On Friday, February 15, 2019 Netflix will release episodes of The Umbrella Academy. The Umbrella Academy, based on a graphic novel created and written by Gerard Way and illustrated by Gabriel Bá and published by Dark Horse Comics. The Apocalypse Suite introduces a strange group who have “powers.” Thirty-seven single women give birth to babies with powers. Most of the babies are abandoned.
The Umbrella Academy is established by Sir Reginald Hargreeves (aka, “The Monocle” and Colm Feore), a mysterious alien disguised as a wealthy entrepreneur and world-renowned scientist. Hargreeves adopts the seven members of The Umbrella Academy at birth including Spaceboy (Tom Hopper), The Kraken (David Castañeda), The Rumor (Emmy Raver-Lampman), The Séance (Robert Sheehan), Number Five (Aidan Gallagher), The Horror (Ethan Hwang), and The White Violin (Ellen Page). Number Five, who has the power to time-travel, goes to the near future and finds the world is destroyed. It takes Number Five 50 years to figure out how to travel back in time. When he does, he finds he’s back in his 10-year-old body. Number Five and the other members of the Umbrella Academy try to stop the forces that threaten to bring the Apocalypse. I enjoyed this quirky graphic novel and now I want to check out the Netflix series. GRADE B
The business of the pages put me off graphic novels. I find they scramble my brain too much.
Patti, I grew up reading comic books so the transition to “graphic novels” was easy.
I was wondering about this one, but you make it sound worth a try on Netflix.
Jeff, the story in the graphic novel is compelling. But we’ll have to see how it translates to Netflix. I’m curious to see Ellen Page, who started out her career on a high note and then made a series of disastrous choices…much like Jennifer Aniston.
I’ll have to look at Page’s resume…haven’t been seeing her much RECENTLY. Aniston is so ridiculously wealthy due to FRIENDS, not my favorite series, that she presumably does whatever strikes her fancy, much like her colleagues in the series’s cast. Lisa Kudrow has had perhaps the most interesting career since, even if some of her projects have been a bit self-indulgent, and Matthew Perry has done some good work on the likes of THE GOOD WIFE.
Todd, you’re right about the cast of FRIENDS. With their incredible wealth, they can do anything they feel like. But I happen to think Jennifer Aniston wasted her talent on many ill-conceived projects.
Weird…I must’ve added “recently” after typing FRIENDS and not noted the caps lock was still on.
Yes, the more routine comedies Aniston’s done in the last decade are presumably means to keep busy, help out old friends, and collect a superfluous but useful paycheck and keep her name before the public and industry. WE ARE THE MILLERS was, at least, better than FRIENDS mostly was, if not enough to be thoroughly good.
I am so tired of people with superpowers.
Steve, the use of “powers” in THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY graphic novel is minimal. The biggest factor revolves around the kid with Time-Travel abilities.
I have to take the hero comics-derived series in small doses of late, as well. I’m pretty much down to GOTHAM and awaiting the returns of iZOMBIE and LUCIFER any time now. Though SUPERGIRL and BLACK LIGHTNING can be diverting. And will probably watch the last season of JESSICA JONES on Netflix pretty soon.
And will give the films a try when they pop up on cable or streaming…it’s a bit strange-feeling, to not have gone to see a film in a theater since ATOMIC BLONDE and, just before that, WONDER WOMAN, a coupla years back, and both of those clever-enough comic book films. Casts didn’t hurt.
Todd, Alita: Battle Angel is getting a lot of hype. But I’ll wait for a review or two before I decide whether I want to see it or not. CAPTAIN MARVEL will be the next blockbuster next month.
Yes, the Marvel’s CAPTAIN MARVEL and DC’s purchased-from-Fawcett Captain Marvel, redubbed Shazam, projects are amusingly coming out pretty close together, and I’ll probably give both a look.
Todd, same here. CAPTAIN MARVEL and SHAZAM look good from the trailers I’ve seen.
Netflix probably also hoping to fill the hole left by Disney’s Marvel series pullback. Tapping interesting projects from the smaller publishers is certainly sensible.
Todd, Netflix carefully measures audiences. The same viewers of LUKE CAGE and IRON FIST would likely watch THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY. The cancelations of the MARVEL/Netflix series shows why the lack of good writers and scripts will doom many projects because of lack of quality.
I haven’t given DAREDEVIL the series much of a shake yet, but JESSICA JONES went a bit slack in the second season, though I thought LUKE CAGE pretty good throughout (so far), even surviving the obnoxious version of Iron Fist Marvel Studios came up with for Netflix (a zero-charisma performance by an actor playing a difficult role, given what a spoiled, cocky ass the character is…I haven’t watched the series nor ever read the character in comics, so don’t know if they did him any sort of disservice with how unengaging he is on the CAGE series…but I’ve heard nothing good about the IRON FIST series, either).
Yes, Dark Horse and some of the other slightly less megacorporate comics publishers have been doing comparable (and sometimes better) work for decades; I will be very interested if anyone manages to do a LOVE AND ROCKETS series eventually.
Todd, I’m looking forward to watching PUNISHER 2.
The plot echoes Joseph Michael Straczynsk’s Rising Stars, which was excellent. From what I’ve heard of this, it’s not so much. Skip for me.
The plot is more than an echo of Rising Stars. It’s a ripoff, and a considerably inferior copy at that. Speaks to the unwarranted influence of Gerard Way’s star power. He made a copy, and his got bought up before the original. Real shame.
X-Men ripoff, anyone!
Bob, your comment is right on the money. Only THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY group is even more dysfunctional than THE X-MEN!