Locke & Key tells of Keyhouse, an unlikely New England mansion, with fantastic doors that transform all who dare to walk through them, and home to a hate-filled and relentless creature that will not rest until it forces open the most terrible door of them all! Acclaimed suspense novelist and New York Times best-selling author Joe Hill (Heart-Shaped Box) creates an all-new story of dark fantasy and wonder, with astounding artwork from Gabriel Rodriguez.
Locke and Key: Vol. 1 Welcome to Lovecraft
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Novelist Hill, author of Heart-Shaped Box, crafts a gripping account of the shattered Locke family's attempt to rebuild after the father/husband is murdered by a deranged high school student and the family subsequently moving in with the deceased father's brother at the family homestead in Maine. But as anyone who has read horror fiction in the past 70-odd years will tell you, it's a bad idea to try to leave behind the gruesome goings-on in your life by moving to an island named Lovecraft. What begins as a study in coping with grief soon veers into creepy territory as the youngest Locke discovers a doorway with decidedly spectral qualities, along with a well that houses someone or something that desperately wants out and will use any means available to gain freedom, including summoning the teenage murderer who set events in motion in the first place. To say more would give away many of the surprises the creative team provides, but this first of hopefully several volumes delivers on all counts, boasting a solid story bolstered by exceptional work from Chilean artist Rodriguez (Clive Barker's The Great and Secret Show) that resembles a fusion of Rick Geary and Cully Hamner with just a dash of Frank Quitely. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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More About the Author
The author of the critically acclaimed Heart-Shaped Box and 20th Century Ghosts, Joe Hill is a two-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award, and a past recipient of the Ray Bradbury Fellowship. His stories have appeared in a variety of journals and Year's Best collections. He calls New England home.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Hey, here's some trivia for ya....Did you know that Joe Hill's Dad is Stephen King? So no surprise that Hill is pumping out stories of the macabre, right? And he sure is doing it as well as his Dad (especially lately) 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 Book 1, I am not disappointed. (EDIT: 7/2011 - Fox has scratched the Locke & Key pilot - see link in the comment section of this review.)
Like father, like son, Locke & Key is violent at times, bloody at times, scary at times, disturbing at times, but most importantly it is very well written. The Locke's are a seemingly normal young family in California. The father is a principal of a local school. So when the Locke's are rocked by the father's murder by a crazed student, their world turns upside-down, and they are invited to come live out east in 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!
While well written, there are some recycled themes and predictable moments. But mostly Locke & Key: Welcome to Lovecraft is an excellent read for fans of the Fantasy or Horror genres. I'm hooked and looking forward to digging into Locke & Key Volume 2: Head Games and Locke & Key: Crown of Shadows with Locke & Key Volume 4: Keys to the Kingdom due to be released this year.
I'm also 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.
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 Book 1, I am not disappointed. (EDIT: 7/2011 - Fox has scratched the Locke & Key pilot - see link in the comment section of this review.)
Like father, like son, Locke & Key is violent at times, bloody at times, scary at times, disturbing at times, but most importantly it is very well written. The Locke's are a seemingly normal young family in California. The father is a principal of a local school. So when the Locke's are rocked by the father's murder by a crazed student, their world turns upside-down, and they are invited to come live out east in 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!
While well written, there are some recycled themes and predictable moments. But mostly Locke & Key: Welcome to Lovecraft is an excellent read for fans of the Fantasy or Horror genres. I'm hooked and looking forward to digging into Locke & Key Volume 2: Head Games and Locke & Key: Crown of Shadows with Locke & Key Volume 4: Keys to the Kingdom due to be released this year.
I'm also 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.
67 of 78 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I'm harder to scare these days than when I was a kid and horror movies were still black and white and filled with trademark Hollywood monsters. Currently, I've been through a plethora of Dracula, Frankenstein, Wolfman, and ghost movies and their spawn. It takes a lot to scare me these days.
Then Hollywood introduced me to FRIDAY THE 13TH, HALLOWEEN, and NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET. George C. Scott's THE CHANGELING totally creeped me out, and Steven Spielberg's POLTERGEIST taught me to fear my television. Then I watched adaptations of Thomas Harris's novels, RED DRAGON and SILENCE OF THE LAMBS and learned to fear serial killers that were really among us.
However, I have to admit that somewhere in there I became jaded. I started watching horror movies for special effects and the snappy one-liners that became so popular. I ended up laughing through most of them.
Like I said, I'm hard to scare. Of course, I can still scare myself pretty good. Let me curl up at night with a Stephen King book or one of Joseph Delaney's THE LAST APPRENTICE YA novels, and I can give myself a case of the willies. These books, thankfully, still deliver the sheer, enervating atmosphere necessary to amp up my adrenaline gland.
But I found a new fear-inducer in Joe Hill. I discovered him in HEART-SHAPED BOX and got totally weirded out listening to that novel on audiobook. Then I got my hands on the first issue of his comic book series, LOCKE & KEY.
Imagine a family that falls victim to what appears to be a deranged teenager looking for some payback. That's pretty horrific by today's standards because the news is full of lethal teens - and others. This could happen, so I wasn't immediately getting the spook vibe.
The story is harsh and emotional. I felt Ty, Kinsey, and Bodie's pain over losing their father to violence. The way that Joe cut the action between the past and present really upped the suspense and impending feeling of doom. Gabriel Rodriguez's art is loose and captivating, and he plays with angles that pulled me right into the frames and turned them into movies. I was THERE, inside the story on several occasions. And I wasn't comfortable being there. Especially in the scenes when Bodie was talking to the thing in the wellhouse!
As it turns out, though, the teen that planned the murder of Papa Locke wasn't entirely there out of vengeance. He had made a pact with the thing in the wellhouse, and that just spins the whole story on its ear.
After their father's murder, the kids end up at the Locke House, a place so riddled with mysteries that Joe says he's got 70 issues plotted out for those bewitched doors, nooks, and crannies already. Personally, I can't wait. I love the puzzles and the mysteries, as well as the fact that THINGS are lurking inside the house and waiting to spring out on unwary victims.
Joe and Gabriel have created a whole WORLD of spine-chilling entertainment to come. It's no surprise that Dimension Films has already snapped up the film rights to the property, or that IDW publishing had to reprint the issues several times. I expect they'll have to reprint the new hardcover graphic novel as well, but I didn't take any chances - I've got my copy already.
In the various issues, Joe shifts the point of view around from Ty to Bodie to Kinsey, and all of them achieve a distinct voice that bring a different flavor to the emerging story. When I read the graphic novel all at once, the voices didn't quite stand out as much as waiting a month between, but that's only because I was trying to get to the end of the story faster and faster. I'd read the first three issues, then couldn't get my hands on the last three, so I was desperate to know what happened next.
The suspense ratchets up like a whipsaw rollercoaster cresting the top of the final plunge leading to a white-knuckled grip (thank God the book is a hardcover or it wouldn't have survived the read!).
I couldn't stop reading, and now I can't wait for the next volume in the Locke family's adventures. The old house as a lot of life (and UNLIFE) still waiting to be discovered and feared.
Horror fans will love this book because it delivers every delicious thrill and chill a reader could want. And Gabriel's art is absolutely eye-popping, alternately beautiful and then gruesome. LOCKE & Key is a definite, pulses-pounding winner.
Then Hollywood introduced me to FRIDAY THE 13TH, HALLOWEEN, and NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET. George C. Scott's THE CHANGELING totally creeped me out, and Steven Spielberg's POLTERGEIST taught me to fear my television. Then I watched adaptations of Thomas Harris's novels, RED DRAGON and SILENCE OF THE LAMBS and learned to fear serial killers that were really among us.
However, I have to admit that somewhere in there I became jaded. I started watching horror movies for special effects and the snappy one-liners that became so popular. I ended up laughing through most of them.
