Writer: Gerard Way
Artist: Gabriel Bá
Colorist: Dave Stewart
Publisher: Dark Horse
Umbrella Academy: Dallas is a great series. There - I said it. Another issue of Umbrella Academy has arrived, and Gerard Way is leaving little doubt that this is a series with some serious staying power. As much as I and other fans enjoyed the first series, it was unrealistic to expect subsequent storylines to match the peculiar charm and eclectic energy of Apocalypse Suite. At the half-way point of the second series, I am ready to proclaim that Dallas may very well be better than its predecessor.
If anything, Gerard Way's writing is becoming more focused with each issue he completes. These characters have been around for nine issues now (along with a few short episodes in other books), and they still have that haze of mystery about them. There is something both engaging and off-putting about the stars of this series - an aura that both attracts and repels the reader. It is as if they keep all of us at arm's length, allowing us to peek at the inner workings of their lives but never letting us delve too deeply into the inner workings of their souls. In that, Way has managed to make us feel as though we are members of this dysfunctional "family", for our skin-deep relationship with each character mirrors the relationships they have with one another.
The artwork is what we have come to expect from Gabriel Ba, and Stewart's coloring accents it perfectly. The characters and scenery leap from the page as the book moves effortlessly through scene after scene of madness and mayhem. And there is just something about Hazel and Cha-Cha that sends a chill up your spine. It is disturbing that a pair of killers could be that creepily cute and yet so efficient at their bloody profession. Like the members of the Umbrella Academy, these two assassins are perfectly cast for their roles in the series. And wait until you see Heaven...
All in all, this was another fantastic issue that has me eagerly anticipating Way and Ba's next outing.
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