I ask you, is this the face of a killer?

What has come before: An eccentric billionaire adopts seven extraordinary children “to save the world, of course.” Over the years, the children face a never-ending parade of grotesque, surreal threats that causes strain on the family dynamic.

It is nearly impossible to talk about The Umbrella Academy without mentioning  Gerard Way‘s day job as the frontman for My Chemical Romance. The fact is, his comics have a lot in common with his music. He has sold a lot of records singing about death, doomed romances, and the hell of childhood. As the writer of The Umbrella Academy, he also touches upon these  themes, but throws in an occasional talking chimpanzee or rampaging monument every now and then. In both media, Way wears his influences on his sleeve (The Black Parade was full of nods to The Smashing Pumpkins and Queen; The Apocalypse Suite owes much of existence to Grant Morrison‘s Doom Patrol and the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen). Way is also keenly interested in building mythologies (the story of the doomed lovers in Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge; the decades long history of the Academy). The fact that he takes the same creative approach to comics as music is a double edged sword: on the one hand, it infuses the comics with a fresh perspective, making for one of the most unique comics on the stand. On the other hand, the loose narrative of the “concept album” approach means that the series lack cohesion, leaving a lot of things open to interpretation by the reader (which can be frustrating for some, but a pleasant experience for others, your mileage may vary).

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