Gerard Way is a name most people associate with eyeliner, black parades, and the mid-2000s emo explosion. But for a massive chunk of the population, he’s the guy who gave us one of the weirdest, most dysfunctional superhero families in history. The Umbrella Academy isn't just a Netflix hit; it’s a sprawling, bizarre universe that Way started building long before he was ever a "co-executive producer" on a streaming giant's payroll.
Honestly, the transition from rock star to comic book auteur wasn't a fluke. Way studied at the School of Visual Arts in New York. He interned at DC Comics. He was a "comic guy" before he was a "band guy." When he finally released Apocalypse Suite through Dark Horse Comics in 2007, he wasn't just some celebrity playing with a vanity project. He won an Eisner for it.
The Weird Roots of the Hargreeves
The comic version of The Umbrella Academy is way more "out there" than the show. Like, significantly weirder. In the books, Spaceboy (Luther) doesn’t just have a hairy chest; his head was literally transplanted onto the body of a Martian gorilla. Diego—The Kraken—can hold his breath indefinitely. That’s his actual power. The show turned him into a guy who’s just really good at throwing knives, which is cool, but definitely a "TV-budget" compromise.
Way’s writing is heavily influenced by Grant Morrison’s Doom Patrol. You can see it in the absurdist villains and the existential dread. It’s not about capes and saving cats from trees. It’s about people who were deeply traumatized by a cold, distant father figure and are now trying to figure out how to be adults without accidentally blowing up the moon.
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Why the Netflix Show and the Comics Split
If you watched the final season of the Netflix series in 2024, you probably noticed things got... messy. Fans have been debating that ending for a while now. The truth is, Gerard Way was much more hands-on during the first two seasons. He provided the roadmap. He worked closely with showrunner Steve Blackman to ensure the "vibe" was right.
But as the show progressed, the paths diverged.
Way has been pretty open about the fact that the show and the comics are two different animals. By the time Season 3 and Season 4 rolled around, the production had largely outpaced the source material. Remember, there are only three main volumes of the comic currently out: Apocalypse Suite, Dallas, and Hotel Oblivion. Way is still working on the fourth, titled Plan B. Because the show needed to finish, the writers had to start making their own calls.
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"I could have been a lot more involved in the show," Way once told the LA Times. "I could have probably co-showrun it... But the comic was so important to me, I didn't want anything more in my life."
That’s a big deal. He chose his original medium over the Hollywood machine. He gave the TV team his blessing to do their own thing while he kept his "true" version of the characters for the page. This explains why the Netflix finale felt so different from the tone of the early comics. The show became a character-driven drama about trauma, while the comics remain a surrealist fever dream.
Gerard Way’s Current Role and What’s Next
So, where does that leave us? As of early 2026, the Netflix series is officially wrapped. The Hargreeves siblings have had their final bow on screen. But for Gerard Way, The Umbrella Academy is far from over.
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He’s currently deep in the world of Plan B. Dark Horse recently announced the first issue of this new miniseries, and fans are expecting it to be even more chaotic than Hotel Oblivion. Way isn't just a writer; he’s a curator. Between his work on The Umbrella Academy and his DC imprint, Young Animal, he’s spent the last decade proving that his storytelling voice is one of the most unique in the industry.
He doesn't do happy endings. Not really. He does endings that feel like a bruise—painful but oddly satisfying to touch.
Actionable Insights for Fans
If you’ve only ever seen the show, you are missing about 60% of the lore. The comics offer a completely different experience that isn't hampered by "logical" television constraints. Here is how to actually engage with the world Gerard Way built:
- Read the comics in order. Start with Apocalypse Suite, then Dallas, then Hotel Oblivion. Don't expect the TV show's plot. Expect "Zombie-Gustave Eiffel" and space-squids.
- Check out the spin-offs. You Look Like Death focuses on Klaus’s time in Hollywood and it captures that specific Way-brand of madness perfectly.
- Look for the "Plan B" release. The next chapter of the main story is coming, and it will likely address the "true" fate of the siblings in a way the show couldn't.
- Listen to the soundtrack covers. Way recorded "Hazy Shade of Winter" and "Happy Together" specifically for the show. They bridge the gap between his two worlds.
The Netflix series was a great adaptation, but the heart of the story still belongs to the guy who sat in a tour bus sketching out a boy with a TV for a head. To understand the real Umbrella Academy, you have to go back to the ink and paper.