The writer and artist tell EW about the long genesis of their new story.
Plus, check out an exclusive preview of issue #2!
Its a good time to be a fan ofThe Umbrella Academy.
Credit: Martin Philbey/Redferns; J. R. Duran; Dark Horse Comics
The release ofHotel Oblivion, however, marks almost 10 years since the lastUmbrella Academycomic.
So what have Way and Ba been up to in the meantime?
Aside from advising the upcoming TV adaptation, the answer is: A lot of life stuff.
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The readers have been waiting for too long, and they deserve the best we can deliver.
I found I couldnt write on the road like I used to.
I wrote the firstUmbrella Academyseries completely on the road, in all different cities.
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It was really taxing.
The band kinda took awhile to dissolve as well.
I wasnt really in the mood to write comics until I did a solo record.
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Then I started to re-engage, but it never felt like the right time.
The story changed and evolved a lot.
The experience left them scarred, and more at odds with each other than ever.
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But Rumor is finally helping her sister Vanya (a.k.a.
One of the great things aboutUmbrella Academyis it plays with the stuff weve seen before and subverts it.
Thats whatUmbrella Academydoes really well.
It explores that stuff they dont really explore in mainstream comics.
Its been great, but quite challenging.
Such as, who is the mysterious billionaire John Perseus?
Its playing with the tropes of Iron Man and Thor and mashing them up, Way says.
Were playing with something like, what if Iron Man wasnt really a good person?
What if they were misguided, what if they were raised wrong?
That way we can eventually get to the end of this story.
Thats been really great to see Gabriel doing that.
Thats okay with us, because we understand that its a different thing.
This is its own beast thats gonna run on its own legs and morph into its own thing.
The Umbrella Academy: Hotel Oblivion#2 hits stores next month.
Check out some preview pages above.
