Umbrella Academy Vol. 1: Apocalypse Suite

I had seen this title all over social media, but mostly in reference to the new Netflix show. I wanted to check it out.

It starts with a short origin story depicting the sudden birth of countless babies all over the world. Famed scientist Sir Reginald Hargreeves collects 7 and trains them to form a team. The narrative then jumps to 10 years later when they thwart an alien attempt to destroy Paris by way of taking over the Eiffel Tower. This introduces their powers and a lot of the fun tech that they employ.

There are a lot of whys in this graphic novel because once again the time frame shifts forward to the death of the founder of the academy. All his children return for the funeral, and past alliances and conflicts are alluded to, but never really confronted.

I found the visuals to be alarming (in a good way), but I was lost on several pages trying to figure out each character’s motivation for his/her actions. There’s also a great deal of mystery in the relationships between the 7 children, which causes a lot of ‘so why is she angry again?’ The task/ mission of the team is pretty focused and if I just stayed on that thread I’d be happy. I just wanted more depth to the characters, more explanation.

Overall, a good start, but I think one has to keep reading to get the most out of this series.