“Locke” It Down & “Key” It Shut

Locke & Key

If you’re like me you can’t be bothered to read books, unless you have to for school or you’re doing to impress a girl, but let’s not get into that. I generally find books to be droning and quite laborious to actually get through. So what’s the next best thing? Picture books well… not just any picture book, graphic novels specifically. Now I don’t want to lead anyone on so I’m just going to say it up front: I don’t read a lot of graphic novels and I have only started reading them a year ago. Through this past year, I’ve tried to find some of the more popular titles and marathoned through them. To name just a few, Watchmen & Y: The Last Man (I was told everyone who reads comics/graphic novels have read these at one point) some others being Batman: Year One, The Killing Joke, Dark Knight Returns & Arkham Asylum. Of all the graphic novels I have read, Y: The Last Man (only $4.50CAD on Amazon right now) is easily at the top of my list, and I highly recommend anyone who is remotely interested in graphic novels to check this out immediately. Anyways, I don’t want to drag out this introduction any longer than it already is, so I’ll get to the meat of this article.

Over this last year, I realized that I have never actually tried to keep up with a comic but instead always leaned towards graphic novels. So over the last few weeks I’ve been searching far and wide and finally decided on a comic to start reading, and I must say… I believe I’ve found a gem, this being Locke & Key by Joe Hill and artwork by Gabriel Rodriguez. Those who are unfamiliar with the name Joe Hill might be surprised to find out that he is the son of the famed Stephen King. Personally, I have never read any of Joe Hill’s novels; by doing a quick Amazon search it seems that he is a horror novelist and Wikipedia says he has won a few awards for his publications, but this is his first attempt at writing a comic.

Panelling

After the sudden murderous act of their father by one of his former students; the Locke family decides to move into their old estate, the Keyhouse in order to leave everything behind and start afresh. Mostly told through the three main protagonists, Tyler, the eldest son who lives through the guilt of not trying to prevent the murder of his father; Bode, the youngest son, a very curious and inquisitive little guy, and finally, the daughter Kinsey who wants to stay anonymous and keep out of trouble. We soon find out the house holds a lot of secrets along with an evil force lurking around trying to retrieve a few “keys”. Soon enough, the curious Bode stumbles upon one and gives the readers a quick tour around the Keyhouse while trying to figure out what the key opens. It is revealed that, hidden around the house are keys that open doors which allow the people who pass through them to inhibit some sort of supernatural power.

Locke & Key brings something new to the supernatural genre, by blending the strong mystique of the Keyhouse with the constant drama of the protagonists and a very cunning antagonist. Locke & Key proves to be something on the “must-read” list and for a first time comic writer, Joe Hill really utilizes his experience as a novelist. Readers will notice the comic flows much more like a novel than anything else, and with the drawings by Rodriguez, the art leaves an impression. Hill leaves us clinging on to each panel desperately wanting to turn the page, yet fearful of what we will see.

Ratings

Plot Development: 9/10
Character Development: 9/10
World Building: 8/10
Writing Style: 9/10
Art Style: 8/10

Overall: 8.6/10

Related posts:

1. Comics, a dying industry?
2. I won’t tell if you don’t.
3. Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb