The Umbrella Academy is a comic book series that follows the lives of seven superpowered adopted siblings. Created by Gerard Way and published by Dark Horse Comics, the series has become known for its dark humor, stellar artwork by Gabriel Ba, unique sci-fi elements, and memorable characters. It’s an almost-addicting read, as relationships form and grow, superhero action takes place,  and time travel adventures unfold. While great, The Umbrella Academy is also very, very bonkers.

It’s ridiculous in every sense of the word, and I absolutely love it for it. For starters, the plotlines are absolutely insane. A group of kids battle a spaceship-Eiffel Tower. The team’s leader has his body replaced with that of a Martian Ape. There’s a man with a goldfish in a tank for a head who runs a division of a time travel agency. The dad who adopted the superpowered kids is an alien. The list could honestly go on and on, and it’s currently only three volumes long (with a spin-off).

It’s all extremely creative, and it’s all handled masterfully to capture the craziness without ever taking away from the intriguing mysteries, heartfelt emotion, or brilliant storytelling. It’s honestly all really impressive when taking that into consideration. As the siblings grow and bond and overcome life’s obstacles together, as well as battling bizarre supervillains (and each other at times), the story remains entertaining and intriguing while being weird at the same time.

I have always loved weird stories like this. Growing up watching things like Gremlins or The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy or the work of Tim Burton must have warped my brain into enjoying dark, twisted, bizarre stories with unique tones, and I’m more than okay with that. It has definitely given me a huge appreciation for The Umbrella Academy comic book series.

I love this over-the-top, silly, sci-fi stuff so much that I will always be hunting down other comics like it, and I am eagerly awaiting the release of the next Umbrella Academy volume. If you like weird, outlandish stories with a twisted sense of humor and crazy sci-fi rules, then I highly suggest you look into Gerard Way’s The Umbrella Academy. 

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