The Lockes and Keys: A Dangerous Combination
After the tragic death of her husband, Nina Locke moves back to her late spouse’s childhood home, Keyhouse, in Lovecraft, Massachusetts, along with her three children. However, as it turns out, the protagonists of Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez’s Locke & Key couldn’t have chosen a worse place to start over. (And let’s be honest, even the town’s name isn’t exactly promising.)
Keyhouse is an incredibly dangerous place. The members of the Locke family share a supernatural connection with the house, which harbors countless secrets. Scattered around the house—or carefully hidden—are various keys that unlock doors leading to unexpected destinations. Some open physical spaces (think something mundane, like our dear Aunt Maggie’s pantry), while others provide access to far more extraordinary places—like inside someone’s BRAIN. There’s even a key that separates your soul from your body.
But with these keys, the Locke kids could also accidentally summon creatures straight from hell if they’re not careful.
So, yeah, best to handle these keys with care!
Locke & Key & Family Drama
When a crazed madman murders the family patriarch, it’s not exactly the ideal way to start fresh. Nina, the mother spirals into alcoholism, and the children are shattered by grief: Tyler is tormented by guilt, and Kinsey is overwhelmed by her fears. Not that teenagers need extra problems—they’re already dealing with the usual mix of anxieties, struggles to make friends, and the pains of first love.
Amid all this, it’s six-year-old Bode, the youngest and most vulnerable, who becomes a key (pun intended) character in Locke & Key. He embodies childlike curiosity and playfulness but, driven by his insatiable desire to explore, ultimately unleashes sinister forces. So, please, keep an eye on your kids! No matter how bad things are, they can always make them worse.
The Irresistible Allure of Evil
But someone else is also searching for those blasted keys.
Who? Well, one thing’s for sure—they’re a total scumbag…
Unfortunately, their villainy isn’t immediately obvious. So, it’s hard to blame the characters in the story who, one way or another, cross paths with Dodge and find themselves utterly unable to evade their allure. Honestly, you wouldn’t stand a chance either. Dodge exudes an androgynous, otherworldly, gothic sensuality, with a piercing gaze that radiates confidence and cruelty. Resist them if you can—especially when they’re armed with every trick of manipulation and seduction imaginable.
Dodge, the main antagonist of Locke & Key, is the embodiment of absolute evil: they are timelessly patient, unrelentingly persistent, and absolutely devoid of any human qualities. They’ll stop at nothing to achieve their goals. Nothing. So, let’s all wish the Locke family good luck. They’re going to need it.
Locke & Key is a Visual Masterpiece
Few would dare argue that Joe Hill found the perfect artist for his story in Gabriel Rodriguez. Without Rodriguez, this comic simply wouldn’t be the same. His meticulous attention to detail transforms even the ordinary—like the ancient Keyhouse—into something extraordinary. It’s both mundane and breathtakingly beautiful at the same time.
But where Rodriguez’s artistry truly shines is in the surreal imagery of Locke & Key’s gothic horror narrative. Ethereal ghostly figures, alternate dimensions unlocked by the keys, visceral visualizations of memories extracted from characters’ minds, and the towering, seemingly unbeatable supernatural foes—all of these are depicted with staggering brilliance. (Only the Monstress series might rival Locke & Key in sheer beauty.)
Rodriguez continued his collaboration with the King family—Joe Hill, by the way, is Stephen King’s son—illustrating King’s Fairy Tale as well.
Locke & Key: More Than Just a Comic
If you’ve read any of Joe Hill’s earlier, excessively overwritten novels (The Fireman, NOS4A2), the contrast between them and Locke & Key will stand out even more. Those books feel like they were penned by a half-asleep, semi-comatose Stephen King. In contrast, Hill and Rodriguez’s collaboration is pure brilliance—like Stephen King running full throttle on, ahem, adrenaline. No fluff, no downtime!
In Joe Hill’s uniquely brilliant graphic novel, the everyday and deeply human struggles of a grief-stricken, crumbling family intertwine with the supernatural and the mystical, spiraling into the wildest of nightmares thanks to an irresistibly alluring and seemingly invincible evil.
The trope so beloved by Stephen King—the battle of children standing alone against a diabolical evil, requiring profound sacrifices—is a wild, violent, and brutal tale. Yet, it’s equally deep and moving, a story about family unity, perseverance, and the fight for human values. Adding this to the collection of any comic, fantasy, or horror enthusiast is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. (Of course, not for the faint of heart.)
Rating: 8.5/10
Locke & Key Master Edition 1. (Locke & Key 1-2.) by Joe Hill · Gabriel Rodriguez
328 pages, Hardcover
Published: June 2, 2015 by IDW Publishing
The Locke & Key Master Edition Volume 1 features the first two story arcs, “Welcome to Lovecraft” and “Headgames”
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