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''Locke & Key'' is a six volume long[[note]]plus to one-shots[[/note]] series of [[ComicBooks Graphic Novels]] written by Creator/JoeHill and illustrated by Gabriel Rodriguez.
to:
''Locke & Key'' is a six volume long[[note]]plus to two one-shots[[/note]] series of [[ComicBooks Graphic Novels]] written by Creator/JoeHill and illustrated by Gabriel Rodriguez.
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Changed line(s) 9,10 (click to see context) from:
''Locke & Key'' is a six volume long[[note]]plus to one-shots[[/note]] series of [[ComicBooks Graphic Novels]] written by JoeHill and illustrated by Gabriel Rodriguez.
to:
''Locke & Key'' is a six volume long[[note]]plus to one-shots[[/note]] series of [[ComicBooks Graphic Novels]] written by JoeHill Creator/JoeHill and illustrated by Gabriel Rodriguez.
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Changed line(s) 9,10 (click to see context) from:
''Locke & Key'' is an eight volume long series of [[ComicBooks Graphic Novels]] written by JoeHill and illustrated by Gabriel Rodriguez.
to:
''Locke & Key'' is an eight a six volume long long[[note]]plus to one-shots[[/note]] series of [[ComicBooks Graphic Novels]] written by JoeHill and illustrated by Gabriel Rodriguez.
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* AppliedPhlebotinum: ALL the Magical Keys around which the story revolves. [[spoiler: Later, the Whispering Iron also applies.]]
* [[AnimationBump Art Bump]]: In ''Head Games'', we get a two-page spread of what's going on in Bode's mind. Seriously. This depiction (of a young boy's ''thoughts'') is much more highly-detailed than the normal panels of the series. It has to be [[http://s3.amazonaws.com/data.tumblr.com/tumblr_kofvvzc4gZ1qzxm3so1_1280.jpg
AWSAccessKeyId=0RYTHV9YYQ4W5Q3HQMG2&Expires=1272879648&Signature=MPZoq46dFOq2P727gbFO4D1T92M%3D seen to be believed]].
* [[AnimationBump Art Bump]]: In ''Head Games'', we get a two-page spread of what's going on in Bode's mind. Seriously. This depiction (of a young boy's ''thoughts'') is much more highly-detailed than the normal panels of the series. It has to be [[http://s3.amazonaws.com/data.tumblr.com/tumblr_kofvvzc4gZ1qzxm3so1_1280.jpg
AWSAccessKeyId=0RYTHV9YYQ4W5Q3HQMG2&Expires=1272879648&Signature=MPZoq46dFOq2P727gbFO4D1T92M%3D seen to be believed]].
to:
* AppliedPhlebotinum: ALL All the Magical Keys around which the story revolves. [[spoiler: Later, the Whispering Iron also applies.]]
* [[AnimationBump Art Bump]]: In ''Head Games'', we get a two-page spread of what's going on in Bode's mind. Seriously. This depiction (of a young boy's ''thoughts'') is much more highly-detailed than the normal panels of the series. It has to be [[http://s3.amazonaws.com/data.tumblr.com/tumblr_kofvvzc4gZ1qzxm3so1_1280.jpg\nAWSAccessKeyId=0RYTHV9YYQ4W5Q3HQMG2&Expires=1272879648&Signature=MPZoq46dFOq2P727gbFO4D1T92M%3D seen to be believed]].
* [[AnimationBump Art Bump]]: In ''Head Games'', we get a two-page spread of what's going on in Bode's mind. Seriously. This depiction (of a young boy's ''thoughts'') is much more highly-detailed than the normal panels of the series.
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* ArtifactOfDeath: The Ghost Key, especially since [[spoiler:Dodge uses it to kill Sam Lesser at end of the first volume.]]
** [[spoiler:Breaking Sam's neck first probably helped with that.]]
* ArtShift: The final pages of ''Crown Of Shadows''' last chapter have their panels arranged like shards of broken glass, to correspond with the chapter title "Beyond Repair".
** [[spoiler:Breaking Sam's neck first probably helped with that.]]
* ArtShift: The final pages of ''Crown Of Shadows''' last chapter have their panels arranged like shards of broken glass, to correspond with the chapter title "Beyond Repair".
to:
* ArtifactOfDeath: The Ghost Key, especially since [[spoiler:Dodge uses it to kill Sam Lesser Lesser]] at end of the first volume.volume. [[spoiler: Breaking Sam's neck first probably helped with that though.]]
* ArtShift:
**[[spoiler:Breaking Sam's neck first probably helped with that.]]
* ArtShift:The final pages of ''Crown Of Shadows''' last chapter have their panels arranged like shards of broken glass, to correspond with the chapter title "Beyond Repair".
* ArtShift:
**
* ArtShift:
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* AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever: Crown Of Shadows #5.
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* AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever: The climax of Crown Of Shadows #5.#5, thanks to the Giant Key.
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* BatmanGambit: [[spoiler: Dodge manipulating Sam Lesser.]] Later at the end of ''Keys to the Kingdom'' [[spoiler: Sam then attempts to out-gambit Dodge and [[KilledOffForReal fails]].]]
to:
* BatmanGambit: [[spoiler: Dodge manipulating Sam Lesser.]] Lesser and pretty much everyone else. Later at the end of ''Keys to the Kingdom'' [[spoiler: Sam then attempts to out-gambit Dodge and [[KilledOffForReal fails]].]]
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** Averted by Brian who's not prety but still a nice guy (thought provocative).
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** Averted by Brian who's not prety pretty but still a nice guy (thought provocative).
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* BusFullOfInnocents: Get killed in volume 1. In a variation, the bus isn't ''full'' of innocents - only five people, all of which are murdered innocent of the larger story, and summarily murdered for their glancing involvement.
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* BusFullOfInnocents: Get killed in volume 1. In a variation, the bus isn't ''full'' of innocents - only five people, all of which are murdered innocent unaware of the larger story, and summarily murdered for their glancing involvement.
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* CatScare: The begining of ''Crown Of Shadows'' #3 is somewhere between this and ScareChord; though this being a comic there's no music to accompany the scene.
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* CatScare: The begining beginning of ''Crown Of Shadows'' #3 is somewhere between this and ScareChord; though this being a comic there's no music to accompany the scene.
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* CharacterNameAndTheNounPhrase: I mean, really?
* ChekhovsGun: Many, many of them, making it a case of Chekhov's '''[[ChekhovsArmory ARMORY]].'''
** [[spoiler: The mirror and Scissors Bode gives Dodge.]]
* ChekhovsGun: Many, many of them, making it a case of Chekhov's '''[[ChekhovsArmory ARMORY]].'''
** [[spoiler: The mirror and Scissors Bode gives Dodge.]]
to:
* CharacterNameAndTheNounPhrase: I mean, really?
* ChekhovsGun: Many, many of them, making it a case of Chekhov's '''[[ChekhovsArmory ARMORY]].'''
ChekhovsArmory:
**[[spoiler: The mirror and Scissors Bode gives Dodge.]]
* ChekhovsGun: Many, many of them, making it a case of Chekhov's '''[[ChekhovsArmory ARMORY]].'''
**
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** And [[spoiler:Kinsley's Bracelet, which is later revealed to contain the Anywhere Key]]
** ALL of the magical Keys can fall under this, too. Special mention should go to the Bitey Key, which was presented as just a doodle of Bode's. [[spoiler: It wasn't; in the Grindhouse one-shot a depression-era Locke woman uses it to dispose of an intruder.]]
