Happy new years, everyone. 2011. Do you make resolutions? I really don’t. I don’t know what’ll happen for me this year–there are things I want to do and places I want to go, but they’re basically just things I didn’t get around to finishing last year, so… I wouldn’t say they could be resolutions. Anyway, here’s to continued success with our blog, thank you ALL for your support our first 4 months. Now I feel we can put on the big kid pants.
The past two weeks have been very strange for me. People from my past (=awkward high school days) popping up, some cooler than others, some still awkward. So I say “strange” but when I mean “strange”, I mean I enjoy it. I like strange. Strange is preferable to routine. Those of you that know me, understand I have no sense of routine at all–especially in my sleeping pattern. But again, here I go off on another tangent completely unrelated to the subject of this post, Gerard Way.
Yes, I used to listen to My Chemical Romance. Their “The Black Parade” album was on repeat in my car for quite a while… then they kind of disappeared. Now onto the “people from my past” mention, I was hanging out with an old (super, super old–have known for 10 years+) friend of mine that I hadn’t seen in a few years, when suddenly we started talking about music (probably my fault) and then randomly, MCR. And then somehow the topic changed to “You know that Gerard Way wrote a comic book right?” Where have I been the past 4 years? Busy being uncool, I guess.
My Chemical Romance as the Fabulous Killjoys. Image via altsounds.com
Of course I went home and googled that shit. Turns out the comic book is legit (because all comic books “authored” by celebrities already lose that credibility by having their names slapped on the cover somewhere in size 24 font) –it won the Eisner Award in 2008 for Best Finite/Limited Series. I don’t know about you, but the Eisner Award is a pretty big fucking deal. (Way also studied fine art and initially wanted to be a comic book artist/writer)
Of course the NEXT thing I did was run to the nearest comic book store–in my case, Meltdown Comics, and scoop up whatever I could find on The Umbrella Academy (Dark Horse). I only got my hands on issues 1, 2 & 6 but reading through 1 & 2 over my new year’s weekend, I found the story of a dysfunctional “family” with super-“powers” damn fascinating. James Jean‘s fluid and spooky cover art was a plus, and a contrast with the sharp, crisp art style of Brazilian artist Gabriel Bá.
Cover art for Umbrella Academy Issue 2. Image via bscreview.com
Although I wish there was a bit more humor and violence (too much Mark Millar reading lately), Way’s The Umbrella Academy has very fascinating characters that I want to learn more about, set in a world that may or may not be our own…. I mean… the Eiffel Tower being a spaceship? I would never have guessed. A second series was released in 2008, titled “The Umbrella Academy: Dallas”, with a third series slated for release sometime after MCR’s “Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys” titled “TUA: Hotel Oblivion”.
But if you’re still following MCR (like I haven’t really been doing), you’ll see that their recent album introduces a new SET of characters Gerard came up with; he even directed the video for “Na Na Na“. The video includes scenes mimicking a comic layout.
I have to say that after reading TUA and being familiar with MCR’s music, Gerard Way is my fucking hero. He’s doing what he’s always wanted to do and succeeding.
THE GEEK SPOT (the g-spot) 