Customer Reviews

Locke & Key, Vol. 2: Head Games

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Let's just say, we get to see into more than just Joe Hill's and Gabriel Rodriguez's heads. I don't want to give away any spoilers.. but 'Head Games' is a turning point for the 'Locke & Key' series and an airing-out of old mysteries & back story.. The Head Key is an inspired invention that allows the reader a fascinating and profound bout of vicarious living.. that also adds layers to the series and opens up new possibilities. 'Head Games' surpasses the previous volume of 'Locke and Key, exchanging a heart-wrenching climactic conclusion for mind-bending twists, and plot illumination.

'Locke & Key' explores the fear and wonder that accompanies the loss of innocence, and is layered with the subtle existentialism of the fantasy/horror genre. 'Locke & Key' is a character-driven series that gives us protagonists we can truly understand and empathize with. The series redefines the meaning of 'mischievous villain' and 'evil incarnate' for the comic industry, effectively portraying the diabolism and even perversion of manipulation, deceit and the violation of trust. Joe Hill's writing and creativity is of a caliber truly rare in fiction today, and Chilean artist, Gabriel Rodriguez's pencils are stunning, uncannily proficient at creating living & breathing characters and keeping a palpable tension that captivates you.

'Locke & Key' is a wonderful, magical & melancholic story.. and it wears the comic medium like a glove. It has the sprawl of a novel, but not the focus. Like Gaiman's 'Sandman, it is a somewhat epic tale of dark fantasy told in a series of episodes.. essentially a string of short stories connected by the same characters and larger, overarching concerns.

I recommend you start out with the first volume of the series.. if you aren't familiar with 'Locke & Key'. Our three protagonists are siblings.. Bode, Kinsey and Ty. After their father was murdered, they moved, along with their mother, into a possibly haunted house full of magic keys and who knows what else. The first volume not only lays the foundation for the story; it sets the mood.

The hardcovers are durable and as delightful to look at as their contents. The pages are thick and glossy.. which is only fitting for such a fascinating & elegantly illustrated story.

FYI: Joe Hill is actually Joseph Hillstrom King, son of Stephen King. also.. Dimension Films has picked up the film and television rights from IDW publishing for 'Locke & Key' considering the series as a potential franchise. The 'Locke & Key' series is planned to span 68 issues..

This is the second full length graphic novel in the Locke and Key series. The fourth installation, Locke & Key Volume 4: Keys to the Kingdom HC, is due out this June. This was an excellent continuation of the series. The drawings are fantastic and the plot is complex, creepy and engaging.

In this book the Locke kids are just trying to make it through school. They've become involved with the "new kid" Luke, who looks mysteriously familiar to some of the older members of the community. Meanwhile Bode finds a new Key, this one literally opens his head up. Now the kids all want to play games with shoving info into their heads and taking out all the bad stuff (like fear and sadness).

This book is super creepy. It wasn't as creepy as the first one (no serial killer this time) but there is still a high creepy factor here. Just the fact that Bode walks around with his head open is pretty darn strange. Again this book is not for the faint of heart; I think it covers almost every offensive/distasteful topic out there and is very violent...so definitely for adults.

The complex plot is getting more and more intriguing and intricate. I am just super curious to see what else they find in that old house and to see what happens with Luke and the Locke kids. The story is incredibly engaging and I read the whole thing in one sitting because it was very hard to put down.

The illustration throughout is phenomenal; beautiful full color illustrations, very detailed, and very beautiful...in a creepy way. It just fits the story perfectly. The book itself is just beautifully put together in hard cover format; a beautiful green silk ribbon to mark your spot and high quality paper throughout.

Overall I was even more impressed with this book than the first one. I am hooked on this now; I need to learn more about the creepy house and how everything fits together...but at the same time I am a little scared to find out the secrets that the next book will contain. Super creepy and definitely for an adult audience; but if you like the darker and creepier side of the paranormal then this book is for you. I cannot wait to read Book 3, Locke & Key V.3: Crown of Shadows HC.

Head Games by Hill has exceeded my expectations with a fantastic followup to Welcome to Lovecraft. Nicely bound hardcover with a built in bookmark is just icing on the cake. The story line is amazing and the graphics are just as incredible. Together Hill and Rodriguez make an excellent team and should hopefully churn out many more books.

I have to admit Ive loved this series since the very first issue, and even though I buy every issue I still buy the collected volumes as the quality of the books are very nice and I think the different colored fabric bookmarks are a nice touch also. Head Games continues were the fist book left off and introduces us to more keys and weaves a more complex tale and allows us to get deeper into the mind(literally) of the characters. As always art is crisp and well done, and together with a great storyteller (Hill) Head games makes your locke and key addiction only grow stonger. If you liked the first book you will really like this one and crown of shadows also.Locke and key is one of my favorite titles to reread as you want to get to know these characters as much as possible. While the issues of this series is almost done with volume 4 its never too late to go back and start reading Locke and key. It may be bloody but to me it never crosses that line where gore starts to dominate the story and takes away from the plot. It is however a mature book and due to language and violence should not be read by children.

Joe Hill has once again proved that his mind is full of wonderful, twisted, amazing things. I read Locke and Key: Welcome To Keyhouse in two hours, this one I read in an hour and a half. I couldn't put it down. Gabriel Rodriguez's illustrations add so much magic to the story. I definitely recommend this series for anyone who likes mysteries, ghost stories, and just plain great writing.

It's no surprise that Joe Hill is pumping out stories of the macabre, right? And he sure is doing it as well as his Dad (Stephen King) with Locke & Key.