** ALL of the magical Keys can fall under this, too. Special mention should go to the Bitey Key, which was presented as just a doodle of Bode's. [[spoiler: It wasn't; in the Grindhouse one-shot a depression-era Locke woman uses it to dispose of an intruder.]]
to:
** And [[spoiler:Kinsley's Kinsley's Bracelet, which is later revealed to contain [[spoiler: the Anywhere Key]]
Key]].
**ALL All of the magical Keys can fall under this, too. Special mention should go to the Bitey Key, which was presented as just a doodle of Bode's. [[spoiler: It wasn't; in the Grindhouse one-shot a depression-era Locke woman uses it to dispose of an intruder.]]
**
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*** [[spoiler: Dodge remembers this, and smashes it with the Giant Key a few arcs later.]]
** The Hourglass Key was shown sitting just out of sight waaaaaay back in the first arc, but [[spoiler:Tyler only discovers it in volume 5.]] He even [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] the fact that it took so long to show itself.
* CliffHanger: All. The. Time.
** The Hourglass Key was shown sitting just out of sight waaaaaay back in the first arc, but [[spoiler:Tyler only discovers it in volume 5.]] He even [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] the fact that it took so long to show itself.
* CliffHanger: All. The. Time.
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* CliffHanger:
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* CompellingVoice: Hello, Music Box Key.
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* CompellingVoice: Hello, The Music Box Key.Key can pull this off.
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* DespairEventHorizon: Entire first chapter. Entire first ''book''. And then it gets worse.
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* DespairEventHorizon: Entire first chapter. Entire first ''book''. And then it gets better, but then it gets worse.
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This needs an actual description, not a bunch of lines about how great it is and excuses for not summarizing it.
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A series of [[ComicBooks Graphic Novels]] written by JoeHill and illustrated by Gabriel Rodriguez.
A highly detailed, amazingly written tale with a lot of past mysteries and a [[MythArc very deep, very intriguing mythology]]. The first volume of the series revolves around three kids (Tyler, who's in high school, Kinsey, his sister who's just a year younger, and Bode, the youngest and most imaginative). Their father, Rendell Locke, is murdered by Tyler's psychopathic classmate, forcing the kids' mom to move them to a new home, looking for a fresh start. Later volumes continue to focus on the kids and their lives, but slowly the story branches out, giving all the characters at least hints of depth.
Saying too much of anything would give away crucial plot points, when one of the series' main draws is to keep the reader guessing. The plot is as much a character as the Locke children.
This is a complex, highly interwoven horror drama, complete with complicated and powerful relationships between the many characters, and quite an acceptable amount of Nightmare Fuel. It's been revealed that there are a large number of magical keys involved, only a few of which have been found - one that turns you into a ghost, one that changes your sex from male to female and vice-versa, one that can open a door to anywhere in the world, one that can open your head and let you take out memories and character traits - or even put things in, and many, many more. It's called Key House for a reason.
Like ''ComicBook/{{Hellboy}}'', ''Locke & Key'' is published as a number of limited-series volumes. Each volume consists of six issues, and tells the story of different magical keys, while bringing a little more of the overall mystery surrounding the keys, the Keyhouse, and thus linking into the larger narrative. As of July 2012, five volumes have been released: ''Welcome To Lovecraft'', ''Head Games'', ''Crown Of Shadows'', ''Keys To The Kingdom'', and ''Clockworks''. ''Omega'' is the sixth book, not yet collected into a trade paperback.
It's hard to sum up the series in a few words. Like Neil Gaiman's ''ComicBook/TheSandman'' and J.K.Rowling's [[Literature/HarryPotter You-Know-What]], JoeHill uses a number of {{Chekhovs Gun}}s in the storytelling, so better pay attention when you read.
Now has a [[Characters/LockeAndKey character sheet.]]
A highly detailed, amazingly written tale with a lot of past mysteries and a [[MythArc very deep, very intriguing mythology]]. The first volume of the series revolves around three kids (Tyler, who's in high school, Kinsey, his sister who's just a year younger, and Bode, the youngest and most imaginative). Their father, Rendell Locke, is murdered by Tyler's psychopathic classmate, forcing the kids' mom to move them to a new home, looking for a fresh start. Later volumes continue to focus on the kids and their lives, but slowly the story branches out, giving all the characters at least hints of depth.
Saying too much of anything would give away crucial plot points, when one of the series' main draws is to keep the reader guessing. The plot is as much a character as the Locke children.
This is a complex, highly interwoven horror drama, complete with complicated and powerful relationships between the many characters, and quite an acceptable amount of Nightmare Fuel. It's been revealed that there are a large number of magical keys involved, only a few of which have been found - one that turns you into a ghost, one that changes your sex from male to female and vice-versa, one that can open a door to anywhere in the world, one that can open your head and let you take out memories and character traits - or even put things in, and many, many more. It's called Key House for a reason.
Like ''ComicBook/{{Hellboy}}'', ''Locke & Key'' is published as a number of limited-series volumes. Each volume consists of six issues, and tells the story of different magical keys, while bringing a little more of the overall mystery surrounding the keys, the Keyhouse, and thus linking into the larger narrative. As of July 2012, five volumes have been released: ''Welcome To Lovecraft'', ''Head Games'', ''Crown Of Shadows'', ''Keys To The Kingdom'', and ''Clockworks''. ''Omega'' is the sixth book, not yet collected into a trade paperback.
It's hard to sum up the series in a few words. Like Neil Gaiman's ''ComicBook/TheSandman'' and J.K.Rowling's [[Literature/HarryPotter You-Know-What]], JoeHill uses a number of {{Chekhovs Gun}}s in the storytelling, so better pay attention when you read.
Now has a [[Characters/LockeAndKey character sheet.]]
to:
Saying too much of anything would give away crucial plot points, when one of the series' main draws
This is a complex, highly interwoven horror drama, complete
While around playing with the new keys, Bode discovers the ghost of a lady in a well. The ghost manipulates Bode and
The story covers the Locke's investigation of the house and the keys, and how they tie into the Locke family history. It is a complex, highly interwoven horror drama, complete with complicated and powerful relationships between the many
A television pilot of
It's hard to sum up the series in a few words. Like Neil Gaiman's ''ComicBook/TheSandman'' and J.K.Rowling's [[Literature/HarryPotter You-Know-What]], JoeHill uses a number of {{Chekhovs Gun}}s in the storytelling, so better pay attention when you read.
Now has a [[Characters/LockeAndKey character sheet.]]
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* ArmoredClosetGay: Invoked by Brian about the two [[AmbigouslyGay ambigously]] [[ButchLesbian butch lesbians]] who are vocal about their homophobia. [[BeserkButton They soon start to assault him and Sam]].
to:
* ArmoredClosetGay: Invoked by Brian about the two [[AmbigouslyGay ambigously]] [[ButchLesbian butch lesbians]] who are vocal about their homophobia. [[BeserkButton They soon start to assault him and Sam]].Duncan]].
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* [[AnimationBump Art Bump]]: In ''Head Games'', we get a two-page spread of what's going on in Bode's mind. Seriously. This depiction (of a young boy's ''thoughts'') is much more highly-detailed than the normal panels of the series. It has to be [[http://s3.amazonaws.com/data.tumblr.com/tumblr_kofvvzc4gZ1qzxm3so1_1280.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=0RYTHV9YYQ4W5Q3HQMG2&Expires=1272879648&Signature=MPZoq46dFOq2P727gbFO4D1T92M%3D seen to be believed]].
to:
* [[AnimationBump Art Bump]]: In ''Head Games'', we get a two-page spread of what's going on in Bode's mind. Seriously. This depiction (of a young boy's ''thoughts'') is much more highly-detailed than the normal panels of the series. It has to be [[http://s3.amazonaws.com/data.tumblr.com/tumblr_kofvvzc4gZ1qzxm3so1_1280.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=0RYTHV9YYQ4W5Q3HQMG2&Expires=1272879648&Signature=MPZoq46dFOq2P727gbFO4D1T92M%3D jpg
AWSAccessKeyId=0RYTHV9YYQ4W5Q3HQMG2&Expires=1272879648&Signature=MPZoq46dFOq2P727gbFO4D1T92M%3D seen to bebelieved]].believed]].
