Umbrella Academy: 10 Obscure Comic Books Netflix Should Adapt Next
Gerard Way's comic isn't the only gem the medium is hiding...
The Umbrella Academy, aside from being ridiculously weird and breathtakingly sharp, was a breath of fresh air in the superhero genre, and more than proved that a comic book doesn't necessarily need the glossy stamp of Marvel or DC to be something truly special..
It is in the underdog success of Gerard Way's tiny little gothic pet project-turned blockbuster Netflix TV Show that a lot of the charm and magic of the series can be found. In an entertainment landscape where every comic book adaptation seems to be juggling the same few dozen heroes, it was refreshing to see a relatively unknown comic book find its feet - as well as a whole new audience - in such a major way.
Of course, the world of comic books is much deeper than the two titans of DC and Marvel, and all the way from honourary-third-titan Image Comics, to self-published cult-classic books, there are countless stories that have eluded the general public for long enough.
If Netflix has learned anything from the unprecedented success of The Umbrella Academy, it's that 'smaller' can almost always mean 'better'. If they want to replicate the success of the series, then they could do a lot worse than to give the following books a read...
10. Tetris: The Games People Play
If there are two forms of media that are bigger now than ever in the mainstream, they've got to be video games and comic books. With the MCU and The Dark Knight trilogy sparking the still-going-today comic book renaissance in Hollywood, and multi-million dollar gaming blockbusters and professional E-Sports reaching audiences unheard of less than ten years ago, the worlds of comics and video games are a Venn diagram just waiting to cross over.
Enter Tetris: The Games People Play, a thoughtful and introspective look into Alexey Pajitnov's creation of one of the most important video games of all time. If there's one genre that seems to resonate with the majority of Netflix viewers, it's that of biopics - the colossal successes of Orange Is The New Black, Narcos and The Crown (to name but a few) more than prove this.
It is in the pages of this small, character-driven, emotionally provocative tale about the unsung hero who informed a generation of game design that the beginnings of a truly special Netflix show are found. A thoughtful underdog story that takes the time to celebrate a criminally-unsung man.