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Thursday, October 26, 2017

Locke & Key by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodríguez

Locke & Key is a comic book series about three siblings who discover mysterious keys in their ancestral home, which unlock doors with all sorts of magical properties -- giving a person wings, turning a person into an animal, fixing broken things.  As so often happens in these types of stories, there is also a demon trying to gain control of the keys for nefarious purposes whom the family must fight.

It's the kind of thing that's right up my alley, with one big exception -- the story is thoroughly in the horror genre*, not fantasy (or even its sub-category, dark fantasy), and I really don't like horror. Before starting the series I deliberately sought out spoilers to ensure it didn't have a totally depressing ending and to prepare myself for some of the events.  And still, it was a tough read. A lot of very bad things happen, some deserved and some not; the subplot involving a mentally challenged young teen was particularly stressful for me.

Despite all of that, I'm glad I read it.  It's a fascinating story, the backstory and characters are well done, the artwork is evocative, and there are cool concepts galore.  Above all, the portrayal of a family shattered by horrific events but surviving because of their love for each other was touching.

*Joe Hill is Steven King's son.

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