Like I said, I'm hard to scare. Of course, I can still scare myself pretty good. Let me curl up at night with a Stephen King book or one of Joseph Delaney's THE LAST APPRENTICE YA novels, and I can give myself a case of the willies. These books, thankfully, still deliver the sheer, enervating atmosphere necessary to amp up my adrenaline gland.
But I found a new fear-inducer in Joe Hill. I discovered him in HEART-SHAPED BOX and got totally weirded out listening to that novel on audiobook. Then I got my hands on the first issue of his comic book series, LOCKE & KEY.
Imagine a family that falls victim to what appears to be a deranged teenager looking for some payback. That's pretty horrific by today's standards because the news is full of lethal teens - and others. This could happen, so I wasn't immediately getting the spook vibe.
The story is harsh and emotional. I felt Ty, Kinsey, and Bodie's pain over losing their father to violence. The way that Joe cut the action between the past and present really upped the suspense and impending feeling of doom. Gabriel Rodriguez's art is loose and captivating, and he plays with angles that pulled me right into the frames and turned them into movies. I was THERE, inside the story on several occasions. And I wasn't comfortable being there. Especially in the scenes when Bodie was talking to the thing in the wellhouse!
As it turns out, though, the teen that planned the murder of Papa Locke wasn't entirely there out of vengeance. He had made a pact with the thing in the wellhouse, and that just spins the whole story on its ear.
After their father's murder, the kids end up at the Locke House, a place so riddled with mysteries that Joe says he's got 70 issues plotted out for those bewitched doors, nooks, and crannies already. Personally, I can't wait. I love the puzzles and the mysteries, as well as the fact that THINGS are lurking inside the house and waiting to spring out on unwary victims.
Joe and Gabriel have created a whole WORLD of spine-chilling entertainment to come. It's no surprise that Dimension Films has already snapped up the film rights to the property, or that IDW publishing had to reprint the issues several times. I expect they'll have to reprint the new hardcover graphic novel as well, but I didn't take any chances - I've got my copy already.
In the various issues, Joe shifts the point of view around from Ty to Bodie to Kinsey, and all of them achieve a distinct voice that bring a different flavor to the emerging story. When I read the graphic novel all at once, the voices didn't quite stand out as much as waiting a month between, but that's only because I was trying to get to the end of the story faster and faster. I'd read the first three issues, then couldn't get my hands on the last three, so I was desperate to know what happened next.
The suspense ratchets up like a whipsaw rollercoaster cresting the top of the final plunge leading to a white-knuckled grip (thank God the book is a hardcover or it wouldn't have survived the read!).
I couldn't stop reading, and now I can't wait for the next volume in the Locke family's adventures. The old house as a lot of life (and UNLIFE) still waiting to be discovered and feared.
Horror fans will love this book because it delivers every delicious thrill and chill a reader could want. And Gabriel's art is absolutely eye-popping, alternately beautiful and then gruesome. LOCKE & Key is a definite, pulses-pounding winner.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
When I saw the title of this volume, "Welcome to Lovecraft," I had to give it a shot. The fact that it was written by Joe Hill was a bonus, as was the awesome sounding concept of the house with mysterious doors (which sounded--and looked--a lot like the House of Mystery, one of my current favorites). I thought it would be creepy and interesting and fun. And good.
Well, it didn't disappoint. However, it was very dark. Way more dark than I expected (yes, even with the word "Lovecraft" in the title, Sam). It was violent, creepy, shocking, horrifying...and very good.
The story starts with the brutal murder of a high school guidance counselor, which we see in flashbacks throughout the first chapter and the entire volume. After his death, his family moves across the country to the town of Lovecraft, New England, to live in his childhood home Keyhouse, a mysterious mansion where the doors can open to much more than just the next room--if you have the key. Each of the three children deal with their father's death and their new life in a new town differently (Bode, the youngest, finds he enjoys becoming a ghost and chatting with his echo in the old well). Their mother also has some difficulties adjusting. Mixed in with that are flashbacks to their old life and what led up to the murder...and then their past catches up with them.