* ArmoredClosetGay: Invoked by Brian about the two [[AmbigouslyGay ambigously]] [[ButchLesbian butch lesbians]] who are vocal about their homophobia. [[BeserkButton They soon start to assault him and Sam]].
AWSAccessKeyId=0RYTHV9YYQ4W5Q3HQMG2&Expires=1272879648&Signature=MPZoq46dFOq2P727gbFO4D1T92M%3D seen to be
* ArmoredClosetGay: Invoked by Brian about the two [[AmbigouslyGay ambigously]] [[ButchLesbian butch lesbians]] who are vocal about their homophobia. [[BeserkButton They soon start to assault him and Sam]].
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* OrAreYouJustHappyToSeeMe: Naked in his female form, Dodge asks Mark who has a boner if he has a key in his pocket or if he's happy.
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** Averted by Brian who's not prety but still a nice guy (thought provocative).
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* RecursiveCanon: AMong other books, "Locke and Key" can be seen on a shelf in the first issue of Crow of Shadow when Nina finds the echo key.
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* RecursiveCanon: AMong Among other books, "Locke and Key" can be seen on a shelf in the first issue of Crow of Shadow when Nina finds the echo key.
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Owl Be Damned is now Ominous Owl. Misusage and bad examples are being removed. This is \"creepy owl\" more than \"evil owl\"
* OminousOwl: Dodge sends a metal owl monster after the Lockes at one point.
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* OwlBeDamned: Dodge sends a metal owl monster after the Lockes at one point.
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* RecursiveCanon: AMong other books, "Locke and Key" can be seen on a shelf in the first issue of Crow of Shadow when Nina finds the echo key.
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**Nope, HP Lovecraft exists in this 'verse too. We can see 'In the Mountains of Madness' by HP Lovecraft on the second shelf of the bookcase when Nina finds the Echo Key in "Crown of Shadows." Apparently there are just no Horror fans among the cast.
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* MonkeyMoralityPose: In second issue of ''Headgames'', inside Tyler's head, three versions of himself are covering their mouth, eyes and ears.
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* YourCheatingHeart: [[spoiler:Jordan cheats on Tyler.]]
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* YourCheatingHeart: [[spoiler:Jordan cheats on Tyler.Tyler with Martin.]]
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Changed line(s) 85,87 (click to see context) from:
* GoryDiscretionShot: Even though the series has no qualms about showing violence, there is one easy-to-miss moment that was intentionally done discreetly: In the first issue, during the murder of Rendell Locke, there is a panel showing Al Grubb [[spoiler:in Nina's bedroom - he's holding up his unbuttoned pants and Nina herself is nowhere to be seen. There are clear signs of a struggle that took place on the bed, including streaks of blood on the wall next to it. When next we see Nina, her clothes are severely torn, and there are four long parallel wounds in her hand as though someone grabbed her violently, scratching her hand with his fingernails in the process. This is clearer if you read the script book for the issue, and we see some definite hints that Nina Locke was raped off-panel]].
** Confirmed in ''Crown Of Shadows #6''.
** Again in "Clockworks". [[spoiler: Bode!Dodge]] pushes one of Bode's friends under a bus as it approaches. Subverted by that it is an open casket funeral
** Confirmed in ''Crown Of Shadows #6''.
** Again in "Clockworks". [[spoiler: Bode!Dodge]] pushes one of Bode's friends under a bus as it approaches. Subverted by that it is an open casket funeral
to:
* GoryDiscretionShot: Even though the series has no qualms about showing violence, there is one easy-to-miss moment that was intentionally done discreetly: In the first issue, during the murder of Rendell Locke, there is a panel showing Al Grubb [[spoiler:in Nina's bedroom - he's holding up his unbuttoned pants and Nina herself is nowhere to be seen. There are clear signs of a struggle that took place on the bed, including streaks of blood on the wall next to it. When next we see Nina, her clothes are severely torn, and there are four long parallel wounds in her hand as though someone grabbed her violently, scratching her hand with his fingernails in the process. This is clearer if you read the script book for the issue, and we see some definite hints that Nina Locke was raped off-panel]].
** Confirmed in ''Crown Of Shadows #6''.
** Again in"Clockworks". [[spoiler: Bode!Dodge]] pushes one of Bode's friends under a bus as it approaches. Subverted by that it is an open casket funeral
** Confirmed in ''Crown Of Shadows #6''.
** Again in
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* RapeDiscretionShot: Even though the series has no qualms about showing violence, there is one easy-to-miss moment that was intentionally done discreetly: In the first issue, during the murder of Rendell Locke, there is a panel showing Al Grubb [[spoiler:in Nina's bedroom - he's holding up his unbuttoned pants and Nina herself is nowhere to be seen. There are clear signs of a struggle that took place on the bed, including streaks of blood on the wall next to it. When next we see Nina, her clothes are severely torn, and there are four long parallel wounds in her hand as though someone grabbed her violently, scratching her hand with his fingernails in the process. This is clearer if you read the script book for the issue, and we see some definite hints that Nina Locke was raped off-panel]].
** Confirmed in ''Crown Of Shadows #6''.
** Possibly Dodge on Ellie in the shower in Headgames.
** Confirmed in ''Crown Of Shadows #6''.
** Possibly Dodge on Ellie in the shower in Headgames.
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* YourCheatingHeart: [[spoiler:Jordan cheats on Tyler.]]
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**In 1988 Dodge makes Duncan promise [[spoiler:to not follow Dodge and Rendell and their friends to the Black Door. Duncan says, "I promise with all my heart. I will not walk down those steps into the drowning cave again for the rest of the day." And he doesn't. He uses the Anywhere Key to go into the drowning cave.]]
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* DistractedFromDeath: [[spoiler:When Kinsey, Jamal, and Jordan are trapped on a catwalk by Dodge and offered a SadisticChoice where two of them have to kill the third or all three die, Jordan tries to convince them to kill her. They refuse, she pretends to agree with them, then steps off the catwalk the moment they're looking away. Kinsey and Jamal even try to carry on a conversation with her for a minute, not realizing that Jordan had jumped.]]
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Like ''ComicBook/{{Hellboy}}'', ''Locke & Key'' is published as a number of limited-series volumes. Each volume consists of six issues, and tells the story of different magical keys, while bringing a little more of the overall mystery surrounding the keys, the Keyhouse, and thus linking into the larger narrative. As of July 2012, five volumes have been released: ''Welcome To Lovecraft'', ''Head Games'', ''Crown Of Shadows'', ''Keys To The Kingdom'', and ''Clockworks''. ''Omega'' is the sixth book, not yet collected into a trade paper back.
to:
Like ''ComicBook/{{Hellboy}}'', ''Locke & Key'' is published as a number of limited-series volumes. Each volume consists of six issues, and tells the story of different magical keys, while bringing a little more of the overall mystery surrounding the keys, the Keyhouse, and thus linking into the larger narrative. As of July 2012, five volumes have been released: ''Welcome To Lovecraft'', ''Head Games'', ''Crown Of Shadows'', ''Keys To The Kingdom'', and ''Clockworks''. ''Omega'' is the sixth book, not yet collected into a trade paper back.
paperback.