I was first attracted to Locke & Key when I was reading a February 2011 New York Post article about comics and graphic novels that have been or will be turned into movies or TV series. Locke & Key will be one of the latter with a potential pilot episode airing as soon as the end of this year on FOX. So I thought that I'd get "the real story" from the actual author prior its release as a TV series. And so far, after Books 1, 2 & 3, I am not disappointed. (EDIT: 7/2011 - Fox has scratched the Locke & Key pilot - see link in the comment section of this review.)

Locke & Key is violent at times, bloody at times, scary at times, disturbing at times, but most importantly it is very well written. After tragedy struck and took away the father in the Locke family, they relocate from the West Coast and move into a big old spooky mansion in, where else but..."Lovecraft", MA. And you can bet your bottom dollar that in a mansion in a New England town called Lovecraft created by the spawn of Stephen King...thar will be ghosts! And it turns out that there are more than just ghosts; there are keys hidden all over this spooky mansion that unlock amazing powers for the holder of the key(s).

While well written, in Book 1 there were some recycled themes and predictable moments that I thought might take the series to a, well...predictable place. But as Book 2 and 3 unfolded, or should I say unlocked, there's more of a cool uniqueness that's really got me hooked and looking forward to digging into Locke & Key Volume 4: Keys to the Kingdom due to be released this year.

The Locke & Key series is an excellent read for fans of the Fantasy or Horror genres. And I'm now really looking forward to the TV series. It seems like it has a promising Supernaturalish chance of succeeding with War of the Worlds/Sarah Connor Chronicles writer Josh Friedman joining on to help Hill get it "out the door" and onto TV.

What a great team Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriquez make...Gabriel's Art is some of the best I've ever seen. I havn't been into Comics or Graphic Novels for very long, But I can say hands down of what I've read and seen...Locke & Key is the best art. Now as for the writing: Joe Hill does a masterfull job of forcing you care for every character in some way while hate others...The emotions Joe can get out of you from the story is crazy Highly Recommend this..and if you stumbled on this one and Havn't read part one titled Locke & Key Lovecraft you need to read through that first which is just as good if not better and you really need to know the back story to fully enjoy Part 2.

The story of Locke & Key Volume 2: Head Games follows the Locke children from volume one (Welcome to Lovecraft) and picks up right where that volume ended. The youngest, Bode, has found another strange key. The discovery of what the key opens is stranger still. Ty and a reluctant Kinsey include their new friend Zach in on this discovery, never realizing that doing so is creating more danger for them, their family, and the residents of Lovecraft. The volume ends with some questions answered and more questions posed--and with the reader eager to read the next installment.

Hill's storytelling remains fantastic. He continues to tell back story and currently story simultaneously with no glitches. The Locke children are well rounded characters with believable reactions and emotions. Supporting characters, such as Ellie and Rufus, are fleshed out well and become important to the reader. The fiendish enemy is so full of personality that he puzzles and charms the reader, just as he does to the Locke family. Head Games is a much less gruesome tale, more fantasy than horror, than the previous one, and reads just as quickly and smoothly.

Rodriguez contributes immensely to the flow of the narrative, as well as telling much of the story with the art. The placement of panels, the focus of certain elements in the panels, and the color and style of the art in general is often original and always perfect for the story. His ability to display human emotions so effectively is amazing; there is never any question as to what the characters are thinking or feeling.

With Locke & Key Volume 2: Head Games , Hill and Rodriguez present another five star collaboration.

Locke and Key volume 2 adds more background to the story as well as more excitement. There's really nothing new with the artwork but that's fine, its good the way it is. With the addition of new keys there are more opportunities for exciting stories and unexpected twists. I like the ideas of them adding in a new key or two every volume to keep it fresh and new. I definitely like this book a lot more than the first as it clears up things and makes it easier to understand.
Reviewer: Kole for Book Sake

I really liked Volume 1 of Locke and Key and Volume 2 just got better. There is less confusion in this book as we are let on more and more of the story of the keys, the house, and Zack. There is a lot of the history of these things added in and new keys are discovered and used to do some pretty strange things. I like that the odd things aren't just glazed over as if they were normal, but that the characters are taken back and shocked by the strange happenings - but of course they do have to accept them quickly in order to move on with the storyline. Definitely continuing on to Volume 3!
Reviewer: Jessica for Book Sake

I love the fact that Joe Hill worked in the song Head Games, by Foreigner. in to the book, and not in a cringe inducing rolling your eyes type way.

This book picks up right where the last one left out with Bode finding the head key, this key doesn't open a door like all the others so far, but it opens a persons mind, You can insert a book and gain all it's knowledge or you can take out a living memory. One That you have to put in a jar or it will walk in to your brain through the ear or hurt you other ways.

The Nick/Zack or Dodge character gets revealed a little bit more, We get to know the reason Ellen owes him and lets him stay with her, which I thought was the bet part of the book. We Still don't know what he or she is, or what they're after other than the Omega key, but we still don't find out what it does.

We find that Kinsey has a crush on Dodge, Tyler gets a crush on girl at school, Bode is still Bode, I think Joe Hill must really be a kid at heart because Bode stays pitch perfect, and is still my favorite character.

The Body count for this one is pretty low, but when they happen, their fast and gory. We get to meet two new characters duncan's boyfriend Brian, who gets him and Duncan in some trouble. And Ellen's Son Rufus, who's mentally challenged and always talks like he's a soldier, I think he will me more important as the story moves along.

I Thought that this ending was pretty powerful definitely has a WTF moment at the end, This book did not let me down I'm on to book 3