The opening chapter is incredibly violent, bloody, and intense, and although the violence is turned down a notch after that, it didn't end, even when I thought it was over. It was pretty unrelenting throughout. There just kept being more murder, or more views of the earlier murder, or other violent acts, and then more murder. And when it wasn't violent, it could be pretty creepy or otherwise dark. This isn't meant to urge anyone not to read this, it's simply a warning about how dark it is. I would have liked to have had a chance to prepare myself, so I'm trying to give you that chance.
Well, it didn't disappoint. However, it was very dark. Way more dark than I expected (yes, even with the word "Lovecraft" in the title, Sam). It was violent, creepy, shocking, horrifying...and very good.
The story starts with the brutal murder of a high school guidance counselor, which we see in flashbacks throughout the first chapter and the entire volume. After his death, his family moves across the country to the town of Lovecraft, New England, to live in his childhood home Keyhouse, a mysterious mansion where the doors can open to much more than just the next room--if you have the key. Each of the three children deal with their father's death and their new life in a new town differently (Bode, the youngest, finds he enjoys becoming a ghost and chatting with his echo in the old well). Their mother also has some difficulties adjusting. Mixed in with that are flashbacks to their old life and what led up to the murder...and then their past catches up with them.
The opening chapter is incredibly violent, bloody, and intense, and although the violence is turned down a notch after that, it didn't end, even when I thought it was over. It was pretty unrelenting throughout. There just kept being more murder, or more views of the earlier murder, or other violent acts, and then more murder. And when it wasn't violent, it could be pretty creepy or otherwise dark. This isn't meant to urge anyone not to read this, it's simply a warning about how dark it is. I would have liked to have had a chance to prepare myself, so I'm trying to give you that chance.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Buy this. Read this. Love this.
Locke & Key is amazing. The storytelling is tight, the characters believable, and the fantastical horror crisp. Read more
Published 3 days ago by Scott Towers
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fun story
I'm not a comic fan, but on a recommend I gave this a try. Reminds me of king 's dark tower series, which I very much enjoyed.
Published 5 days ago by kngofwords
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Surprise...
When I purchased this, I didn't realize it was a graphic novel. When it downloaded, I figured I would give it a chance and then I would forget about it. Read more
Published 5 days ago by Heather
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hooked me from the start
I'd heard good things about this book for the last couple years now and the first volume does not disappoint. The dialogue and atmosphere is brilliant and the art equally so. Read more
Published 17 days ago by jhawks33
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great series, almost over :(
Joe Hill is a great writer, never mind who his Dad is. It's clear they have similar tastes and style, but this story has been the one of the most fresh and original I have ever... Read more
Published 18 days ago by Andrew Godsey
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great graphic novel
I started reading this and loved it immediately. I bought the 2nd book within minutes of finishing this one. I will finish the series quickly.
Published 27 days ago by Kellie
5.0 out of 5 stars
Characters I actually give a $#!T about
Rarely have I enjoyed "horror" comics. With the exception of New Mutants, I really don't think I have ever bothered with a comic book franchise about a couple of kids. Read more
Published 28 days ago by Sean W. Bohan
5.0 out of 5 stars
Probably the best comic I've read in years!
Locke and Key is one of those books that you burn through, get so completely wrapped up in the characters and the plot, and can't believe when you've finished it. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Ken Stoltz
5.0 out of 5 stars
Locke my next comic to read
Very good story and it hooked me. I will be getting the next volumes. The pacing was good and every panel was either showing me more about the character or rolling out more plot. Read more
Published 1 month ago by James Jenkins
5.0 out of 5 stars
I've read it three times already
I love the concept this story. This is a great supernatural mystery. Well written and well illustrated. Read more
Published 1 month ago by A
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