My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is good old-fashioned Justice League with all the classic heroes and villains in their original costumes on bright beautiful display. Reading this book is one big dose of nostalgia for me. They even managed to include a 2-page spread of the Hall of Doom which brought back memories of the 70′s Super Friends cartoon!
The story is epic enough to last the 12 issues and the artwork is of the high quality one would expect from Doug Braithwaite’s pencils and Alex Ross’ paints. The heroes look sufficiently larger-than-life, and Ross (as usual) manages to make their costumes look like being a realistic possibility and not silly-spandex. The book does remind me of “Kingdom Come” quite a bit in both story (e.g. the means of control) and look (i.e. costumes and faces) but it’s not necessarily a bad thing. I must admit though that it can get a little hard distinguishing faces as characters tend to look alike in some panels, especially the males. And I do think the ending felt a little limp (particularly with regards to the main antagonist) and there was some copping out on the part of the writer. A few events involving death would have been tragic but much more honourable; and thus more satisfying for me.
Definitely a must-read for comic fans!

View all my reviews

Share on Facebook

I haven’t been drawing for awhile (even longer digitally) so this is very rough practice in Photoshop.
Each done in about 30 minutes then assembled. That’s about how long I could get each boy to pose for me!

Share on Facebook

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The artwork didn’t impress me that much – too rough and at times the panel flow was a little messy/convoluted if I recall correctly (I borrowed a copy from the local library awhile back so the specifics escape me). I do remember some panels had great perspective/composition though. The story was engaging enough and the ending was what really moved me. A recommended read.

Share on Facebook

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

No. 5 is one of my favourite characters in The Umbrella Academy. The other is Rumor (what an awesome special power she has!). So I am most pleased that the main story in this volume is focused on them. The cast of interesting characters expands – Hazel and Cha Cha for example are genuinely frightening – and the story is very well executed. I am loving The Umbrella Academy.

Share on Facebook

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book reminds me of Hellboy and Invincible – two of my favourite comic titles. It has a Victorian steampunk/advanced science-mixed-with-mysticism vibe (the former) and a very large cast of characters with potentially rich backgrounds (the latter). The art also feels like a strange hybrid of both styles – minimalist designs with sporadic texture details, use of silhouettes and shadows, clean lines and often-crisp colours. Admittedly not as polished as Mignola or Ottley (maybe it’s intentional?) but still very appropriate for the style of the book.
The Umbrella Academy Vol 1 introduces some really interesting characters and a promising storyline. By the end I am eager to find out more about this quirky parallel universe that Gerrard Way and Gabriel Ba have created. The pacing of the book is such that you are learning new things about the characters’ past and significant events initially hinted at as you progress through the pages. There is a sense of discovery. I’m hooked.

Share on Facebook