A Netflix Nugget: Umbrella Academy

Don't worry. There are no spoilers in this review.

I was going to post about this show last week, but I decided to wait until I finished the entire season. After all, what if it started to suck as the show got closer to the end, right?

In the meantime, it was nice to see other Steemians who were also captivated by this fun, quirkly, stylistic "super hero" show. If you haven't checked out this review by @bryan-imhoff, you should go read what he has to say:
https://steemit.com/comics/@bryan-imhoff/i-hate-the-umbrella-academy

Umbrella Academy is amazing. It's friggin' awesome. I actually had FUN watching it.

"But, Nate...how do you have FUN watching TV...?"

I dunno. But that's what it was like. There was mystery, suspense, drama, and twists. Great visuals. Great music. Great acting. Great directing.

Each scene appeared to be carefully orchestrated. I appreciated the nuances and attention to detail. I loved the characters. Casting was excellent. Everybody in the show seemed to fully embrace the story and put their heart into it.

There was a bit of profanity and plenty of violence, but I didn't feel like a horrible parent for letting my kid watch it. He loved it. My wife enjoyed it.

It's just a REALLY good show. From episode one, you get the feeling that this is not a "normal" show. It takes a road less travelled. It finds its own identity. By episode two, you're hooked. After that, it's a real effort not to binge through the rest, because each episode gets better and better.

Probably it's biggest draw is the offbeat sense of humor. There's a character named Klaus who can see dead people. He did such an amazing job at injecting funny into every scene. And yet, he wasn't a clown. He had depth and emotional scars and a complexity to him.

Even the CGI characters had an emotional depth that made you care about them.

So if you haven't noticed already, I dig the show. The final episode didn't disappoint. I thought it was fun all the way til the end.

Thankfully, season two has already been green lit.

Since I was so eager for more, More, MORE Umbrella Academy, I decided to go grab up the comics. I never read them (or even heard of them), so I was curious to see how they compared to the show.

So far, I've only read through the first "run" of 6 issues called Apocalypse Suite.

I enjoyed the art style. It reminded me of Mike Mignola's Hellboy. And I liked the story's "vibe". It reminded me of Moore's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

The pacing was a bit fast for my taste. I would have preferred that it slowed things down to give the reader a chance to care about the characters or dive into sub-plots. So in that respect, I think the Netflix show is actually superior to the comic.

Speaking of which, it looks like the show very clearly used the comic as the basis for season one's storyline.

It was cool to explore the Umbrella Academy universe in a different way.

I'll try to make time to read through the second "run" of issues (called Dallas). Maybe later this week.

For those who love toys and collectibles, apparently there's some floating around out there. Just be ready to pay big bucks, since I don't think there was that many made. So there's a hefty premium.

So that's what I have to say about that. Go check out the show. I think you'll like it.

If anyone has any recommendations for what to watch next, let me know. Ending the season left a big void to fill.

NOTE: I do not claim any of the images as my own. Umbrella Academy show images are from Netflix and comic images from Dark Horse comics. All legal rights belong to them and use of images is purely for editorial purposes.