Netflix Is Turning Gerard Way's 'Umbrella Academy' into a Show

With the success of Castlevania, which recently premiered on Netflix last Friday, the company has announced they are about to have another show hitting the air. The company has announced that they will be picking up the Dark Horse Comics series called The Umbrella Academy, which is a rather dark, twisted, and slightly comical take on the superhero genre. It's a series that was able to garnish critical appraise when it launched and shortly after took home an Eisner award (this is the comic-book version of the Oscars).

The company announced that they will be doing a 10-episode live action take on the Dark Horse Comic series, which was created by former My Chemical Romance singer Gerard Way and award-winning illustrator Gabriel Bá. The company had been in consideration of turning Bá and Way's comic book series into a limited run series.

For Way and Bá this is great news as Steve Blackman (Fargo and Altered Carbon) has been announced to be executive producer. Joining him will be Jeremy Slater who will be adapting and writing the script. For those unfamiliar Jeremy Slater wrote the draft for Netflix's live-action film adaption of Death Note, which is set to premier later this year.

What Exactly is The Umbrella Academy About?

The comics tell the story of a superpowered family (think Fantastic Four here) who can be described as anything, but normal. They are the family that puts the fun in dysfunctional. The comics take place in 1977, which is treated as present. In this series it sees an alternate history. One where President John F. Kennedy never saw his fateful day come in Dallas, TX, where he'd been shot.

In this comic book world, 43 superpowered infants were born at random, but to women whom were connected in no way, nor did they show signs of pregnancy nor conception of these children. One day a man by the name of Sir Reginald Hargreeves (The Monocle) whom is an alien in disguise as a famous entrepreneur, takes in only seven of the children, and prepares them to do what superheroes do. Save the world.

As they prepare to save the world from an unknown threat, they decide to take on the name Umbrella Academy. Much like any comic series, the Umbrella Academy takes up defense against random threats such as the robotic threat the terminatus while two of the heroes find they have fallen and love, and confess such. Since the series places characters in realistic personalities, there is an interest in what happens to them, but also that they learn anything they do has a cause, and an effect.

Will I Like the Series if I Like Dark and Gritty Comics?

For fans of darker comics such as Spawn, The Watchmen, and Marvels very own Old Man Logan; the series will be right up your alley. While some may find Umbrella Academy a bit to their taking, it's definitely worth giving the series a few page turns, and some enjoyment. The series presses down heavily upon character and plot development. Because of this, it will be rather important for Netflix to capture the reality our heroes live in.

While they aren't like many of the heroes you see in Marvel comic's, they are definitely heroes that are more down to Earth, and much more human-like since they deal with a reality like our own - just with.. Y'know.. Super powers.

While Netflix hasn't announced when the live-action series will hit home streaming services, it's safe to say that it could be later this year as their franchises Stranger Things and the live-action adaption of the anime Death Note prepare to air.