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* CelebrityParadox: Nobody remarks on the fact that the town of ''Lovecraft'' is home to a gateway to the home of Shub-Niggurauth, which - plus the fact that the name dates back to the American Revolution - implies that HPLovecraft isn't a going concern.
to:
* CelebrityParadox: Nobody remarks on the fact that the town of ''Lovecraft'' is home to hosting a gateway to ton of magic and the home of Shub-Niggurauth, odd EldritchAbomination, which - plus the fact that the name dates back to the American Revolution - implies that HPLovecraft isn't a going concern.
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* ExactWords: When Dodge asks Tyler [[spoiler:where the Omega Key is, while using the music box to guarantee a truthful answer, all Tyler says is that he "used his head on that one." Turns out it's literally locked inside his skull.]]
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*CelebrityParadox: Nobody remarks on the fact that the town of ''Lovecraft'' is home to a gateway to the home of Shub-Niggurauth, which - plus the fact that the name dates back to the American Revolution - implies that HPLovecraft isn't a going concern.
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** The Hourglass Key was shown sitting just out of sight waaaaaay back in the first arc, but [[spoiler:Tyler only discovers it in volume 5.]] He even [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] the fact that it took so long to show itself.
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* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Tyler tells to Sam he wish he could kill his father. Sam takes it seriously.
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* ImportantHaircut: Kinsey gets two in first vollum.
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* ShowerOfAngst: Tyler in the first album.
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* AdultsAreUseless: Interesting variation: like in ''PeterPan'', adults will forget about magic as they grow up; hence why Rendell Locke doesn't remember about the keys.
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* AdultsAreUseless: Interesting variation: like in ''PeterPan'', adults will forget about magic as they grow up; hence why Rendell Locke doesn't remember about the keys. In ''Clockworks'' this is revealed to be because the key to the front door is actually the last key forged, which prevents any adults from realizing or noticing the keys or their effects ("adult" being here defined as "person who has graduated high school")
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* IdiotBall: Rendell grabs tightly ahold of this when he [[spoiler: suggests that he and his friends open the Black Door]]
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* [[spoiler:EldritchAbomination: The demons behind the black door. People possessed by them start calling out to [[HPLovecraft Shub-Niggurauth]].]]
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* [[spoiler:EldritchAbomination: The demons behind the black door. People possessed by them start calling out to [[HPLovecraft [[Creator/HPLovecraft Shub-Niggurauth]].]]
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*** Still counts, given this Troper assumed that Ellie's last name is a ShoutOut to JossWhedon.
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* [[spoiler:EldritchAbomination: The demons behind the black door. People possessed by them start calling out to [[HPLovecraft Shub-Niggurauth]].]]
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* HumanoidAbomination: Dodge, through and through. He's remarkably good at hiding it though.
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** Again in "Clockworks". [[spoiler: Bode!Dodge]] pushes one of Bode's friends under a bus at it approaches. Subverted by that it is an open casket funeral
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** Again in "Clockworks". [[spoiler: Bode!Dodge]] pushes one of Bode's friends under a bus at as it approaches. Subverted by that it is an open casket funeral
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** ALL of the magical Keys can fall under this, too.
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** ALL of the magical Keys can fall under this, too. Special mention should go to the Bitey Key, which was presented as just a doodle of Bode's. [[spoiler: It wasn't; in the Grindhouse one-shot a depression-era Locke woman uses it to dispose of an intruder.]]
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*** [[spoiler: Dodge remembers this, and smashes it with the Giant Key a few arcs later.]]
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**[[spoiler:Breaking Sam's neck first probably helped with that.]]
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%% Image replaced per Image Pickin' thread: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1294554662014420100
%% Please do not change or remove without starting a new thread.
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[[quoteright:348:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/locke-key_1406.jpg]]
->''"I came to see your father to get the keys. But I killed him because you asked me to. I told him that, too. Right before I shot him. That you '''''asked''''' me to kill him. You should've seen his face."''
-->-- '''Sam Lesser''', referring to an offhand joke Tyler had once made about killing his dad
A series of [[ComicBooks Graphic Novels]] written by JoeHill and illustrated by Gabriel Rodriguez.
A highly detailed, amazingly written tale with a lot of past mysteries and a [[MythArc very deep, very intriguing mythology]]. The first volume of the series revolves around three kids (Tyler, who's in high school, Kinsey, his sister who's just a year younger, and Bode, the youngest and most imaginative). Their father, Rendell Locke, is murdered by Tyler's psychopathic classmate, forcing the kids' mom to move them to a new home, looking for a fresh start. Later volumes continue to focus on the kids and their lives, but slowly the story branches out, giving all the characters at least hints of depth.
Saying too much of anything would give away crucial plot points, when one of the series' main draws is to keep the reader guessing. The plot is as much a character as the Locke children.
This is a complex, highly interwoven horror drama, complete with complicated and powerful relationships between the many characters, and quite an acceptable amount of Nightmare Fuel. It's been revealed that there are a large number of magical keys involved, only a few of which have been found - one that turns you into a ghost, one that changes your sex from male to female and vice-versa, one that can open a door to anywhere in the world, one that can open your head and let you take out memories and character traits - or even put things in, and many, many more. It's called Key House for a reason.
Like ''ComicBook/{{Hellboy}}'', ''Locke & Key'' is published as a number of limited-series volumes. Each volume consists of six issues, and tells the story of different magical keys, while bringing a little more of the overall mystery surrounding the keys, the Keyhouse, and thus linking into the larger narrative. As of July 2012, five volumes have been released: ''Welcome To Lovecraft'', ''Head Games'', ''Crown Of Shadows'', ''Keys To The Kingdom'', and ''Clockworks''. ''Omega'' is the sixth book, not yet collected into a trade paper back.
It's hard to sum up the series in a few words. Like Neil Gaiman's ''ComicBook/TheSandman'' and J.K.Rowling's [[Literature/HarryPotter You-Know-What]], JoeHill uses a number of {{Chekhovs Gun}}s in the storytelling, so better pay attention when you read.
Now has a [[Characters/LockeAndKey character sheet.]]
----
!!The Series contains examples of:
* AcademyOfAdventure: The Lovecraft Academy, attended by Tyler, Kinsey and Bode, was the same school at which their father and his group of friends discovered the magic keys.
* AdultsAreUseless: Interesting variation: like in ''PeterPan'', adults will forget about magic as they grow up; hence why Rendell Locke doesn't remember about the keys.
* AllThereInTheManual: The author's [[http://joehillfiction.com/ website and blog]] provided background information on the magical keys during the release of the ''Welcome To Lovecraft'' TPB book. Guide To Known Keys also provides bits of backstory.
* {{Angst}}: Most notably in the third volume's final chapter.
* AppliedPhlebotinum: ALL the Magical Keys around which the story revolves. [[spoiler: Later, the Whispering Iron also applies.]]
* [[AnimationBump Art Bump]]: In ''Head Games'', we get a two-page spread of what's going on in Bode's mind. Seriously. This depiction (of a young boy's ''thoughts'') is much more highly-detailed than the normal panels of the series. It has to be [[http://s3.amazonaws.com/data.tumblr.com/tumblr_kofvvzc4gZ1qzxm3so1_1280.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=0RYTHV9YYQ4W5Q3HQMG2&Expires=1272879648&Signature=MPZoq46dFOq2P727gbFO4D1T92M%3D seen to be believed]].
* ArtifactOfDeath: The Ghost Key, especially since [[spoiler:Dodge uses it to kill Sam Lesser at end of the first volume.]]
* ArtShift: The final pages of ''Crown Of Shadows''' last chapter have their panels arranged like shards of broken glass, to correspond with the chapter title "Beyond Repair".
