The once popular series THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY recently ended with a rather mixed final season on Netflix. However, the comic on which the series is actually based is not over. The fourth anthology is currently still in progress. In between, however, numerous spin-off volumes dedicated to individual characters were also published. Like this one, which accompanies Klaus on his adventures in Hollywood.
<img decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-112180 lazyload" alt="Image rights: © Gerard Way / Shaun Simon / INJ Culbard / CrossCult Verlag” width=”1404″ height=”1462″ srcset=”data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%201404%201462%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E 1404w” sizes=”(max-width: 1404px) 100vw, 1404px” src=”https://www.serieasten.tv/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/DeathKlaus_4.jpeg”/>Image rights: © Gerard Way / Shaun Simon / INJ Culbard / CrossCult Verlag
That’s what YOU LOOK LIKE DEATH, KLAUS, is all about
The first THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY comic spin-off: When 18-year-old Klaus is kicked out of the Umbrella Academy and stripped of all his money, he makes his way to a place where his scary talents are still appreciated – Hollywood ! After stealing a very special drug from a vampire drug lord and falling from the heights of the most magical high of his life, Klaus desperately needs help… but this time his siblings aren’t at his side to save him.
Death doesn’t suit him so well – or does it?
Klaus’ strange side stories full of sex, drugs and rock’n’roll were discussed again and again in the series. Likewise his traumatic childhood. The comic book YOU LOOK LIKE DEATH, KLAUS, will now focus on both in more detail. The detail could perhaps be a little larger. Because you don’t get more than short panels in which Klaus, while drunk, remembers nights in the cemetery or the torture of his foster father. The rest is a matter of interpretation. Because it is clear that something happened to him through these experiences.
It’s not for nothing that Klaus takes refuge in drugs and intoxication. And he prefers to communicate with the dead, who were often there for him so much more. In Hollywood he meets a new patron, the aging actress Vivian Clarke. She seems good to him. That’s how it seems. Because once again it is the spirits of the dead who are really at his side and tell him the truth.
Klaus can cope without his siblings. But without death he’s lost. So death suits him well after all.
My conclusion about YOU LOOK LIKE DEATH, KLAUS
It should be clear that this comic is aimed at fans of UMBRELLA ACADEMY, but just to be on the safe side, be specific: without prior knowledge of the series and/or the other comics, you won’t get very far with this single volume. Neither the other Hargreves siblings nor well-known opponents are big in history. But it’s still important to know Klaus a little and to know why he ticks, how he ticks. Without this prior knowledge, understanding would be somewhat difficult.
If you have this, you will be drawn into the bloodthirsty, exaggerated world of Hollywood. And experiences it through the lens of a drug-addicted but kind-hearted slob. The plot initially seems overcrowded and chaotic, but it thickens and becomes clearer over time. Just like the drawings by INJ Culbard, which are reminiscent of Franco-Belgian comics: clear lines, strong contrasts.
Anyone who misses old Klaus, who we saw a little less of in the final Netflix season, will be happy with YOU LOOK LIKE DEATH, KLAUS. Since I’m one of them, I give it solid support 8 out of 10 points!
YOU LOOK LIKE DEATH, KLAUS by authors Gerard Way and Shaun Simon and illustrator INJ Culbard was published by Cross Cult Verlag and is for 22 euros Available wherever there is something to browse!
Image rights: © Gerard Way / Shaun Simon / INJ Culbard / CrossCult Verlag
