Umbrella Academy: You Look Like Death #5 Review

by Nick Devonald on January 20, 2021

Writers: Gerard Way and Shaun Simon
Artist: I.N.J. Culbard
Colours: I.N.J. Culbard
Letters: Nate Piekos of Blambot

The penultimate issue of the series feels like it’s beginning to wrap the storyline up, with events and characters conspiring for an almighty showdown in the finale. How everything will go down, and what Klaus’ plans are, are very much up in the air. However the series ends the one thing that is guaranteed is it’ll be absolutely bonkers. It feels like a number of the characters get a bit of time in the spotlight here, shedding light on their pasts and really fleshing these characters out in greater detail.

As the series has progressed it’s been interesting spending time in the void, with Lyle in particular, and watching this storyline develop. Even at this stage, nearing the end of the story, there are no guarantee’s for how that particular story will unfold. It’s been a surprisingly touching look at the afterlife and a real highlight of the series.

Gerard Way and Shaun Simon make a good writing team. The series has all of the confidence and wackiness that readers have come to expect from The Umbrella Academy, but Simon’s influence manages to really focus on the characters and feel more grounded than its parents’ series, all the while we’ve got chimps, vampires, deities, the void, and so much more going on. No mean feat.

I.N.J. Culbard does an excellent job in bringing to life all of the insanity that goes along with the story. There aren’t many artists who could put together all of the disparate elements and produce such a good looking comic. He manages to mix the monstrous and the mundane together beautifully to produce a comic which lives up to the high standards set by Gabriel Bá in the main series.

Another excellent foray into the world of the Umbrella Academy, the penultimate issue makes for captivating reading in an excellent series. The characters feel fully fleshed out here, and fans will love any entry in the Umbrella Academy. A great entry with a series which fans of the TV series will be able to pick up and understand as well as fans of the comic series. Focusing on Klaus was a great idea, and hopefully once this series concludes there’ll be other series focusing on some of the other Hargreeve siblings.

Our Score:

8/10

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