** The first issue of ''Keys to the Kingdom'' has scenes from Bode's POV done in an homage to CalvinAndHobbes, while a later issue has a few scenes from Rufus's POV done in the style of an old war comic.
* AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever: Crown Of Shadows #5.
* BadassBiker: "Jordan Gates is a psycho rich bitch who's been thrown out of like eight schools. Been in the crazy house, too."
* BatmanGambit: [[spoiler: Dodge manipulating Sam Lesser.]] Later at the end of ''Keys to the Kingdom'' [[spoiler: Sam then attempts to out-gambit Dodge and [[KilledOffForReal fails]].]]
* BattleTrophy: Mark Cho is never without his comb, probably since his bangs fall forward into a bowl cut unless he keeps them brushed back. [[spoiler: After stabbing Mark to death, Dodge takes the comb and casually works on his own tangles.]]
* BeautyEqualsGoodness: Sometimes played straight, often averted by Dodge.
* BetterThanABareBulb: An ''unbelievable'' number of lampshades show up, and many a time actual trope names are droppped.
* BigLabyrinthineBuilding: The Keyhouse Mansion.
* BlackLikeMe: Thanks to the Skin Key.
* BusFullOfInnocents: Get killed in volume 1. In a variation, the bus isn't ''full'' of innocents - only five people, all of which are murdered innocent of the larger story, and summarily murdered for their glancing involvement.
* CastOfSnowflakes: The characters wear no masks, no capes, no costumes, and their dresses and hair styles ''both'' change over the story; yet they remain easily recognizable. After the release of ''Welcome to Lovecraft'', artist Gabriel Rodriguez became the first artist the Chilean-North American Cultural Institute honored with their annual ''literary'' prize, the Walt Whitman Award, for his work in the field of graphic novels.
** Averted in two places, though both are early on during ''Welcome to Lovecraft''. The guard killed by Sam is just Duncan's boyfriend Brian with no sideburns and a more muscular build. And the uniformed cop guarding Lovecraft is Tyler with a goatee and a slightly slimmer face.
* CasualDangerDialogue: Tyler, by now having gotten used to scary shit, is perfectly calm when he's been captured by a bunch of Living Shadows and hung upside-down from the ceiling.
* CatScare: The begining of ''Crown Of Shadows'' #3 is somewhere between this and ScareChord; though this being a comic there's no music to accompany the scene.
* CharacterNameAndTheNounPhrase: I mean, really?
* ChekhovsGun: Many, many of them, making it a case of Chekhov's '''[[ChekhovsArmory ARMORY]].'''
** [[spoiler: The mirror and Scissors Bode gives Dodge.]]
** The well-house painting hanging in Rendell Locke's office.
** Also a literal gun, bought and hidden by Tyler's Mom as a precaution in ''Welcome To Lovecraft''
** And [[spoiler:Kinsley's Bracelet, which is later revealed to contain the Anywhere Key]]
** ALL of the magical Keys can fall under this, too.
** The Lighthouse, which helps [[spoiler: Tyler defeat Dodge in Crown Of Shadows #3]].
* CliffHanger: All. The. Time.
* ClusterFBomb
* CompellingVoice: Hello, Music Box Key.
* CoolLoser: Scot Kavanaugh and Jamal Saturday.
* CoolShades: Scot Kavanaugh.
* ADayInTheLimelight: The narration switches between the point-of-views of different characters in different issues, so everyone gets their chapter in the sun (or, in this series, their chapter in the suffocating darkness of crushing terror).
* DeadpanSnarker: Several characters, but Tyler is the king - he stops freaking out about seeing Bode use the Head Key for the first time in order to make a crack about his head being empty.
* DespairEventHorizon: Entire first chapter. Entire first ''book''. And then it gets worse.
* DistractedByTheSexy: Dodge uses the Gender Key to employ this against Mark Cho, distracting him long enough to get close. Though seeing his male friend not only [[spoiler:turned evil]] but female, naked, and acting ''very'' seductively was probably a bit freaky as well.
* EarlyBirdCameo: [[spoiler:In the flashback to the 1988 high school production of Theatre/TheTempest, you can see not only the Anywhere Key in action, but also the Angel Key, Hercules Key and Crown of Shadows several issues before they debut.]]
* EverythingsNuttierWithSquirrels: In one issue which takes place over the course of a month, Dodge's various attacks on the Lockes are shown as single panels. One of them features an army of sword wielding squirrels. Sadly, the history of the Squirrel Key has yet to be revealed.
** Most likely it was the already-seen animal key. Both Dodge and Bode seemed to be able to control other animals like themselves, or at least the animals were highly suggestible to transformed humans, with [[spoiler:sparrows sacrificing themselves en masse for the ''possibility'' of causing one of the dogs/wolves to choke on them]].
** The Squirrel Key is shown in the panel, held by one of the squirrels. It has an acorn in the handle. (Unless it's an Acorn Key that Squirrel!Dodge uses to get acorns.)
* FateWorseThanDeath: Dodge at the beginning of the story. [[spoiler:Erin Voss, later.]]
** Also, what awaits all of mankind if Dodge succeeds in opening the Black Door.
* FireForgedFriends: Kinsey, Jackie, Jamal and Scot.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: "I can't wait to climb down from here and get large on you, bitch."
** In the first issue of ''Keys to the Kingdom,'' Bode briefly pretends that his head has been utterly emptied of all contents by the Head Key and he is unable to move, think, or care for himself. [[spoiler: The second issue features a woman who actually had that done to her]].
* GenderBender: I wonder what [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin The Gender Key]] does.
* GoodBadGirl: Jordan has downloaded her ethics paper from the internet, but she's not going to turn it in because "If you cheat in an ethics class there's really no hope for you."
* GoryDiscretionShot: Even though the series has no qualms about showing violence, there is one easy-to-miss moment that was intentionally done discreetly: In the first issue, during the murder of Rendell Locke, there is a panel showing Al Grubb [[spoiler:in Nina's bedroom - he's holding up his unbuttoned pants and Nina herself is nowhere to be seen. There are clear signs of a struggle that took place on the bed, including streaks of blood on the wall next to it. When next we see Nina, her clothes are severely torn, and there are four long parallel wounds in her hand as though someone grabbed her violently, scratching her hand with his fingernails in the process. This is clearer if you read the script book for the issue, and we see some definite hints that Nina Locke was raped off-panel]].
** Confirmed in ''Crown Of Shadows #6''.
** Again in "Clockworks". [[spoiler: Bode!Dodge]] pushes one of Bode's friends under a bus at it approaches. Subverted by that it is an open casket funeral
* [[spoiler: GrandTheftMe: Bode isn't Bode anymore.]]
* HeterosexualLifePartners: Kinsey and Jackie. Scot and Jamal.
* HeyYouHaymaker: Administered to Tyler by one of the shadow creatures.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: [[spoiler: Benjamin Locke seals away the parasites with a lock made from their own corpses.]]
* HopeSpot: At the end of "Clockworks #6", [[spoiler: It's implied that the fish hook on Tyler's hat is made from Whispering Iron, and could theoretically be used to create one final key. Whether they can use that knowledge to stop Dodge before he opens the Black Door remains to be seen...]]
* ImagineSpot: Tyler does this every now and then, usually imagining himself in outrageously badass costumes. Also, Jordan Gates lying on a school desk [[FetishFuel in her underwear]].
** Dodge does this in "Keys To The Kingdom", and his imagination is a bit more... ''disturbing''.
* IncrediblyLamePun: "Black-currents" jelly. Dodge instantly figures it out.
* [[spoiler:InfantImmortality: Averted with Jay Bird]]
* InstantAwesomeJustAddNinja: Subverted. Dodge briefly considers a Ninja disguise([[ShoutOut which looks a heck of a lot like]] [[NinjaGaiden Ryu Hayabusa]]), but decides against it.
