The Umbrella Academy and thinking about graphic novels
I won’t spoil anything, I promise (because I think everyone should rush out and watch this show (assuming ‘everyone’ likes what I like)).
The Umbrella Academy is a quirky superhero tale more about a dysfunctional family than superpowers. A rich eccentric adopts (buys) seven kids born under unusual circumstances and raises them to be superheros. They grow up in a house more like a boarding school than a home where dad mostly ignores them, mom is a robot who looks like she came out of the Stepford Wives and the butler is a talking ape.
It’s years later, dad has died. The now grown kids (the ones who survived) get together for the first time as adults. Turns out the world is going to end in a few days--forcing the siblings into a race to save us all.
The Umbrella Academy has everything I enjoy - non-linear timelines, complex environments with unexpected elements, a sprinkling of ridiculousness, an apocalypse and a fantastic soundtrack. In my opinion, the series is most creative TV I’ve seen in a long time. After episode 1, I found myself sucked in to the story and couldn’t wait for the next episode (I did force myself to ration them out instead of binge watching the lot).
The best part is the characters--they are quirky, imperfect and well rounded. Plus, everyone’s motives made sense. The siblings do have superpowers, but it isn’t superpowers that’ll save the day -- in fact, the superpowers come with more complications than superness.
I still feel withdrawal now that it’s over (good news, there will be a season 2)
As a tangent, the original story was put out in a graphic novel format, and graphic novels are something I’ve been thinking a lot about (more on this to come).