Synopsis
The New York Times bestselling comics series that was the inspiration for The Umbrella Academy on Netflix, now on Season 3!
Three magnificent New York Times bestselling Umbrella Academy graphic novels are collected in one deluxe boxed set featuring an exclusive, double-sided poster! (Note: there is one box; image shows both sides)
In an inexplicable worldwide event, forty-three extraordinary children were spontaneously born by women who’d previously shown no signs of pregnancy. Millionaire inventor Reginald Hargreeves adopted seven of the children; when asked why, his only explanation was, “To save the world.” These seven children form The Umbrella Academy, a dysfunctional family of superheroes with bizarre powers. Nearly a decade after their first mission, the team disbands, but when Hargreeves unexpectedly dies, these disgruntled siblings reunite just in time to save the world once again.
Collects Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite, Umbrella Academy: Dallas, and Umbrella Academy: Hotel Oblivion. Also includes an exclusive Umbrella Academy double-sided poster.
Review
YOU GUESSED IT! After a straight week of TUA reviews, I’m still not over how much I enjoyed my time with the Umbrellas. After I rewatched the series (you can read my review of the show here) and even after reviewing (TUA 0, Apocalypse Suite, Dallas, & Hotel Oblivion), (and even You Look Like Death), for the site, I find myself still thinking about the series. As the box set I got of Vol. 1-3 was so cool, I figured I’d draw some attention to it as well.
And I like to do a few trilogy and series reviews every once in a while! (Like Queen of Thieves, Pillars of Peace, & The Inheritance Cycle.
For one, the box itself has specific art done for it, which is awesome, and it also means that they are all perfectly the same size. That isn’t usually a problem for comic volumes/graphic novels, but we all know how annoying the issue can be. I mean…I could do without the Netflix stickers, though.
The back of each features a lengthened sketch section, all of which I really loved. Not only was there insight from Way and Ba, but it was so cool to see the different iterations of the crew and even designs they didn’t use. Some of the art, done in the early days by Gerard, really surprised me in how good they were….singer, writer, and artist, is a hell of a package. And the fact that some of them were so close to what was used in the final product is too cool to see.
A pretty good price if you can catch it on sale too!
Below I will share my thoughts on the actual stories, including one that was a short included in the set, but not quite long enough for a full review…
0: The Murder Magician
8/10
This is a prequel short to the series. It really helps set up the tone and art of the series, and I think it’s a fantastic place to start. I almost wish we had seen this and some other events (like the Paris rescue) at the opening of the show. I know fans received some flashback scenes, but there was not much in the way of heroics. It could have worked as a brief bit or shorts like the opening “4 years” sequence in the latest Fantastic Four. It would have given some depth, I think, and seeing some of their villains would help explain why the world needed 6 child superheroes…
The Murder Magician and his helper felt kind of like a nod to Joker and Harley Quinn, but without being a rip. This short gives us a snapshot into the stylized art that we’ll see throughout the rest of the series, and even offers readers an important snippet into how the Rumor’s powers work, which is different from the show. The idea that her sowing lies would actually create altered realities is really neat. I can see how that would get awfully messy for the show, though.
Overall a swing-for-the-fences opener.
Anywhere But Here
8/10
A fun short story included at the end of Dallas. Some great backstory on why Diego and Vanya are close, and why he’s so hurt when she comes back in Apocalypse Suite. I have a feeling these feelings will come back into play in Plan B.
Their punk band, The Prime-8s have a release called “I don’t wanna kill the president,” which is a fantastic tease to cap off volume 2…
Really wish this got a full treatment, like You Look Like Death.
Apocalypse Suite
7.75/10
Below is a strange blend (I’m sure) of my original thoughts and my reread review…
Finally popped open my box set of Vol 1-3. After finishing the show, I knew it was time to get to the source material finally.
If anything, this comic is more off the rails than the show! Which does make sense, but the show was pretty out there to begin with. A group of babies is all born at the same time, mostly to women who were not noticeably pregnant beforehand. For some reason, Reginald Hargreaves sets out to adopt as many of them as he can, eventually succeeding with 7. As he raises them, it’s apparent that he doesn’t do so out of the kindness of his heart, as each child is only bestowed with a number as a name. And eventually, he launched them as their own children-led superhero group. It’s apparent that they have their own rogues gallery, as well as some serious successes (and losses, aka Ben), but this is focusing on the adult versions of them.
00.05 has been stuck in the future, desperately trying to solve how to return. When he finally does, something wrong happens, and he is stuck inside his body from boyhood. His return is nothing if not timely, as they have just days to stop the end of the world.