* IronicEcho: In the first issue, Tyler looks down in the water and imagines his reflection with outfits appropriate to the other vacation destinations he wants to go to. Later, he looks into the water and sees himself covered in blood, as he was after beating Sam Lesser.
* JigsawPuzzlePlot
* KarmicTransformation: The "Grindhouse" one-shot has a rapist get turned into a woman.
* KickTheDog: Sam Lesser gets ''several'' moments in the first volume, most of them involving killing innocent people at random.
* KickTheSonOfABitch: As bad as Dodge is, it's hard not to cheer when he [[spoiler: kills Ellie's horrible, ''horrible'' mother.]]
* KilledOffForReal: Played straight, subverted, averted, take your pick.
* KnockKnockJoke: Rendell seems to have been fond of them.
* KudzuPlot
* LivingShadow: The Crown of Shadows.
* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: The series seems to be expanding into this trope as it explores its MythArc further. The Lockes of each generation, and then their friends, and then their friends, and then...
* MagicAIsMagicA: While it's implied the characters can create keys to their own specifications, once created, a key behaves the same every time.
* MentalTimeTravel: The Timeshift Key lets you do this.
* MistakenForRacist: Erin Voss, an old black woman in a mental institution, freaks out and starts yelling "WHITE! WHITE!" whenever she tries to talk to someone. This is attributed as being a hostile reaction to the white people who are always there (it is New England, after all) [[spoiler: but it's actually because her head was completely emptied out by Dodge, and all that's there is - endless white, which she sees whenever she tries to think coherently or interact with the world.]]
* MundaneUtility: Tyler uses the head key to cram his studies. It may have backfired.
** Dodge used the Head Key to become a great fencer, Tyler uses the Hercules Key to kick ass at hockey (and take out some frustrations) and Bode uses the Giant Key to play cars with ''real cars.'' Also in the flashback to the school's production of ''Theatre/TheTempest,'' the Anywhere Key, Hercules Key, Angel Key and Crown of Shadows were used to put on one ''hell'' of a show.
* NearDeathExperience: Basically, everyone who survives anything in this series gets to claim this.
* OurMonstersAreWeird: Dodge. And the creatures from the characters' heads, removed by the Head Key. Not surprising, when you remember that [[Creator/StephenKing Joe Hill's Dad]] is the poster boy for this trope in literature.
* OwlBeDamned: Dodge sends a metal owl monster after the Lockes at one point.
* PetTheDog: Sam Lesser's backstory.
* PuppeteerParasite: [[spoiler: A whole dimension of them await behind the Black Door.]]
* PuppyDogEyes: Bode. It doesn't work on Tyler, though apparently it 'usually' does.
* RapeAsDrama: [[spoiler: It's hinted this is one of the reasons why Nina is having such a hard time adjusting]].
* RevealingHug: [[spoiler: Dodge in Bode's body]] at the end of ''Keys to the Kingdom.''
* RhetoricalRequestBlunder: See the page quote.
* SealedEvilInACan: In a ''well'', to be more precise.
* SequelHook: [[spoiler:Dodge's escape and Bode finding the Head Key, and the {{Reveal}} about the Toy soldiers. Arguably, Kinsey removing her fears may also count as this]].
* ShootTheShaggyDog: [[spoiler: Sam's ultimate fate at the end of ''Keys to the Kingdom'' make his story an example of this.]]
* ShoutOut: Among the names (of Rendell Locke and his friends) scratched on the cave wall seen in the third volume, one is "[[JossWhedon Whedon]]".
** Not necessarily a shoutout, the name appears to read [[spoiler:Ellie Whedon]] to this troper, one of Rendall's [[spoiler:(and Dodge's)]] friends.
** Tyler is shown reading ''PeterPan'' to bode in ''Crown Of Shadows''.
** In Keys to the Kingdom #2, the patient directory at McClellan Hospital is made up almost entirely of comic authors/artists including, but not limited to, G. Ennis, K. Smith, and G. Jones.
** In a scene after the aforementioned Bill Watterson style ArtShift, Bode is seen reading a CalvinAndHobbes book.
** ''They live in a town called '''Lovecraft'''''!
** The Lovecraft hockey team plays against [[Franchise/FridayThe13th Voorhees High]]. If it wasn't obvious enough, the opposing players can be seen at the beginning and end of the issue wearing old-style goalie masks, even though they are not playing goalie, while Tyler is barefaced. The Lovecraft goalie is wearing a far more modern "cage" helmet.
* SoHappyTogether: [[spoiler: "I think I feel pretty shiny right now" and "Because it's your name for me."]]
* SuperStrength: The Hercules Key
* TellMeAboutMyFather: Kinsey goes through this in ''Crown Of Shadows'', even though her father's death was recent. Arguably, this is a major direction of the plot.
* ThisIsForEmphasisBitch: "Wait'll you get a load of how I plan to say goodbye, bitch." and "I can't wait to climb down from here and get large on you, bitch." With a cast full of high schoolers, it was inevitable.
* TonightSomeoneDies: Turns out it's [[spoiler: one of Rufus' action figures.]]
* WhamEpisode: At least one issue in each volume so far, and possibly the entirety of Keys to the Kingdom.
* WingedHumanoid: The Angel Key, though technically the key doesn't transform you, it animates a harness that you wear.
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: PlayedWith; Dodge [[spoiler:kills Sam because of this, but then it turns out he was using Sam to try and find the Omega Key]].
* ZergRush: At one point, Bode attacks Dodge with a flock of sparrows.
----
%% Please do not change or remove without starting a new thread.
%%
[[quoteright:348:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/locke-key_1406.jpg]]
->''"I came to see your father to get the keys. But I killed him because you asked me to. I told him that, too. Right before I shot him. That you '''''asked''''' me to kill him. You should've seen his face."''
-->-- '''Sam Lesser''', referring to an offhand joke Tyler had once made about killing his dad
A series of [[ComicBooks Graphic Novels]] written by JoeHill and illustrated by Gabriel Rodriguez.
A highly detailed, amazingly written tale with a lot of past mysteries and a [[MythArc very deep, very intriguing mythology]]. The first volume of the series revolves around three kids (Tyler, who's in high school, Kinsey, his sister who's just a year younger, and Bode, the youngest and most imaginative). Their father, Rendell Locke, is murdered by Tyler's psychopathic classmate, forcing the kids' mom to move them to a new home, looking for a fresh start. Later volumes continue to focus on the kids and their lives, but slowly the story branches out, giving all the characters at least hints of depth.
Saying too much of anything would give away crucial plot points, when one of the series' main draws is to keep the reader guessing. The plot is as much a character as the Locke children.
This is a complex, highly interwoven horror drama, complete with complicated and powerful relationships between the many characters, and quite an acceptable amount of Nightmare Fuel. It's been revealed that there are a large number of magical keys involved, only a few of which have been found - one that turns you into a ghost, one that changes your sex from male to female and vice-versa, one that can open a door to anywhere in the world, one that can open your head and let you take out memories and character traits - or even put things in, and many, many more. It's called Key House for a reason.
Like ''ComicBook/{{Hellboy}}'', ''Locke & Key'' is published as a number of limited-series volumes. Each volume consists of six issues, and tells the story of different magical keys, while bringing a little more of the overall mystery surrounding the keys, the Keyhouse, and thus linking into the larger narrative. As of July 2012, five volumes have been released: ''Welcome To Lovecraft'', ''Head Games'', ''Crown Of Shadows'', ''Keys To The Kingdom'', and ''Clockworks''. ''Omega'' is the sixth book, not yet collected into a trade paper back.
