And Then I Read: LOCKE & KEY: CROWN OF SHADOWS, KEYS TO THE KINGDOM

Images © Joe Hill and IDW.

I hardly know where to start describing this series because it has so many aspects, all of them terrific. First, it's a fantasy with deep roots. The town of Lovecraft seems a fairly typical New England coastal town except for the Keyhouse and its grounds on the outskirts, a large house belonging to the Locke family, where the present residents have recently arrived from California after the death of their father. Keyhouse is a place full of wonders, and many of those wonders are unlocked with very unusual keys, like the one on the cover. In this third collection, the history and number of those keys continues to expand little by little, both in the main story and in the supplement, "The Known Keys," where the maker of the keys (and builder of the house) in a past century is becoming more apparent. The fantasy element to this series mainly revolves around the magical things the keys can do, such as giving one wings, turning one into a ghost, making any door a direct link to almost any other door, and many more fascinating things.

But in the main story, the focus is more on the horrible things that keep happening to the Locke family and their friends, and this is also a horror story with an evil villain masquerading as a friend, violent death, cruel treatment both physical and psychological, and dark places guaranteed to creep you out. Despite their ignorance of the true villainy around them, the Locke children and their mother manage somehow to get on with their lives as best they can in trying circumstances, each of them badly scarred by the death of their father/husband, each carrying secrets and hidden wounds of the soul. The characters are wonderfully well developed, from young Bode to sister Kinsey to older brother Tyler, each with a rich social life and friends that figure into the story.

In my review of the first two collections I complained a little about one aspect of the art by Gabriel Rodriguez: the fact that the facial features of his characters tend to be too similar. But the art on this series has become so appealing to me, full of rich detail, wonder, magic, and at times playfulness, not to mention horrific and suspenseful and unflinchingly cruel where required, that I hardly noticed that small flaw. In fact, I think it's fading away. I love the art on this series as much as the writing.

So what does volume 4, Keys to the Kingdom, add to this great series? New keys, of course, each more fascinating than the last. The musical key on the cover, for instance, unlocks a music box, and what happens when the music plays will surprise you! Then there's the first chapter, which is an homage to the comic strip "Calvin and Hobbes," both in storytelling style and art, that nonetheless advances the story and is full of suspense, terror and gruesome death, while at the same time being quite funny. Tour-de-force writing and art! And the rest of the collection is just a wonderful.

Here's a page revealing another creative key, this one with the ability to change a person's race. How's that for inventive? And Rodriguez' art continues to evolve, getting better all the time.

This is a book full of great ideas, and terrific storytelling, inventive and playful, chilling, suspenseful and heart-wrenching. In short, it's brilliant. I hesitate to delve further into the plot because I think every reader deserves a chance to plunge into this world and discover it for themselves. It gets my HIGHEST recommendation.