The Umbrella Academy

The newest superhero kids on the block are just that kids. At least they start out kids in the first Umbrella Academy collection, written by the lead singer of My Chemical Romance (Way) and superbly illustrated by Brazilian graphic artist Ba. When the diminutive orphans turned masked crime fighters first appear in the public arena, with their wealthy patron, Sir Reginald Hargreeves, keeping watch, their nemesis is a mobile, death-ray-zapping Eiffel Tower. Twenty years later, it takes Hargreeves' death to bring the gang members, now grown and separated by their own idiosyncratic ambitions, back together to face a new enemy: estranged sister Vanya, the only one of them presumed to be powerless. Newly gifted with destructive powers by a race of robotic aliens, Vanya will stop at nothing to destroy the world unless her siblings stop her. Way and Ba provide all the ingredients of a superhero team to rival the X-Men and make its colorful adventures a hit.--Hays, Carl Copyright 2008 Booklist

The space squid in the opening panel has little to do with the plot but sets the tone: outre and sardonic, with cool art. A mysterious alien professor in human disguise adopts seven mysterious superchildren so that they can "save the world"-first from a zombie-robot using the Eiffel Tower as a weapon, then from another fiend who turns amusement park vehicles into killer droids, and finally from one of their own. Early on, child Number 7 learns from the professor that there's "nothing special" about her (yeah, right). Along the way, the plot delivers twists and flashbacks, dropping clues about why this dysfunctional family team disbanded for 20 years and how come Number 1 is hanging out on the moon. But questions remain for the next volume: What happened to Number 6? Who was this alien professor and his plastic mannequin "wife"? It's a tour-de-force debut and a Harvey Award winner for Way, lead singer of the band My Chemical Romance. Ba's vivacious and detailed panels compel the eye to linger just because. For age 16 and up owing to violence and inexplicit nudity. A YALSA top-ten pick.-M.C. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.