Mobile Menu Toggle

Plenty Of Room At The Hotel Oblivion

Article Image a8a8

by Vince Brusio

Aiming high is a good thing. It’s good to shoot for the Moon, because if you make it, and have a safe landing, the after-party alone is worth the effort. You’ve earned someone saying, “Have a drink on me.” Who could blame you for throwing a TV out the hotel window to hit the cars on the street? You can always buy another TV. Hey: you landed on the Moon. You can probably afford to buy the hotel. Keep the wine coming. Ask Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá, for example. With the success of their book The Umbrella Academy, they just bought a hotel. It’s called the Hotel Oblivion, and it’s the third installment in the Umbrella Academy universe. In this PREVIEWSworld Exclusive interview, artist Gabriel Bá tells us that there’s plenty of room for everyone at the Hotel Oblivion. The question, though, is while we are free to check out at any time that we like…can we ever leave?

The Umbrella Academy: Hotel Oblivion #1 (AUG180314) is in comic shops October 3.

**********

Vince Brusio: Hotel Oblivion #1 is the highly-anticipated third installment in The Umbrella Academy series. Do you feel more pressure to deliver with this new series?

Gabriel Bá: I'm not sure if there's more pressure now because we have a large fanbase, or because it's been so long since we did Dallas, but combining these two factors puts a lot of pressure on this third series. However, I'm not more nervous than I usually get whenever I'm about to release any new comic. I love this book and how crazy it is, and I'm always curious to see how the readers will react to the story. What really helps to bring the pressure down is that we never do what people expect.

Vince Brusio: Has your style of collaborating with Gerard Way as a creator on this book changed at all? Have you adopted any new or old work habits?

Gabriel Bá: My whole relationship with Gerard has grown immensely over the last ten years, and that reflects on our process for this series. On the first two series, he used to tell me a brief outline of the whole arc, but I'd only know what happens once the scripts were done. It was a surprise after surprise! In the years after we finished Dallas, we talked about the whole series, what he has in mind for each arc, and bounced ideas back and forth. In the end, taking this long to come back to the comic was really good for us.

As far as work habits, all I can say is that I'm a lot slower than I was ten years ago.

Vince Brusio: Aside from the returning characters, what makes Hotel Oblivion feel like an Umbrella Academy book? How is it different from your other works?

Gabriel Bá: Well, to begin with, everything is different from the last book. All the characters are dealing with different things separately, so the storyline is told in a very split narrative. It's like a big puzzle being assembled. It's amazing to see how much Gerard has evolved as a writer on this story. We also have tons of new characters with the usual bizarre quality one can expect of the Umbrella Academy universe, along with the most amazing new locations.

Vince Brusio: What goal(s) did you set for yourself on this series? Were your priorities different?

Gabriel Bá: When I first worked on Umbrella Academy, it was a turning point in my career, with a high-profile book and a great story and I pushed all my limits to achieve the level of craziness the story asked for. When I look back on that work, I'm astonished by the level of details and creativeness I've put on those pages, so that's my primary concern with the new comic. It has to deliver that level of quality or higher. There are no lazy moments on any of the pages. Sometimes, it will take me longer to get where I want, but it's always worth it in the end.

Vince Brusio: How do you see this new story broadening the horizon for fans of Umbrella Academy? What will they find most satisfying about the series?

Gabriel Bá: I feel there's much more going on with every character than the last two series because we already know them and we can focus on their struggles and journeys. We are deepening some relationships between them that build on their story together, both as a family and as a team. And we're definitely expanding the universe of our story on this series, with new characters and new places they go to. Not only are we telling a strong narrative on this series, but we're also setting up things for future chapters of the larger story, and that's truly exciting.

Article Image c5c8
Article Image 9344
Article Image b612
THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY: HOTEL OBLIVION #2 (SEP180251)

**********

Vince Brusio writes about comics, and writes comics. He is the long-serving Editor of PREVIEWSworld.com, the creator of PUSSYCATS, and encourages everyone to keep the faith...and keep reading comics.

Follow Us Facebook Icon Twitter Icon Instagram Icon YouTube Icon Rss Feed Email
Search for a Comic Shop

Cookies
We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. To manage our use of cookies click Cookie Policy.
By clicking 'Accept & Continue' or closing this banner, you accept our use of cookies.
}