While much of this is like season 1 of the show, it differs in some subtle ways, and in some major ways when it comes to 00.07. There are some absolutely explosive and brutal panels in this, with blood and gore that surprised even me, and it was really cool to see them in full color (reading through TWD had the volumes’ covers in color, but the panels in black and white). The main thing that stood out to me was how much more of the characters you get in the show. Their beats and banter are clearly taken from the source material, but its format doesn’t allow for them to open up as much, and that’s where the show really shone for me. But that is the necessary difference when you are reading short form, so I cannot wait to get into vol2 so that I can get into more of who they are. It’s such a fun read.
Dallas
8/10
As season 2 is my favorite, I was particularly excited for this.
After the cost of their “win” in Apocalypse Suite, each of them is a tad off balance. They’re separated, even those not split by distance, and there’s once again something brewing. Luther is drowning himself in sweets, Diego is too steadfast for his own good, so convinced he’s onto something, Allison still can’t speak, Klaus is now kind of famous and fine?? (which is actually atypical), Except for the run-in with death, of course, Five is doing some racetrack betting (and worse), and Vanya is bedridden, barely having survived. Will they be able to reel themselves in, to save the world again?
This is pretty similar to the events of season two, however, in a somewhat different order. The Commission and the Temps Aeternalis are heavily involved in this one, and we even get Hazel and Cha-CHA! With their masks, they really make a splash on the page, and they easily steal the show. The other Commission workers are much more colorful in the comic, popping off the page in stylized yellow and reds. And it makes for a more comic villain feel for sure…and of course, it’s even more wacky.
I always thought the show had Luther stuffing his face because of his giant physique, but he often does it when he’s stressed, so maybe it was actually a nod to this volume and his weight gain. I wonder why Hazel and Cha-Cha were introduced in S1, and they decided to have only Klaus take a stint in Vietnam. I enjoyed how, in the comic, more than one of them was there and how Diego took the reins. It was a bit strange to have the crew all over the place, but this felt like them spreading their wings.
While Apocalypse Suite introduced the gang and their personalities, Dallas felt more matured and lived in. It may be its own sort of alt-history, but it’s still a commentary on the hyper-violence in American history. It also felt like a step toward building into something that could run for quite a while. I’m excited for more.
Hotel Oblivion
8.5/10
Volume 3 to me feels the most like an actual superhero comic book, still very much so the Umbrellas, but with a more fleshed-out world. It is also somehow the most out there of them all. Completely insane.
The ragtag group that we can’t get enough of is back…and better than ever? As with all heroes, once they emerge, it seems as if there are villains appearing out of the woodwork. Why is it so perfectly timed that when someone has the strength to step up, magically, there is someone there to try to bring them down? Well, the same goes for the Umbrellas. Over the years, as more villains appeared, Sir Reginald sought a way to contain them so that they would stop coming back—presumably in the revolving door style we so often see in comics. The thing is, his plan worked, but for how long?
While I did enjoy the third season of the show, it differed from volume three much more than the other two, and not just by making Hotel Oblivion into Obsidian. It also makes the hotel much more of a real-world location than a “pocket universe,” and it meshed in the Sparrow academy too, which in 2026 is still a releasing volume…so not sure why they did that. I enjoyed the season, but I think I enjoy this volume way more.
Luther is magically fit again, and he and Diego head to space—and then an alternate plane of existence—with a character that looks kind of like a caricature of Hayao Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli. Allison has a team up with Five, who is in a full-on Agents of Shield-esque costume. Klaus is captured and put into seance work by a biker gang, much like in season 3 of the show. And Vanya is still recovering, but robot Mom is being awfully weird.
Hotel Oblivion is just that: Oblivion. A hotel filled with cockroach dinners and The Umbrella Academy’s very own rogues gallery. Until now, once you arrived at the hotel, you were as good as gone, but some people just don’t know how to give it up. And believe it or not, you might see some familiar faces too! This whole volume felt to me like more of a natural superhero story than the first two. Not only does the hotel’s existence (and loaded up capacity) show the Umbrella’s legitimacy, but it also allows for the most climactic ending yet: a full-on battle…with, of course, a Sparrow cliffhanger.
I am happy to see that Volume 4: Plan B is up for preorder. I don’t believe it was announced when I first ordered the 1-3 box set. I think this one would have worked well as an epic send off, not that there weren’t loose ends or anything obviously, and of course I am glad to have more. I hope it’s awesome.
Another solid entry! Onto You Look Like Death.
Sadly no Lila though…
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