25. The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá (7/24/2011 -7/27/2011)
Gerard Way is probably better known as the lead singer/lyricist of My Chemical Romance, but he has always expressed a love for comic books and graphic novels, and thus this is one of his first major creations (at least, it's one of the first that I'm aware of -- doesn't necessarily mean it's actually his first :) ). A friend of mine gifted this first installation of the Umbrella Academy to me and I greatly enjoyed it. The delivery style is a little difficult to read, and I suspect that I'd benefit greatly from reading it again to be sure I understood it, but it's incredibly imaginative and I can't wait to get my hands on the second one.
The Umbrella Academy is made up of seven people who were born to mothers who didn't know they were pregnant. And no, not like that awful TV show -- these mothers didn't have any signs or symptoms, didn't gain weight, didn't go into labor, etc. Instead, about 40 babies just suddenly popped out wherever their "mothers" happened to be. Most were abandoned but these seven were adopted by an eccentric old man who raised them and cultivated their unique talents into a somewhat superhero-like group. The first chapters detail this as well as their first "public" appearance as the Umbrella Academy (wherein they fight an Eiffel Tower that has apparently gone insane). The rest of the graphic novel is the story of The Apocalypse Suite, a composition that will, if played perfectly, destroy the world, and the still-involved members of the Umbrella Academy must stop it. There are a lot of complicated emotions and stories at work throughout this, but I won't go into them for fear of either giving something away or screwing it up entirely.
Suffice it to say this: if you enjoy graphic novels, read The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite. I've always felt that graphic novels belong in a much more accepted place in American literature, and this one certainly proves that graphic novels can be just as complex and emotionally involved as any "regular" novel.
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