (a character similar to Commissioner Gordon of Batman) thanks The Kraken for saving the mayor’s daughter. The Kraken reaches into the back seat of the fortuneteller’s car and produces a crystal ball, identical the one that was destroyed. He hands in to the Inspector and tells him that it is, “Something important. Take care of it.”

“Anywhere But Here”

Darkhorse released the eight-page short story on their MySpace, and it is also included in the Dallas collections.

Plot

(The story takes place 13 years ago, during the group's teenage years) The Monocle is giving a long and boring speech to Diego and Vanya (The Kraken and The White Violin) who are in a punk rock band called Prime 8's, in which Vanya plays the guitar, The Kraken plays the bass guitar and an ape called "Body" plays the drums. Finally The Monocle gives Vanya a plane ticket set to go to Paris, where she is supposed to study music and improve her talents in the violin. Then in Diego's room, he convinces Vanya to go and play at a gig that night, and then with the money they would earn, they could run away from the Umbrella Academy to be in the band. Diego says "You don't belong here (The Academy) so neither do I, I'm not cut for this Hero business". They agree to meet at the gig that night. In the city a bar is filled with people screaming to hear the Prime 8's but Diego hasn't shown up yet and the owner of the bar demands to see the band playing at that moment, so Body decides to finish the band and say goodbye to Vanya. Vanya, very disappointed, is walking down the street and suddenly hears a television from a Shop where TV-News are shown about a Gang arrested by The Umbrella Academy and they did it with the help of The Kraken. "This is where you belong" says Vanya. So Vanya gets in a Taxi, the Driver asks "Are you going somewhere important?" Vanya answers "Yeah, anywhere but here."

Collected editions

The series has been collected as a trade paperback:

The Umbrella Academy: The Apocalypse Suite (by Gerard Way & Gabriel Bá, includes all six issues from The Apocalypse Suite, extracts from sketchbooks featuring early versions of characters, the short internet preview ("Mon Dieu!") and the story ("…But the Past Ain’t Through With You.") from Free Comic Book Day 2007, limited edition hardcover, ISBN 1595821635, softcover, ISBN 1593079788)

This edition was included on Wizard's "100 Best trade paperbacks and graphic novels published during the Wizard era", ranking it at number 94.[10]

The Umbrella Academy: Dallas, the trade paperback of Volume 2 of the series (192 pages), has a publication date of September 30, 2009, and includes the story "Anywhere but Here" and nine pages of sketches.[6] A hardback limited-edition version with 232 pages has a publication date of October 21, 2009.

Film

Dark Horse have a first look deal with Universal Pictures,[11] who have optioned The Umbrella Academy.[12]

There is a listing for the film at Internet Movie Database, with a tentative release date of 2012.[13]

Alfonso Cuarón has been linked to the project.

Notes

  1. ^ a b c "Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite #1". Dark Horse Comics. 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-09.
  2. ^ a b c d "Gerard Way gives the world a sneak peek at the upcoming Umbrella Academy series! 11/2/06". Dark Horse Comics. 2006-11-02. Retrieved 2007-04-12.
  3. ^ a b c d "Free Comic Book Day 2007". Dark Horse Comics. 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-12.
  4. ^ a b "Gerard Way Interview: Umbrella Academy 8/14/06". Dark Horse Comics. 2006-08-14. Retrieved 2007-04-12.
  5. ^ "The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite TPB". Dark Horse Comics. Retrieved 14 August 2009.
  6. ^ a b "The Umbrella Academy: Dallas TPB". Dark Horse Comics. Retrieved 14 August 2009.
  7. ^ Pastorek, Whitney (2007). "Exclusive Peek: Gerard Way's 'Umbrella Academy'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2007-08-09. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  8. ^ [1], Comic Book Resources, July 23, 2009
  9. ^ a b "SDCC '07: DARK HORSE PRESENTS RETURNS ON MYSPACE". Newsarama. Retrieved 2007-09-08. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  10. ^ http://www.wizarduniverse.com/mar094029.html
  11. ^ Dark Horse/Universal Sign First Look Deal, Newsarama, March 18, 2008
  12. ^ UMBRELLA ACADEMY Feature Film Update!, IESB, October 19, 2008
  13. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1312171/

References

Interviews

Reviews

Short stories

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