Book Review: The Umbrella Academy Vol. 1 by G. Way et al.

The Umbrella Academy Volume 1: Apocalypse Suite story by Gerard Way, art by Gabriel Ba, and colors by Dave Stewart

A freak incident has forty-three children born at the exact same time across the world, mostly to single women who were not pregnant. Seven of those children were adopted by Sir Reginald Hargreeves, a famous and wealthy inventor. Six of those children show extraordinary powers. He helps the children develop their powers at his Umbrella Academy. Ten years later, they are a band of heroes who help to avert the end of the world. One emergency they stop is an insane Eiffel Tower, which starts tossing people off of itself. The story picks up again with the death of Hargreeves many years later. By this point, the team is broken up and scattered across the Earth (except for Spaceboy, who has been working on the moon). They come together for the funeral and are forced together to face a new threat. The one child who seemingly didn't have any powers (other than playing the violin) has been recruited by a doomsday orchestra that is ready to destroy the world with a special piece of music, the eponymous Apocalypse Suite.

The story is extremely quirky with a creative visual style. The author was clearly bursting with ideas. Unfortunately, the storytelling is very choppy and a bit hard to follow. Each child's powers are shown only through action and it is difficult to sort out who does which thing. Other than being highly original, this book is not very satisfying. I can see how its creativity made it popular and I will try the next volume, but my expectations are a lot lower.

Slightly recommended.

UPDATE: I just read the second story and it has the same "throw in everything I can think of" feeling that I found so unsatisfying in the first story. So I am not going to read volume 3. I still might try the television show.

Book Review: Hellboy in Mexico by M. Mignola et al.

Hellboy in Mexico written by Mike Mignola with art by Richard Corben, Mike Mignola, Mick Mahon, Gabriel Ba, and Fabio Moon

This is a collection of stories written by Mike Mignola about the five months that Hellboy spent in Mexico back in 1956.

Hellboy in Mexico--Hellboy and Abe Sapien are stuck in the Mexican desert in 1982. They seek shelter in an abandoned gas station where Abe discovers a picture of Hellboy with some luchedores (Mexican wrestlers). Hellboy tells a story from his 1956 sojourn in Mexico. He went with two other B.P.R.D. agents to investigate some mass killings. Things were horrible and the other two left. Hellboy joined up with a band of luchedores who were already fighting vampires and other monsters. He doesn't know any Spanish but they manage to fight all day and drink all night, until the demons get the better of them. A bittersweet ending was in store, triggering a five-month stay in Mexico that is aptly described as "a drunken blur." The story is a great blend of horror and humor. The art by Richard Corben is distinct from Mignola's style but works very well for the story.

Hellboy versus the Aztec Mummy--Hellboy catches up to a bat-demon and has a big fight with it and a bunch of zombies. There isn't much story here, just plenty of atmospheric fun. The exposition dump at the end is probably unnecessary other than filling out the bottom of the last page.

Hellboy Gets Married--The drunken blur continues as Hellboy follows a mariachi band with a cute senorita in tow. He winds up marrying her though it turns out his beer goggles are exceptionally thick. Big fight ensues. The tale is a bit formulaic for Hellboy but Mignola includes lyrics from a few melancholic Mexican ballads to help set the tone. The weird talking wedding ring/snake is pretty cool too.

The Coffin Man--A small girl bursts into a bar asking help for her uncle. The locals say they buried him yesterday, so what's the deal? She's worried about the Coffin Man, a grave-robbing zombie witch. Hellboy, being a stand-up guy, stands up and head out to help the girl watch over her uncle's grave. This story showcases the weird, made up mythology that Mignola is so good at crafting.

House of the Living Dead--Hellboy has joined the luchedor circuit (mostly for drinking money) when he is called out by a mysterious doctor to fight the doctor's latest creation. That creation turns out to be Frankenstein's monster. The other classic Universal monsters (Dracula and the Wolf Man) show up, making a nice homage to the 1930's films. The story is both fun and melancholic, the classical Mignola blend. The art by Richard Corben follows the Hellboy in Mexico style and makes a nice conclusion to this book.

The book also contains one-page introductions by Mignola discussing the origins of the stories and weird details (who knew that Mexican vampires can turn into turkeys?). The back has various sketches by the artists working on the stories. They are almost all drafts of final art, which I find only mildly interesting. I like it better when they showcase different ideas or show the development of a character's look or style.

Book Review B.P.R.D. Vampire by Mike Mignola et al.

B.P.R.D. Vampire written by Mike Mignola, written and illustrated by Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon

The B.P.R.D. has a long history of collecting misfits and using them as field agents. Hellboy is a demon child summoned by the Nazis at the end of World War II to change their fortunes. Abe Sapien is a fishman from the American Civil War era. Roger the Homunculus was grown in a German castle as a slave for bad guys. In B.P.R.D. 1948 Agent Simon Anders was a normal human until the souls of two crazy vampire sisters were imprisoned in him, turning him into a vampire. In this sequel, it's still 1948 and all Anders wants to do is hunt down other vampires. He's had dreams of a bizarre ceremony of vampires killing witches, nightmares inspired by the sisters' memories. Professor Broom sends him to Soviet Czechoslovakia to investigate a site of possible vampire activity. Anders goes on his own, hoping to wreak some vengeance.

The story is a fine blend of creepiness, sadness, and mythology that is so common in Hellboy and B.P.R.D. stories. The art does a great job of mimicking Mignola's style and telling the story without a lot of dialogue. It's well worth reading.