It's hard to sum up the series in a few words. Like Neil Gaiman's ''ComicBook/TheSandman'' and J.K.Rowling's [[Literature/HarryPotter You-Know-What]], JoeHill uses a number of {{Chekhovs Gun}}s in the storytelling, so better pay attention when you read.
Now has a [[Characters/LockeAndKey character sheet.]]
----
!!The Series contains examples of:
* AcademyOfAdventure: The Lovecraft Academy, attended by Tyler, Kinsey and Bode, was the same school at which their father and his group of friends discovered the magic keys.
* AdultsAreUseless: Interesting variation: like in ''PeterPan'', adults will forget about magic as they grow up; hence why Rendell Locke doesn't remember about the keys.
* AllThereInTheManual: The author's [[http://joehillfiction.com/ website and blog]] provided background information on the magical keys during the release of the ''Welcome To Lovecraft'' TPB book. Guide To Known Keys also provides bits of backstory.
* {{Angst}}: Most notably in the third volume's final chapter.
* AppliedPhlebotinum: ALL the Magical Keys around which the story revolves. [[spoiler: Later, the Whispering Iron also applies.]]
* [[AnimationBump Art Bump]]: In ''Head Games'', we get a two-page spread of what's going on in Bode's mind. Seriously. This depiction (of a young boy's ''thoughts'') is much more highly-detailed than the normal panels of the series. It has to be [[http://s3.amazonaws.com/data.tumblr.com/tumblr_kofvvzc4gZ1qzxm3so1_1280.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=0RYTHV9YYQ4W5Q3HQMG2&Expires=1272879648&Signature=MPZoq46dFOq2P727gbFO4D1T92M%3D seen to be believed]].
* ArtifactOfDeath: The Ghost Key, especially since [[spoiler:Dodge uses it to kill Sam Lesser at end of the first volume.]]
* ArtShift: The final pages of ''Crown Of Shadows''' last chapter have their panels arranged like shards of broken glass, to correspond with the chapter title "Beyond Repair".
** The first issue of ''Keys to the Kingdom'' has scenes from Bode's POV done in an homage to CalvinAndHobbes, while a later issue has a few scenes from Rufus's POV done in the style of an old war comic.
* AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever: Crown Of Shadows #5.
* BadassBiker: "Jordan Gates is a psycho rich bitch who's been thrown out of like eight schools. Been in the crazy house, too."
* BatmanGambit: [[spoiler: Dodge manipulating Sam Lesser.]] Later at the end of ''Keys to the Kingdom'' [[spoiler: Sam then attempts to out-gambit Dodge and [[KilledOffForReal fails]].]]
* BattleTrophy: Mark Cho is never without his comb, probably since his bangs fall forward into a bowl cut unless he keeps them brushed back. [[spoiler: After stabbing Mark to death, Dodge takes the comb and casually works on his own tangles.]]
* BeautyEqualsGoodness: Sometimes played straight, often averted by Dodge.
* BetterThanABareBulb: An ''unbelievable'' number of lampshades show up, and many a time actual trope names are droppped.
* BigLabyrinthineBuilding: The Keyhouse Mansion.
* BlackLikeMe: Thanks to the Skin Key.
* BusFullOfInnocents: Get killed in volume 1. In a variation, the bus isn't ''full'' of innocents - only five people, all of which are murdered innocent of the larger story, and summarily murdered for their glancing involvement.
* CastOfSnowflakes: The characters wear no masks, no capes, no costumes, and their dresses and hair styles ''both'' change over the story; yet they remain easily recognizable. After the release of ''Welcome to Lovecraft'', artist Gabriel Rodriguez became the first artist the Chilean-North American Cultural Institute honored with their annual ''literary'' prize, the Walt Whitman Award, for his work in the field of graphic novels.
** Averted in two places, though both are early on during ''Welcome to Lovecraft''. The guard killed by Sam is just Duncan's boyfriend Brian with no sideburns and a more muscular build. And the uniformed cop guarding Lovecraft is Tyler with a goatee and a slightly slimmer face.
* CasualDangerDialogue: Tyler, by now having gotten used to scary shit, is perfectly calm when he's been captured by a bunch of Living Shadows and hung upside-down from the ceiling.
* CatScare: The begining of ''Crown Of Shadows'' #3 is somewhere between this and ScareChord; though this being a comic there's no music to accompany the scene.
* CharacterNameAndTheNounPhrase: I mean, really?
* ChekhovsGun: Many, many of them, making it a case of Chekhov's '''[[ChekhovsArmory ARMORY]].'''
** [[spoiler: The mirror and Scissors Bode gives Dodge.]]
** The well-house painting hanging in Rendell Locke's office.
** Also a literal gun, bought and hidden by Tyler's Mom as a precaution in ''Welcome To Lovecraft''
** And [[spoiler:Kinsley's Bracelet, which is later revealed to contain the Anywhere Key]]
** ALL of the magical Keys can fall under this, too.
** The Lighthouse, which helps [[spoiler: Tyler defeat Dodge in Crown Of Shadows #3]].
* CliffHanger: All. The. Time.
* ClusterFBomb
* CompellingVoice: Hello, Music Box Key.
* CoolLoser: Scot Kavanaugh and Jamal Saturday.
* CoolShades: Scot Kavanaugh.
* ADayInTheLimelight: The narration switches between the point-of-views of different characters in different issues, so everyone gets their chapter in the sun (or, in this series, their chapter in the suffocating darkness of crushing terror).
* DeadpanSnarker: Several characters, but Tyler is the king - he stops freaking out about seeing Bode use the Head Key for the first time in order to make a crack about his head being empty.
* DespairEventHorizon: Entire first chapter. Entire first ''book''. And then it gets worse.
* DistractedByTheSexy: Dodge uses the Gender Key to employ this against Mark Cho, distracting him long enough to get close. Though seeing his male friend not only [[spoiler:turned evil]] but female, naked, and acting ''very'' seductively was probably a bit freaky as well.
* EarlyBirdCameo: [[spoiler:In the flashback to the 1988 high school production of Theatre/TheTempest, you can see not only the Anywhere Key in action, but also the Angel Key, Hercules Key and Crown of Shadows several issues before they debut.]]
* EverythingsNuttierWithSquirrels: In one issue which takes place over the course of a month, Dodge's various attacks on the Lockes are shown as single panels. One of them features an army of sword wielding squirrels. Sadly, the history of the Squirrel Key has yet to be revealed.
** Most likely it was the already-seen animal key. Both Dodge and Bode seemed to be able to control other animals like themselves, or at least the animals were highly suggestible to transformed humans, with [[spoiler:sparrows sacrificing themselves en masse for the ''possibility'' of causing one of the dogs/wolves to choke on them]].
** The Squirrel Key is shown in the panel, held by one of the squirrels. It has an acorn in the handle. (Unless it's an Acorn Key that Squirrel!Dodge uses to get acorns.)
* FateWorseThanDeath: Dodge at the beginning of the story. [[spoiler:Erin Voss, later.]]
** Also, what awaits all of mankind if Dodge succeeds in opening the Black Door.
* FireForgedFriends: Kinsey, Jackie, Jamal and Scot.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: "I can't wait to climb down from here and get large on you, bitch."
** In the first issue of ''Keys to the Kingdom,'' Bode briefly pretends that his head has been utterly emptied of all contents by the Head Key and he is unable to move, think, or care for himself. [[spoiler: The second issue features a woman who actually had that done to her]].
* GenderBender: I wonder what [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin The Gender Key]] does.
* GoodBadGirl: Jordan has downloaded her ethics paper from the internet, but she's not going to turn it in because "If you cheat in an ethics class there's really no hope for you."
