The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite Limited Edition [Hardcover]

Gerard Way (Author), Gabriel Ba (Author), Dave Stewart (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 9, 2008 | Series: Umbrella Academy (Book 1)

In an inexplicable worldwide event, forty-seven extraordinary children were spontaneously born by women who'd previously shown no signs of pregnancy. Millionaire inventor Reginald Hargreeves adopted seven of the children; when asked why, his only explanation was, "To save the world." These seven children form The Umbrella Academy, a dysfunctional family of superheroes with bizarre powers. Their first adventure at the age of ten pits them against an erratic and deadly Eiffel Tower, piloted by the fearsome zombie-robot Gustave Eiffel. Nearly a decade later, the team disbands, but when Hargreeves unexpectedly dies, these disgruntled siblings reunite just in time to save the world once again.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 232 pages
• Publisher: Dark Horse; Limited edition (December 9, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1595821635
• ISBN-13: 978-1595821638
• Product Dimensions: 12.7 x 8.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,782,690 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars GET THIS BOOK., January 31, 2012

By 

mkronck - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite Limited Edition (Hardcover)

This is a fantastic book. It's a deluxe oversized edition (similar to DC's absolute editions) collecting the first series of Umbrella Academy issues 1-6, the free comic book day story, and TONS of extras. Only 1500 copies of this edition exist, and all are signed by Gerard Way (author, incidentally also lead singer of My Chemical Romance) and Gabriel Ba (artist).

The story/art. I'm not going to lie to you: I didn't think Gerard Way would hack it as an author. I love his music, but time and time again I've seen so many people in the entertainment industry fail massively in the comic world, so I came into this with very low expectations. Wow...I couldn't have been any more wrong. Suffice it so say, Way belongs in the comic industry. The story contained in this book is out of this world. I instantly fell in love with the characters, and the writing is top-notch (it is so addicting that I literally could not put the book down). Way sucks you into his world and keeps you coming back for more. There is such a huge mix of elements in this book that I can't see anyone not liking it: horror, romance, science fiction, violence, action, and heartfelt moments that leave one breathless. And to top it off, Gabriel Ba's art is outstanding.

The collection. Yes, this book only has about 7 issues in it. That seems scant compared to the price, which is daunting. However, in addition to the actual comics, we are given tons of character sketches, a Grant Morrison intro, short stories, outro by Gerard Way, story ideas, weird facts, paintings, covers, an encyclopedia Umbrellica (haha, I laughed at that), scrapbooks, and more. Literally, this book has more extras than any graphic novel I've ever seen.

Price: Considering the limited 1500 copy print run, this book is ridiculously expensive and very hard to find. DO NOT PAY FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS FOR THIS BOOK! If you wait patiently for several months, checking eBay and Amazon daily, you can find a very nice copy for half that, which is still a lot of money but WELL, WELL WORTH IT!

This is a superb graphic novel, and is one of the highlights of my 200+ count hardcover collection, so I urge you to at least try this series out. I promise you will not regret it!