The Umbrella Academy #0 by Gerard WayMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Amazon.in Page
This issue features the dysfunctional family of freakish [non-blood] sibling superheroes taking on a character called the “Murder Magician,” a dapper but demented individual who likes to combine the showmanship of magic with the psychopathy of serial killing. The Murder Magician takes control of a talk show with a live studio audience while he’s being interviewed so that he can have the makings of mass murder readily at hand.
The art is chaotically drawn, but colorful, imparting a level of whimsy in line a villain with an affinity for sleight of hand.
It’s a simple story, as a single-issue comic can only be. I was familiar with the characters from the Netflix series adaptation, and that proved necessary because even though it’s #0, it’s very much a story in medias res.
I stumbled upon this issue as a free promotional gift on Amazon. If you like and are familiar with the comic, it’s worth a look. If not, there might be too many characters and too much oddness to make sense of it.
View all my reviews
the !n(tro)verted yogi 
As you MAY be aware #0 issues are typically background or origin stories for long established characters. Ergo, I’m not surprised that you said readers would likely be lost without some previous reading, or viewing the Netflix show. The first one I can ever recall is “Magneto #0” by Marvel comics decades ago. That story first gave Magneto his “Eric Lenshir” name (probably spelling that wrong BTW), and actually told the story of his previously mentioned time as a concentration camp survivor. It really canonized Magneto as an ideologue going about a noble cause in the worst possible way.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Didn’t know that. I’m not sure what the objective was. It doesn’t seem to be origin for anyone. Everything seems established.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Interesting.
LikeLike