Locke and Key Volume 1: Welcome to Lovecraft - Review


Written by Joe Hill

Art by Gabriel Rodriguez


Locke and Key is easily one of my favorite book series' of all time. Its fast paced, action packed, and impossible to put down. The first volume of this series isn't a slow introduction either - it picks up quick. The story follows around the Locke family as they live in an old mansion (Lovecraft) in Massachusetts. The mansion isn't just a typical house though, its has hundreds of keys that do hundreds of magical things.The idea is that every key unlocks something - whether it the ability for your soul to leave your body, to grow stronger, and many more things that are revealed in later volumes. The three main characters of the story are all very well developed. The more time you spend with each one, the more you love them and sympathize with them; especially Bode, the youngest of the Locke family. The volumes of this series get better and better with each one, never leaving you disappointed after opening it up.

Joe Hill, the author of this series, is an outstanding comics writer as well as novelist. Hill has had previous works such as Horns and A Heart Shaped Box, both of which were award winning, and outstanding in my own opinion. Hill is a horror writer at heart, but not in the way that you would typically think. His stories aren't just made to gross you out and scare you to death, its more of a real life horror. Much similar to The Walking Dead in horror feel - its not the monsters that are scary, its the people.

Gabriel Rodriguez is also another key force in this book. His art embodies this story perfectly, and I cant imagine this series without him (and luckily, throughout the entire series he's never had to take a break!). This is the first work I've personally seen by Rodriguez, and I'd love to see more after this series is over.

Overall, this is a must read for anyone. This book alone got me back into comics, and made me fall in love with the art of storytelling all over again. To put it simply, this book should not be missed

Rating: 5/5

Review by Levi Matheis

Locke and Key is a six volume series, and is currently publishing its sixth and final book. The first two volumes are available at the Marshall Public Library in our Adult Graphic Novel section, and the rest are available from the Evergreen Consortium and Inter-library Loan. Stop by and check it out!