One of my goals in 2021 is to read more. See other books I've read or listened to here.
The third book of The Umbrella Academy, Hotel Oblivion continues to follow the found family created by Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba.
Once again scattered, the members of the Umbrella Academy must reunite to prevent a prison break from the mysterious Hotel Oblivion. Chaos ensues, something the team is used to creating as well as vanquishing.
I really like the Umbrella Academy books, but I don’t think they are easy to read comics. They are not comics I would recommend to new comics readers. The art is highly stylized, can be choppy and, in comparison to the show, a lot of the characters look similar which can make them hard to distinguish. The plots are dense, twisting, and confusing. making leaps in understanding and time. That all being said, I really enjoy these books; They are fast paced, bizarre, explore themes of found family, tying your identity to your work, family, or those around you. The books deal with ideas of abandonment, responsibility, and control, and the aimlessness of the realization lack of purpose. This third installment came out 10 years after Volume 2 and I haven’t read it in many years. Hotel left me totally confused and adrift when first picking it up. I mostly blame myself for this, but there was also something about it that rubbed me the wrong way towards the book and reading experience. I do wish that there had been a separate recap, or even within the story, more was done to clue the reader in. Perhaps not a full recap, but more hints dropped. Overall, I did get into the story, even though there were bits I had to just accept that I didn’t really understand. I can’t wait to read more about the Umbrella Academy. I’m also highly anticipating the next season of the show. So far, the show has loosely followed the event of the comics, with the first and second season somewhat corresponding to the first and second books respectively. I’m interested to see if the third season follows the third book and how they adapt the events. I would recommend the three graphic novels, but I would suggest reading them in order and quick succession.
Have you read this comic series?
This book is featured in my Jan Wrap Up.