From the first page, we are taken away to an unfamiliar version of Earth, an Earth where men can wrestle giant space squid (and win!) and where a number of women simultaneously give birth to mysterious children that look like “Ingmar Bergman extras”. Enter Sir Reginald Hargreeves, a famous scientist and entrepreneur who is also, lo and behold, an alien. He adopts seven of the super-powered children and promptly disappears until, one day, the Eiffel Tower goes insane and aforementioned children – now The Umbrella Academy – have to stop it. It’s a very odd ride, and without wanting to give too much away, the story takes a peculiar-yet-poignant turn, suddenly fast forwarding a good twenty years on into space.
