† NillaMora †

THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY #1

©Dark Horse

The Umbrella Academy boasts authorship by Gerard Way, singer of the band My Chemical Romance. Having no taste for his music – reread that, Maniacs – I picked up this first issue of six with some trepidation, attracted to the sort of Edward-Gorey-meets-Lemony-Snicket art by Gabriel Ba. I can happily report that The Umbrella Academy bears virtually no relation to Way’s work with My Chemical Romance, and will likely appeal to anyone that likes Hellboy, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Harry Potter, or Village of the Damned. Needless to say, the first issue wears its influences on its…

"You get in a van and never go home. You sever all ties. You're going to be homeless anyways, so you sleep on people's floors. Don't worry about food; don't worry about being comfortable because it's not going to happen." Newlywed MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE star GERARD WAY admits the life of the rock star isn't one big party.

Fans of MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE  may have been surprised when the band was tapped to open for BON JOVI next month at the christening of New Jersey's Prudential Center. But MCR frontman GERARD WAY is actually a fellow Jersey native and a big fan of JON and the boys. Speaking to the University of Maine's campus newspaper last week, Way said, quote, "I grew up as a Bon Jovi fan. Whenever you're dealing with Bon Jovi or [BRUCE] SPRINGSTEEN, it's just a great honor."

On the other hand, Way wasn't so kind when talking about emo -- a musical movement that My Chemical Romance is often considered a part of. He says, quote, "I think there's bands that unfortunately we get lumped in with that are considered emo and by default that starts to make us emo... Put the records next to each other and listen to them and…

5. JUNGLE GIRL #1
Written by Frank Cho and Doug Murray; art by Adriano Batista, cover by Frank Cho
Dynamite Entertainment
$2.99

Not to be confused with Marvel's Sheena the She-Devil comic that writer/artist Frank Cho did recently we have a totally original creationy by Cho here that only looks exactly like Sheena and is only slightly different in concept. But what really matters is that Frank Cho knows how to deliver what his fans want - expertly drawn boobies. Yes, I know he doesn't draw the interiors of this book but it's got his signature in every crisp cleavage line.

Mysterious jungle islands, dinosaurs and leopard-skin clad buxom girls are a winning combination as Frank Cho knows very well.

So, despite being so out of touch with modern rock that I had no idea who Gerard Way was until I read some promotional stuff in the back of the book, I was deeply impressed by his collaboration with the original artist for my beloved Casanova, Gabriel Ba, in Dark Horse’s Free Comic Book Day offering. So much so that I eagerly anticipated the ongoing it was serving as a preview for. Now that it’s here, and I’ve actually heard a couple of My Chemical Romance songs, was it worth the wait?I would say so, yes. The book does remind me a lot of Casanova, and not just because of Ba’s stellar visuals and the frentic pace that gives you a satisfying single issue experience while building an interesting ongoing plot on the edges, complete with a cool cliffhanger that gives you an idea where things are going and…

BY DAN KOLLER

Before reading the first issue of The Umbrella Academy, a comic book written by My Chemical Romance lead singer Gerard Way (below), I had planned to compare it to his music.

It turns out that no such comparison is necessary. The Umbrella Academy stands on its own as a delightful comic that should appeal to people with no interest in Way's tunes.

Way, 29, has described himself as a longtime fanboy, and I have no doubt that's the case. Thanks to his script and Gabriel Ba's art, the first issue evokes memories of the X-Men, the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and…

by Brett Sowerby

Tuesday afternoon, lead singer of My Chemical Romance, Gerard Way, agreed to have a phone interview with The Maine Campus.
Instead of conducting the interview using questions only we wanted to know, we went down to the Alfond Arena to find out what student fans buying tickets on opening day would like to know about MCR.
We received many questions, running the gamut from serious, music related questions to off-the-wall random queries.

Question from Kelly Constantine, senior marine science major
The Maine Campus: Boxers or briefs?
Gerard Way: Briefs.
TMC: You can say otherג€¦
GW: Yeah, briefs

Question from Jeremiah Richter, junior mechanical engineer
TMC: How did you guys meet?
GW: Well, Mikey is obviously my brother so we grew up together. During college was when I met Ray Toro through a mutual friend. Then, later on when the band started, we had been getting these shows with another band called Pencey Prep and that's what Frank…

We examine musicians' video-acting chops to see if they could hack it on the big screen.

My Chemical Romance

Photo: Chapman Baehler

There was once a time when only the most talented musicians — people like Frank Sinatra, Diana Ross and Elvis — would dare to make the jump to movies. But with music videos giving birth to a generation of camera-friendly musicians, however, it isn't just Madonna, Eminem and Justin Timberlake playing the actor/singer game, but also everybody from Ashlee Simpson to Diddy to Macy Gray.

The tide has shifted so much, in fact, that it's sometimes more conspicuous these days when a musician chooses not to make movies. With that in mind, we've compiled this list of the top musical acts that have avoided the silver screen so far — and, based on what we know about them, whether their acting debuts would yield…