In LOCKE & KEY: WELCOME TO LOVECRAFT, we have not only novelist Joe Hill’s first crack at writing full-length comics, but something of a benchmark for comics in general in terms of narrative storytelling. Although comprised of six separate, serialized issues, this collection feels like a full novel. And not just any novel, but a really ripping one.
It begins, as many deeply affecting scare stories do, with a tragedy: Rendell Locke, a loving husband, father and high school guidance counselor, is murdered at his house by Sam, a particularly troubled student of his. While middle sister Kinsey and little brother Bode hide for safety, big brother Tyler fights back, knocking Sam out and preventing further carnage. Well, for now …
In an attempt to repair, rebuild and reconnect, the Locke family moves to a remote island mansion owned by the family. It’s one of those massive abodes that, from the looks of the exterior, has to share a floor plan with Shirley Jackson’s Hill House, so you know things aren’t going to be much easier, despite the change of scenery.
Ever-inquisitive and curious as most little boys are, Bode quickly takes to exploring the home and its spacious, seemingly idyllic grounds. His big find is a doorway where, once its threshold is passed, yanks the life out of your body and turns you into a ghost. While his lifeless shell lay behind, tongue askew, Bode’s spirit spies on his family members. When he’s done, he simply returns to his body, and all’s well again.
The next revelation is that someone — or something — lives in the well. It talks to Bode, presenting itself at first as his echo, but then making known that it wants out. The supernatural force within fully presents itself as another visitor steps foot on the Locke estate to say hello: Sam.
It speaks well to the strength of Hill’s story that if all visuals were removed, it would still work. The haunted house genre is one that falls back on the old reliable all too often, but here, Hill reapproaches it and applies a fresh coat of paint. In his extreme makeover, he’s created something of an epic, rich with potential and mythology. Dare I compare it to sharing the scope of THE SHINING? Well, I guess I just did.
Gabriel Rodriguez provides the art, and it proves to be the perfect marriage to Hill’s words, bringing them to bizarre life, with a touch of the macabre and a big dollop of the disturbing. As you read, it will come as no shock that film rights to LOCKE & KEY were snapped up long ago by Dimension, and there are a few panels so creepy that whoever ends up directing a movie version would be wise to replicate. —Rod Lott
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THIS AUTHOR:
• HEART-SHAPED BOX by Joe Hill
• 20TH CENTURY GHOSTS by Joe Hill
Related posts:
- BOOKS 2 FILM >> The H.P. Lovecraft Collection: Volume 5 – Strange Aeons: The Thing on the Doorstep
- BOOKS 2 FILM >> The H.P. Lovecraft Collection: Volume 3 – Out of Mind
- BOOKS 2 FILM >> The H.P. Lovecraft Collection: Volume 2 – Rough Magik
- BOOKS 2 FILM >> The H.P. Lovecraft Collection: Volume 4 – Pickman’s Model
- Showcase Presents The House of Mystery: Volume 2
