5 Questions With Gabriel Ba About 'Umbrella Academy: Hotel Oblivion'

Writer Gerard Way and artist Gabriel Ba will finally return to the world of their award-winning [...]

By Russ Burlingame

Writer Gerard Way and artist Gabriel Ba will finally return to the world of their award-winning Umbrella Academy with Umbrella Academy: Hotel Oblivion, due in stores next week.

The project has been years in development, and has become one of the most anticipated comics in recent years. It finally comes back next week, and gets off to an explosive start.

You can check out our five questions with Ba below.

It seems safe to say that this is one of the most anticipated comics of the last decade at this point. Is it good to be finally getting Hotel Oblivion out in front of audiences soon?


Making comics takes a long time, but I agree that ten years is too long. However, it's not like Gerard and I were sitting back all this time. It took us this long to come back to the series because we were busy with other projects that are as close to our hearts as Umbrella is, be it music or comics, and those projects helped keep the fans close and satisfied.

We want Umbrella Academy fans to see how awesome comics can be. In 2015, we decided it was time to return to the world we created and deliver more craziness. Our friendship grew over time, our lives changed dramatically, and we missed working together. All the time that's passed since the last series was good for us and the new material as well. We took our time, and now I'm positive the fans are gonna love what they get.

There is a LOT going on in this first issue back. How would you describe the series to the uninitiated?

With all the siblings scattered, we have several narratives happening at the same time, deepening their stories and their dramas. At the same time, we present new characters and new directions the story is taking.

One thing I've liked about Umbrella Academy from the start is that we never took a lot of time explaining things to the reader because it works over such a well-known genre – the superhero genre – and we focused on our crazy stories and crazy characters. Nonetheless, all the elements of the story have always felt sort of cozy and comfortable and relatable from the get-go, like a longtime friend.

I still think this is one of the strongest features of this comic. So yeah, it's a lot going on in these first issues, don't worry if you don't get it right away, just enjoy the ride because it's gonna be awesome.

Obviously "the hotel" was name-dropped years ago, and the "Hotel Oblivion" title has been out there for years. What can you say about designing the look and feel of the actual structure in question?

I kind of like the whole anticipation and mystery that has been built over time around the Hotel Oblivion, given that we announced this series in 2009. I think it suits the actual structure and its purpose in the story quite well. As far as designing the place, back in 2009 I first based the outside look of it on the Flatiron Building in New York but sitting alone on an alien, dirt landscape.

We literally could go anywhere from there. In this first issue, we are presented with the Hotel for the first time, and we will get to know it better over the following issues, but, like everything else in the series, without much explanation. The guests at the hotel feel lost and doomed, and the readers will feel that way too at first, but that's the spirit. Everything looks amazing around the place, but at the same time very frightening.

There are a few different threads going on at the same time as the story begins. Will we eventually see the characters starting to intersect and interact more over the course of the seven issues?

I'm sure that's what everyone wants to see, the team back together, and that will always be one of the driving forces of this comic. But we can cover a lot of ground with them separated, going different ways, and it helps develop each one's personal story as well as their relationships. It's never just about saving the world – although it's always about saving the world – it's more like, let's talk about our wounds and work our shit out.

With the TV series coming and a new comic on the shelves, it's a good time to be an Umbrella Academy fan. Do you think it will be another ten years before we get Volume Four or are you and Gerard working on getting that one out sooner?

Gerard has tons of ideas for the comic, and we have a few other arcs lined up after Hotel Oblivion. When we got the band back together, we intended to keep going as long as we can, and our goal is to tell this story until the end.

Our lives are a bit calmer now, we're not in a hurry, and we're definitely not as fast as we were, but we're not moving away from this comic any time soon. We've already discussed the next arc, and we'll jump right at it after this one is over.

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