Locke and Key: Volumes 1&2 by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez Review

Joe Hill is one of my favourite authors of all time and his work in comics is no different to the wonderful writing of his novels. I was lucky enough to meet him at World Con this year and I felt it high time I read Locke and Key again.

Locke and Key takes place across 6 main volumes whole following the Locke family living in Keyhouse. After the sudden death of their father, the Locke family find themselves moving to the town of Lovecraft. What should be the fresh start they need is replaced with some mysterious keys, a monster in a well and a

Both the first and second volume of this series set up the town of Lovecraft and Keyhouse for us. Lovecraft is your typical small town with an undisclosed past that we are currently only given glimpses of through various characters. Keyhouse however is very present on the page with it’s many unraveling mysteries. First off the house has a well house, that’s your first red flag. Among other things there’s a door that with the right key you can become a ghost when you unlock it.

The keys are the true highlight alongside the 3 Locke children; Bode, Kinsey and Tyler. By the end of Volume 2:Head Games we know that names and functions of 5 keys, with the mention of another. I intend to review 2 volumes at a time with this series so I will expand on them all once I finish the series. As mentioned the real standout is the Locke family themselves. I do think that the keys are tied to young people somehow since there are flashbacks of the previous lives of the parents of the Locke children and their peers but I will have to wait and see.

Dodge however is my favourite character so far. Dodge is the villian of the series so far. Introduced as a woman who lives in the wellhouse (I did warn you) who only talks to Bode, the youngest Locke child, then later is freed and changes both gender and identity and befriends Tyler, the eldest. Dodge has a few identities and changes gender with one of the keys to suit his/her agenda. Dodge also comes back to settle some kind of score with the previous generation of Lovecraft and I can’t wait to see what he/she has in store.

Hill and Rodriguez have a unique pairing that I have only seen once or twice in comics, where the art is made real by the writing and the writing is useless without the art. Hill is a fantastic novelist with a gift for pacing and the horrific but honestly this wouldn’t work without the unique way it is brought to life by Rodriguez and his unique style.

Thank you for reading, have you read Locke and Key? Have you read the whole series? Tell me below as I continue to unravel the mystery of Keyhouse.