The Umbrella Academy is the hottest superhero comic that was adapted into a Netflix series hit. The comic book was famously created in 2007 written by My Chemical Romance vocalist Gerard Way and illustrated by Gabriel Ba. It has since become one of the most successful comics-inspired properties not owned by Marvel or DC with a third season for the web series inevitably on the way, and a number of spin-off comic books in line.
Throughout three storylines, namely: Apocalypse Suite, Dallas, and Hotel Oblivion, one of the most unique aspects of the critically-acclaimed comic book is its psychedelic artwork that's exemplified in some of its best comic book covers.
10 The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite #1 Wraparound Variant & Original Cover
This variant cover is one of the rarer The Umbrella Academy comics out there with only 1,000 copies in circulation. It shows six members of the team, excluding The Horror/Ben Hargreeves, who is presumably the one in the coffin shown at the edge of the front cover since he died in a mysterious event off-panel that's yet to be disclosed in the comics.
In the original cover (shown on the right side of this image), The Horror can be seen in the background along with The White Violin/Vanya Hargreeves on the right half of the cover showing the younger versions of the team.
9 Hazel and Cha Cha Save Christmas: Tales from the Umbrella Academy
This comic released November 20, 2019, was created as a result of the popularity of the Netflix series versions of Hazel and Cha-Cha (portrayed by Cameron Britton and Mary J. Blige, respectively).
The cover art is illustrated by Jim Mahfood, who has done work on various Spider-Man titles. It deviates from the typical Umbrella Academy art style in terms of its border pattern, mostly because of the festive design, which is intended to look like a Christmas card.
8 The Umbrella Academy: Dallas #6
This issue concludes the second volume of The Umbrella Academy storyline titled "Dallas," which was loosely adapted in season 2 of the Netflix web series. The cover's red color scheme splashed with white in the middle underscores the 1960's setting and features a sketch of President John F. Kennedy, whose assassination is a focal point of the story both in the comics and Netflix adaptation.
The Boy/Number Five also discovers that Spaceboy/Luther Hargreeves is his twin brother in this issue.
7 The Umbrella Academy Free Comic Book Day 2007 Giveaway Issue
The issue that started it all, this free comic book was given away at comics shops in 2007 and is now typically worth upward of $50+ in good condition. It marks the first appearances of the Umbrella Academy (minus The Boy), Reginald Hargreeves, and the Murder Magician.
As one of the prime suspects to eventually make his appearance in the Netflix series, the Murder Magician is the first villain of the series and is shown prominently in the cover art holding The Rumor /Allison Hargreeves in a dance pose.
6 The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite #2
The front, back, and inside covers of this issue form a spread that shows the image of Reginald Hargreeves' funeral and is appropriately titled "We Only See Each Other At Weddings And Funerals" (also the title of the show's pilot episode).
Gabriel Ba imparts his signature psychedelic art style in this cover that sets the tone of the series. This issue also marks the partial origin of The Boy who is drawn holding a stopwatch on this cover at the bottom right corner.
5 The Umbrella Academy: Dallas #5
In this issue, The Seance/Klaus, Spaceboy, and The Kraken/Diego time-travel to the Vietnam War. In the Netflix series, this issue is referenced in season 1 but only Klaus makes the trip where he meets the love of his life, a Vietnam War soldier named Dave, which deviates from the source material.
The cover's use of a negative white space pattern makes for a stark visual contrast to the rest of the cover illustration which features a severe-looking soldier and a background splattered in blood red.
4 The Umbrella Academy: Dallas #1 Original and Variant Cover
The original cover of this issue shows a fragmented image of President Abraham Lincoln with the phrase "God Save the President" covering his eyes and mouth. On the other hand, the alternate variant cover shows (from left to right) The Seance, The Rumor, Spaceboy, and The Kraken with the White Violin laying in the background.
This issue is the premiere of The Umbrella Academy's second storyline, which season 2 of the web series loosely adapts.
3 The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite #4 & Paperback Cover
The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite is the first series in Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba's critically-acclaimed comic book, and one of the duo's most visually stunning characters, The White Violin — who graces the cover of the fourth issue of the series, which also marks her first comic book appearance. She then appears on the cover of the trade paperback book version of the Apocalypse Suite storyline (shown in the middle of the above image).
In the Netflix series, she is played by Ellen Page who dons a costume in season 1 that pays homage to the source material.
2 The Umbrella Academy: Hotel Oblivion #1 & #7 (odd creature covers)
When the Umbrella Academy comics series returned in 2018, the first issue cover of "Hotel Oblivion" showed the startling image of a cockroach on a dinner plate — a simple design that works for the odd art style of the comic.
In fitting poetic fashion, the series ends with a cover for the final issue that shows a sparrow — an allusion to the Sparrow Academy who are introduced in the same comic (then subsequently teased in the show's season 2 finale).
1 The Umbrella Academy: Dallas #4
The cover for this issue exudes a punk attitude that could be attributed to series creator Gerard Way's musical background. It's also a clever reference to The Rumor's use of notepads as a means of communication after Vanya severed her vocal cords — which was adapted in less severe fashion on the Netflix show.
This issue also shows the key event of Hazel and Cha Cha's deaths whose character traits and subsequent fates were altered for the web series.