On the theme of saving lives I’d like to segue to Way’s side project, comic writing. Many were skeptical of a rock star coming into the comic business, but a lesser known fact is that Way’s first career choice was to pursue a job in the comic book industry. He graduated from the School of Visual Arts in New York in 1999 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree, and felt like the most valuable thing he learnt was how to portray his apprehension of the world and also embellish his perception through art.

Grant Morrison, a Scottish comic-book writer known for his success with Doom Patrol, Batman, Superman and many more, was one of Gerard’s biggest influences and he has developed a tremendous friendship with Morrison, who gave him the advice to be ‘fearless’ with his work.

Way’s comics, like his music also have the theme of saving lives with a bigger global message and his written work is easily linked in with the music of MCR. Way has described the relation between his band and his comics as two very different things but there is also some overlap, as being in a band, Way brings a piece of music to his band mates and they interpret it in their own way and when you are on the same page and share the same vision then the result can be the creation of something brilliant. This is similar to writing comics as it is essential to have a great team working on the same wave length to bring a great series together.

Way wrote The Umbrella Academy: The Apocalypse Suite for Dark Horse Comics in 2007 and although he had originally provided the artwork himself it would be Gabriel Bá that recreated his vision for the final version.

Bá was born and raised in Brazil and is known as a comic book artist for his work on The Umbrella Academy as well as Casanova for Marvel, written by Matt Fraction. He also has a twin brother; Fábio Moon who is also a comic book artist.

 The plot for The Umbrella Academy follows a disbanded collection of superheroes also known as the members of The Umbrella Academy, as they reunite following the death of their adoptive father, “Sir Reginald Hargreeves”, an alien portrayed as a wealthy entrepreneur. He retrieved the members of The Umbrella Academy after their creation and trained them to fight to save the world from an unidentified threat. After the death of Hargreeves the superheroes continued on with their patriarch’s plan to save the world.

The Academy includes:

00.01 Spaceboy also known as Luther Hargreeves, he is the leader of the group and has enhanced resilience and physical strength.

00.02 The Kraken also known as Diego Hargreeves, referred to as the rebellious member of the group. He has the ability to hold his breath for considerably long periods of time and has also indicated a strong fondness for knife-throwing.

00.03 The Rumor also known as Allison Hargreeves, described as being egotistic, she has the power to immediately adapt reality through lies.

00.04 Séance also known as Klaus Hargreeves, he possesses the power to levitate, telekinesis, and to contact the dead. Although his abilities only function when he has no shoes on.

00.05 The Boy, he disappeared when he was ten years old and re-enters the Academy twenty years later into the future in his child form. It appears that he is able to time-travel under his own control.

00.06 The Horror also known as Ben Hargreeves, is a departed member of the academy who possesses monsters under his skin. Although he has been dead from before the start of the series, he is still acknowledged with a statue located at the front of the Academy.

00.07 The White Violin also known as Vanya Hargreeves, the most divert member of the group originally showcasing no specific abilities, other than an appreciation for music. Her powers were suppressed but she has the ability to release a disastrous wave of force through playing her violin which can be incredibly strong and capable of slicing a person’s throat or annihilate an entire building with just one note.

The second series of the comic was released in 2008 under the title of: The Umbrella Academy: Dallas and opens with the group in despair following the near apocalypse which was formed by one of their own and the unfortunate death of their cherished mentor. So it’s perfect timing for another unimaginable event to take place and get the superheroes back in action.

Although they are facing some personal issues of their own; The White Violin is resigned to her bed as a result of an unlucky blow to the head. Rumor is unable to use the source of her power as she has lost her voice. Spaceboy has drove himself into a dazed state, whileNumber Five jumps straight into some debauched dealings at the dog track and The Kraken begins viewing his smallest brother as the crucial key to unriddle a mysterious series of assassinations which all leads to a blood-bath, delirious massacres, and a plan to kill JFK.

As a MCR fan and seldom comic book reader I was intrigued to read The Umbrella Academy and was pleasantly surprised by how much I adored it.  I enjoyed the mysteriousness that flowed through the story, as the reader isn’t told why one of the members of the Academy is dead or what Hargreeves is saving the world from. It is a multi layered weird Superhero science mystery that unravels backwards and was exceptionally well written for a first time creator. And Bá’s artwork complimented the writing style perfectly.

Way announced at Comic Con 2009 that he was in works to create a new comic-book series called “The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys” but in the meantime MCR released their latest album in 2010 titled “Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys” showing again that there is an obvious link between Way’s comics and his band. He has also encouraged fans of MCR to read the comics as a way of showing them where his imagination first got kick started.

Recently there have been talks of The Umbrella Academy being brought to the big screen as a feature film in the near future. With the first series of The Umbrella Academy such a success winning the 2008 Eisner Award for Best Finite Series, it was optioned as part of an arrangement between publishers Dark Horse and studio Universal. Although I doubt that the film will adequately translate Way’s story from paper to moving pictures I would be interested in seeing it brought to life purely as a curiosity. In the mean time I’ll be enjoying Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys and eagerly awaiting its possible translation into Comic format.