evanjclark

I'm giving this three stars, because I'm honest.

Look, I'm not a graphic novel reader. It's not that I don't appreciate the art form, but because I like self-contained stories and in comic universes, that rarely happens. However, and despite how weird it is this should not come as a surprise to those who've followed me, I'm am a full-on Gerard Way fanboy. My Chem is in my top 5 bands, and Umbrella Academy made my brain melt. So when GW threw down a sequel/tie-in to Danger Days, there was no way in hell it wasn't going to happen at some point.

If it were just me, I'd give this five stars, because I love it, but I must acknowledge its flaws. It is most definitely not a self-contained story. Can you read it without listening to Danger Days first? Sure, probably. Should you? I'm sorry, but the real question to be asked is why the hell haven't you listened to Danger Days?!

A-hem. Sorry, got carried away there. In any case, while True Lives continues the story of the Killjoys, some years after the events of the album, there are plenty of new faces and storylines to follow. Unfortunately, they don't get the kind of development they need to stand on their own. This seems like a two-volume graphic novel that has been slashed and cut down into a single volume, and the story suffers for it. The art is beautiful and the mythos are compelling, but there is a definite lack of coherency that brings down the overall quality. It lacks the inventive lunacy of the Umbrella Academy, and feels more like it was created to finish the cinematic story that was begun in "Na Na Na" and "Sing." Ultimately, it is a sequel that comes off like a lacking standalone.

That makes me sad. But I've got my copy, and that makes my day better.