Gerard Way Has Started Work On Volume 4 Of The Umbrella Academy

As The Umbrella Academy Volume 3: Hotel Oblivion finally hits shelves after an almost decade-long wait, Gerard Way has explained why there was such a delay between this one and the previous issue – as well as revealing that he's "just started" Volume 4.

"This one was a long time in the making," he admitted on Instagram. "Announced way back in 2009, a lot of things happened in between the announcement and the actual release of this, for [illustrator] Gabriel Bá and myself. Lots of life stuff, other projects, emotional growth and experience gained. Over the years, there were some false starts and every time I came back to the project I had to make it new for myself, fine-tuning the themes and characters. I am very happy with the results and hope you enjoy it if you plan on checking it out."

Read this next: The Umbrella Academy on Netflix: 7 things we learned

Happily, Gerard also stated he's now working on Volume 4, and that it "hopefully won't be too long before a new issue hits the stands, seeing as how this volume ends on a major cliffhanger."

Speaking to Kerrang! earlier in the year, Gerard said that writing the music for the hugely-successful Netflix adaptation of The Umbrella Academy was similar to that of writing for his old band, My Chemical Romance.

The former MCR frontman-turned-author said that making music for The Umbrella Academy felt reminiscent of his previous artistic endeavours.

Gerard and My Chemical Romance bandmate Ray Toro joined forces to record covers of Hazy Shade Of Winter (Simon & Garfunkel) and Happy Together (The Turtles) for The Umbrella Academy, which was a slightly more laborious process than creating his recent solo songs Baby You’re A Haunted House, Getting Down The Germs and Dasher.

“It’s a bit more work, because it’s for something cinematic,” Gerard said. “It’s not that it has to reach a higher level, it’s just that it’s a different level. The solo stuff is just kind of up to me, and what I want that to convey, or what nature it has. Whereas with the show, everybody has to really be blown away by it.

“So maybe, in a way, it’s more a little bit of what Ray and I and the guys in My Chem used to do; we apply a little bit more of that to what we do in these cover songs for Umbrella Academy.”

Gerard went on to say that it felt “fresh and exciting” to revisit that kind of creative process.

“It’s actually really nice to go back and do something like you once did it, because you have more experience and wisdom and knowledge. As you get older you bring all these things the way you used to do. It’s refreshing at times – especially if you’re doing a bunch of experimental things. It’s refreshing to go back to your core, and your roots, of what you used to do, and apply your new knowledge to that.”

Read this next: The changing faces of My Chemical Romance