Separate Roads – The Umbrella Academy, Season Two, Episode Seven

The episode so famous, it became a meme. At least on the corners of the internet I frequent. To be honest, I didn’t remember much about it after I saw if the first time, but this time around, I was reasonably impressed. It’s a transitional episode, as are many this season, but it uses the…

Well, Here We Are. We Made It. – Hellboy in Hell

I think we all knew it would end here, didn't we? Hell's inhabitants have lingered in the background as puppet masters throughout Hellboy's adventures, and with how fond Mignola is of demons and monsters, I frankly would have been disappointed if we didn't have at least one decent tour around the place. And decent tour…

ALL THE MAGICAL GAY! – The Umbrella Academy, Season Two, Episode Four

Righty-O, let's put the "unction" back in "dysfunctional!" That wasn't supposed to be deep, by the way, it was supposed to be nonsense, but I just looked it up, and apparently "unction" is a real word. It's an archaic term for an oil used to cleanse and heal. How oddly thematic. Anyway, welcome back to…

This Fish, I Like Him – The Umbrella Academy, Season Two, Episode Two

Guess who figured out how to auto-trace bitmap images? I definitely didn't work that out after completing 75% of the drawings for this review, that's for sure... We continue our reviews of season two of The Umbrella Academy, hopefully with greater velocity from now on, as things start to escalate. The kids are moving closer…

Greater Depths – Hellboy, Book Two

Sometimes you need to shake things up a bit and turn your monster-of-the-week serial into Moby Dick and get your main character lost at sea for several years to vividly hallucinate and find himself. It happens. Hellboy Omnibus Volume Two takes an unexpected twist as the titular character continues to run into reminders of his…

“It’s Hip, It’s Wow, It’s Now, And How!” – Spider-Man 3

Now I know what you're thinking: Hat, what are you doing? Why would you review Spider-Man 3 without having reviewed the first two Spider-Man films? It's not even new, it came out in 2007. It's the bad one. Where's our Umbrella Academy review? And yes, of course all of those are very valid points. (The…

Lessons in Adaptation: The Umbrella Academy

Season Two is on its way, and you know what that means! That's right, this entire essay will be obsolete in a few weeks. Time to make the most of it. I had a blast writing the episodic reviews of The Umbrella Academy when the first season of the show came out, and given that…

3P Reviews: The Umbrella Academy, Season One, Episode Ten

Breakdown Rating: Characters and Character Development: 8 Aesthetics and Style: 6 Creativity: 6 Overall Plot: 5 Subplots: 7 Sum: 32/50 Spoilers: Ya. A few for the comics, too, so fair warning. Audience Assumptions: None, probably.   The Umbrella Academy Season One Episode Ten: The White Violin - ***   Part One: KLAUS' MAGIC BOWLING BALL OF…

3P Reviews: The Umbrella Academy, Season One, Episode Nine

Breakdown Rating: Characters and Character Development: 8 Aesthetics and Style: 6 Creativity: 6 Overall Plot: 5 Subplots: 7 Sum: 32/50 Spoilers: Only the best. Audience Assumptions: Read the first review to get the most out of it.   The Umbrella Academy Season One Episode Nine: Changes - *****   Part One: TELEPORTING. MARGARITA. BOI. Finally, we…

3P Reviews: The Umbrella Academy, Season One, Episode Eight

Breakdown Rating: Characters and Character Development: 8 Aesthetics and Style: 6 Creativity: 6 Overall Plot: 5 Subplots: 7 Sum: 32/50 Spoilers: Naturally. Audience Assumptions: Yes.   The Umbrella Academy Season One Episode Eight: I Heard a Rumor - ****   Part One: Please Let Them Get Pulled Over All right, I give; I love this series. I…