"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 Graphic Novels written by Joe Hill and illustrated by Gabriel Rodriguez.A highly detailed, amazingly written tale with a lot of past mysteries and a 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, their kiddie brother). 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.In the new house, little Bode finds a key that unlocks a door, and if you go through it, you turn into a ghost. Inside the old mansion's well-house Bode also finds a mysterious young woman trapped inside the well, imprisoned there for decades without food or water. And she's still alive, healthy and beautiful. But her reflection shows a grotesque, skull-faced creature. This thing uses magical powers to free their father's murderer from jail, and Tyler and Kinsey are forced to confront their worst nightmares when the murderer comes after them - looking for a Key.And then, believe it or not, things get REALLY weird.This is a complex, highly interwoven horror drama, complete with a Voldemort-like villain, 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; etc etc.Like 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 the kids' father into light, and thus linking into the larger narrative. As of May 2011, four volumes have been released: Welcome To Lovecraft, Head Games, Crown Of Shadows, and Keys To The Kingdom.A perfect example of Better Than It Sounds, it's hard to sum up the series in a few words. Like Neil Gaiman's Sandman and J.K.Rowling's You-Know-What, Joe Hill uses a number of Chekhov's Guns in the storytelling, so better pay attention when you read.Now has a character sheet.
The Series contains examples of:
Academy of Adventure: 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.
A Day in the Limelight: The narration switches between the point-of-views of different characters in different issues.
Adults Are Useless: Interesting variation: like in Peter Pan, adults will forget about magic as they grow up; hence why Rendell Locke doesn't remember about the keys.
All There in the Manual: The author's website and blog provided background information on the magical keys during the release of the Welcome To Lovecraft TPB book.
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 seen to be believed.
Artifact of Death: The Ghost Key, especially since Dodge uses it to kill Sam Lesser at end of the first volume.
Art Shift: 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 Calvin and Hobbes, while a later issue has a few scenes from Rufus's POV done in the style of an old war comic.
Angst: Most notably in the third volume's final chapter.
Bus Full of Innocents: Get killed in volume 1. In a variation, the bus isn't full of innocents - only five people, all of which are murdered and the bus blown up by Sam.
Cast of Snowflakes: 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.
Casual Danger Dialogue: 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.
Cat Scare: The begining of Crown Of Shadows #3 is somewhere between this and Scare Chord; though this being a comic there's no music to accompany the scene.
Despair Event Horizon: Sam Lesser and Al Grubb's attack on the Locke's at the beginning.
Early-Bird Cameo: In the flashback to the 1988 high school production of The Tempest, 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.
Everything's Nuttier With Squirrels: 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.
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. The second issue features a woman who actually had that done to her.
Good Bad Girl: 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."
Gory Discretion Shot: 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 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.
Imagine Spot: Tyler does this every now and then, usually imagining himself in outrageously badass costumes. Also, Jordan Gates lying on a school desk in her underwear.
Dodge does this in "Keys To The Kingdom", and his imagination is a bit more....disturbing.
Incredibly Lame Pun: "Black-currents" jelly. Dodge instantly figures it out.
Ironic Echo: 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.
Kick the Son of a Bitch: As bad as Dodge is, it's hard not to cheer when he kills Ellie's horrible mother.
Kudzu Plot: Yay, the Big BadSam Lesser's dead! Tyler's spirit is back in his body, the day's saved, all's well. Waitaminit, what's that? Did the monster-woman in the wellhouse just get away? And she's actually a guy? What's up with that? And did we just see Sam's ghost lingering in the doorway? What's the connection between Dodge and Coach Ellie? Where the hell did Kinsey get that bracelet? And seriously, what the fuck is up with those toy soldiers?
Kick the Dog: Sam Lesser gets several moments in the first volume, most of them involving killing innocent people at random.
Mistaken for Racist: 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) 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.
Mundane Utility: Tyler uses the head key to cram his studies. By the events seen in the third volume, 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 The Tempest, the Anywhere Key, Hercules Key, Angel Key and Crown of Shadows were used to put on one hell of a show.
Our Monsters Are Weird: Dodge. And the creatures from the characters' heads, removed by the Head Key. Not surprising, when you remember that Joe Hill's Dad is the poster boy for this trope in literature.
Owl Be Damned: Dodge sends a metal owl monster after the Lockes at one point.
Sequel Hook: 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.
Shoot the Shaggy Dog: Sam's ultimate fate at the end of Keys to the Kingdom make his story an example of this.
Shout Out: Among the names (of Rendell Locke and his friends) scratched on the cave wall seen in the third volume, one is "Whedon".
Not necessarily a shoutout, the name appears to read Ellie Whedon to this troper, one of Rendall's (and Dodge's) friends.
Tyler is shown reading Peter Pan to bode in Crown Of Shadows.
In Keys to the Kingdom #2, the patient directory at Mc Clellan 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 Art Shift, Bode is seen reading a Calvin and Hobbes book.
Super Strength: Combine a certain pendant with the Hercules Key.
Tell Me About My Father: Kinsey goes through this in Crown Of Shadows, even though her father's death was recent.
This Is for Emphasis, Bitch!: "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."
Wham Episode: At least one issue in each volume so far (The Final Chapter Of Welcome To Lovecraft and the First Chapter Of Head Games). Hill seems to have every intention of continuing the trend, with The Second Chapter, "In The Cave" of Crown Of Shadows.
And the trend continues with the last chapter of Keys to the Kingdom.
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