The Umbrella Academy was a gateway drug for me into the world of independent comics. Written by MCR frontman and goth cult icon Jared Way, The Umbrella Academy built a surreal world of apes and monsters heading towards an impending destruction, that could only be saved by a dysfunctional family of supers reuniting. It has been nearly 10 years since I had read Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite and now I’m finally moving onto the sequel Dallas.
This Quick Thoughts contains spoilers!
Dallas has been on my reading list for a while as I had loved the Apocalypse Suite back in the day and it did not disappoint. Umbrella Academy’s world can be best described as gothically surreal with an injection of primate DNA. Despite Way’s pedigree for black, Dallas is a colourful book invoking imagery of modern americana rather than contemporary rebellion.
Being a sequel to the first Umbrella Academy, a lot has changed for the family. There isn’t a reset or new beginning that occur in most fictional series’ as the scars from the previous volume are the themes for this one. I like how the continuity is reflected by the characters showing that their relationships towards one another have not changed in between volumes.
Unfortunately the latter half of the story does not execute on the excellent build up from the first half. It’s extremely gripping when #00.05 is being hunted by two ruthless cartoon masked hit men, but loses it’s thrill in the second half as the family races towards the assassination.
I finished Dallas in one sitting and eagerly anticipating the third instalment, Hotel Oblivion. Like in the Apocalypse Suite there are some plot points that have not been fully explored so hopefully this next volume will shed some light on these matters.
The Electric Press 