* GoryDiscretionShot: Even though the series has no qualms about showing violence, there is one easy-to-miss moment that was intentionally done discreetly: In the first issue, during the murder of Rendell Locke, there is a panel showing Al Grubb [[spoiler:in Nina's bedroom - he's holding up his unbuttoned pants and Nina herself is nowhere to be seen. There are clear signs of a struggle that took place on the bed, including streaks of blood on the wall next to it. When next we see Nina, her clothes are severely torn, and there are four long parallel wounds in her hand as though someone grabbed her violently, scratching her hand with his fingernails in the process. This is clearer if you read the script book for the issue, and we see some definite hints that Nina Locke was raped off-panel]].
** Confirmed in ''Crown Of Shadows #6''.
** Again in "Clockworks". [[spoiler: Bode!Dodge]] pushes one of Bode's friends under a bus at it approaches. Subverted by that it is an open casket funeral
* [[spoiler: GrandTheftMe: Bode isn't Bode anymore.]]
* HeterosexualLifePartners: Kinsey and Jackie. Scot and Jamal.
* HeyYouHaymaker: Administered to Tyler by one of the shadow creatures.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: [[spoiler: Benjamin Locke seals away the parasites with a lock made from their own corpses.]]
* HopeSpot: At the end of "Clockworks #6", [[spoiler: It's implied that the fish hook on Tyler's hat is made from Whispering Iron, and could theoretically be used to create one final key. Whether they can use that knowledge to stop Dodge before he opens the Black Door remains to be seen...]]
* ImagineSpot: Tyler does this every now and then, usually imagining himself in outrageously badass costumes. Also, Jordan Gates lying on a school desk [[FetishFuel in her underwear]].
** Dodge does this in "Keys To The Kingdom", and his imagination is a bit more... ''disturbing''.
* IncrediblyLamePun: "Black-currents" jelly. Dodge instantly figures it out.
* [[spoiler:InfantImmortality: Averted with Jay Bird]]
* InstantAwesomeJustAddNinja: Subverted. Dodge briefly considers a Ninja disguise([[ShoutOut which looks a heck of a lot like]] [[NinjaGaiden Ryu Hayabusa]]), but decides against it.
* IronicEcho: In the first issue, Tyler looks down in the water and imagines his reflection with outfits appropriate to the other vacation destinations he wants to go to. Later, he looks into the water and sees himself covered in blood, as he was after beating Sam Lesser.
* JigsawPuzzlePlot
* KarmicTransformation: The "Grindhouse" one-shot has a rapist get turned into a woman.
* KickTheDog: Sam Lesser gets ''several'' moments in the first volume, most of them involving killing innocent people at random.
* KickTheSonOfABitch: As bad as Dodge is, it's hard not to cheer when he [[spoiler: kills Ellie's horrible, ''horrible'' mother.]]
* KilledOffForReal: Played straight, subverted, averted, take your pick.
* KnockKnockJoke: Rendell seems to have been fond of them.
* KudzuPlot
* LivingShadow: The Crown of Shadows.
* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: The series seems to be expanding into this trope as it explores its MythArc further. The Lockes of each generation, and then their friends, and then their friends, and then...
* MagicAIsMagicA: While it's implied the characters can create keys to their own specifications, once created, a key behaves the same every time.
* MentalTimeTravel: The Timeshift Key lets you do this.
* MistakenForRacist: Erin Voss, an old black woman in a mental institution, freaks out and starts yelling "WHITE! WHITE!" whenever she tries to talk to someone. This is attributed as being a hostile reaction to the white people who are always there (it is New England, after all) [[spoiler: but it's actually because her head was completely emptied out by Dodge, and all that's there is - endless white, which she sees whenever she tries to think coherently or interact with the world.]]
* MundaneUtility: Tyler uses the head key to cram his studies. It may have backfired.
** Dodge used the Head Key to become a great fencer, Tyler uses the Hercules Key to kick ass at hockey (and take out some frustrations) and Bode uses the Giant Key to play cars with ''real cars.'' Also in the flashback to the school's production of ''Theatre/TheTempest,'' the Anywhere Key, Hercules Key, Angel Key and Crown of Shadows were used to put on one ''hell'' of a show.
* NearDeathExperience: Basically, everyone who survives anything in this series gets to claim this.
* OurMonstersAreWeird: Dodge. And the creatures from the characters' heads, removed by the Head Key. Not surprising, when you remember that [[Creator/StephenKing Joe Hill's Dad]] is the poster boy for this trope in literature.
* OwlBeDamned: Dodge sends a metal owl monster after the Lockes at one point.
* PetTheDog: Sam Lesser's backstory.
* PuppeteerParasite: [[spoiler: A whole dimension of them await behind the Black Door.]]
* PuppyDogEyes: Bode. It doesn't work on Tyler, though apparently it 'usually' does.
* RapeAsDrama: [[spoiler: It's hinted this is one of the reasons why Nina is having such a hard time adjusting]].
* RevealingHug: [[spoiler: Dodge in Bode's body]] at the end of ''Keys to the Kingdom.''
* RhetoricalRequestBlunder: See the page quote.
* SealedEvilInACan: In a ''well'', to be more precise.
* SequelHook: [[spoiler:Dodge's escape and Bode finding the Head Key, and the {{Reveal}} about the Toy soldiers. Arguably, Kinsey removing her fears may also count as this]].
* ShootTheShaggyDog: [[spoiler: Sam's ultimate fate at the end of ''Keys to the Kingdom'' make his story an example of this.]]
* ShoutOut: Among the names (of Rendell Locke and his friends) scratched on the cave wall seen in the third volume, one is "[[JossWhedon Whedon]]".
** Not necessarily a shoutout, the name appears to read [[spoiler:Ellie Whedon]] to this troper, one of Rendall's [[spoiler:(and Dodge's)]] friends.
** Tyler is shown reading ''PeterPan'' to bode in ''Crown Of Shadows''.
** In Keys to the Kingdom #2, the patient directory at McClellan Hospital is made up almost entirely of comic authors/artists including, but not limited to, G. Ennis, K. Smith, and G. Jones.
** In a scene after the aforementioned Bill Watterson style ArtShift, Bode is seen reading a CalvinAndHobbes book.
** ''They live in a town called '''Lovecraft'''''!
** The Lovecraft hockey team plays against [[Franchise/FridayThe13th Voorhees High]]. If it wasn't obvious enough, the opposing players can be seen at the beginning and end of the issue wearing old-style goalie masks, even though they are not playing goalie, while Tyler is barefaced. The Lovecraft goalie is wearing a far more modern "cage" helmet.
* SoHappyTogether: [[spoiler: "I think I feel pretty shiny right now" and "Because it's your name for me."]]
* SuperStrength: The Hercules Key
* TellMeAboutMyFather: Kinsey goes through this in ''Crown Of Shadows'', even though her father's death was recent. Arguably, this is a major direction of the plot.
* ThisIsForEmphasisBitch: "Wait'll you get a load of how I plan to say goodbye, bitch." and "I can't wait to climb down from here and get large on you, bitch." With a cast full of high schoolers, it was inevitable.
* TonightSomeoneDies: Turns out it's [[spoiler: one of Rufus' action figures.]]
* WhamEpisode: At least one issue in each volume so far, and possibly the entirety of Keys to the Kingdom.
* WingedHumanoid: The Angel Key, though technically the key doesn't transform you, it animates a harness that you wear.
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: PlayedWith; Dodge [[spoiler:kills Sam because of this, but then it turns out he was using Sam to try and find the Omega Key]].
* ZergRush: At one point, Bode attacks Dodge with a flock of sparrows.
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