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Locke & Key, Vol. 2: Head Games

(Locke & Key #2)

Joe Hill (Goodreads Author),

Gabriel Rodríguez (Artist)

4.33 · Rating details · 38,700 ratings · 2,449 reviews

Following a shocking death that dredges up memories of their father's murder, Kinsey and Tyler Locke are thrown into choppy emotional waters, and turn to their new friend, Zack Wells, for support, little suspecting Zack's dark secret.

Meanwhile, six-year-old Bode Locke tries to puzzle out the secret of the head key, and Uncle Duncan is jarred into the past by a disturbingl ...more

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Hardcover, 160 pages

Published February 2015 by IDW Publishing (first published September 1st 2009)

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May 04, 2012 Anne rated it really liked it

Shelves: graphic-novels, read-in-2012, horror, kindle, read-in-2015, read-in-2020

I've read this multiple times now and I keep thinking that this time I won't like it as much.
Not so.
This is such an awesome title that I would honestly recommend it even if you're not traditionally a fan of horror or the graphic medium. Really. It's just storytelling at its best.

description

Volume 2 is about the Head Key. As far as the Key goes, I thought it was less scary and more sci-fi. I'm sure a lot of you would disagree with me, but it just didn't seem creepy to unlock your head. Weird, strange, and s ...more

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Jul 31, 2015 Shelby *trains flying monkeys* rated it really liked it

Shelves: comix-graphix, liburry-book, read-2015

This book starts with someone dying and then goes on to find another key.
The head key.

You stick the key in the back of your neck and viola! your skull pops open. You can even look into your own head.
You see what all's in there. You can put stuff in and take some things that bother you out.

You know that's not going to end well. Unless you are like some of us and there isn't much there to begin with.

This volume does have quiet a bit of back story so be ready for that if you are reading it. ...more

flag 95 likes · Like · see review

Sep 16, 2019 Kayla Dawn rated it really liked it

These are really really good?!

Thank you Kindle Unlimited, without you I would've never started this series lol. ...more

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Jul 17, 2013 Wil Wheaton rated it it was amazing

Shelves: graphic-novels, horror

Just like the great second chapters in epic series (like Empire Strikes Back or The Two Towers) this ends on a very dark, down, disturbing note. Things just keep getting worse for the Locke family, and I'm really glad that I'm so late to the party on Locke & Key, because I can go right into Volume 3 without letting the despair of Volume 2 linger too long. ...more

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May 21, 2015 Sean Gibson rated it really liked it

It’s disconcerting watching someone open up their head and rummage around amongst their memories. Like, literally open up their head and physically manipulate memories.

That said, I enjoyed this a great deal, moreso than volume 1, and am looking forward to more...

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Mar 19, 2020 ¸¸.•*¨*•♫ Mrs. Buttercup •*¨*•♫♪ rated it liked it

Shelves: comics-graphic-novels, kindle

Okay, I'll admit it: you guys were right when you kept recommending this series to me for ever and I was wrong thinking this was another over-hyped comic that I'll end up hating! I absolutely love this! This second volume was even more interesting than the first, and the story was so compelling that at some point the fact I don't really like the artwork and colouring stopped bothering me completely. Or maybe I just started liking it. I just couldn't put this down! ...more

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May 26, 2014 Algernon (Darth Anyan) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: comics, 2014

Their father was murdered.
They don’t know one of their closest friends is really their enemy...
And he’ll stop at nothing to get the key to the black door.
The other keys have the power to save them.
This is where they’ll make their stand.

house

“They” are the Locke kids from the title of the series: Tyler, Kinsey and Bode. In the first volume, they must overcome personal tragedy and survive the terror of being hunted by a psychopat. Now they find out that there is more to discover behind the murder of ...more

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Jun 16, 2015 Will M. rated it really liked it

Shelves: horror, paranormal, graphic-novels, 2015

Review of the first volume: Locke & Key, Vol. 1: Welcome to Lovecraft

I immediately went ahead and read the second volume of the Locke and Key series. The first volume was very satisfactory, providing a good introduction to the series. The second volume didn't disappoint either, as the novel developed even further.

The first volume was pure introduction to the world and characters, but it didn't focus much on the keys. I'm very glad that the second one focused on one particular key, and the secret ...more

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Nov 19, 2017 Sarah rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: z2017, graphic-novels

Dark, creepy, awesome. These comics are so freaking cool! I love them! The story is cool and so is the artwork. Can't wait to read more. ...more

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Feb 21, 2015 Kelly (and the Book Boar) rated it really liked it

Shelves: liburrrrrry-book, read-in-2015, pitcherbooks

Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/

It’s time for another visit to Keyhouse : )

Head Games is the second volume in the Locke and Key series. While I’m still holding firm to the hope that this will end up being a 5 Star collection, this particular volume only earns 4 . . . Which is still good, so lay off! After a gut-wrenching and action packed debut, Volume II settles down a bit in order to go over some much needed, but not as exciting, backstory. In order to move fo ...more

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Feb 10, 2012 mark monday rated it really liked it

Shelves: x-locke-and-key, comicon

oooooo..... more eerie adventures on that strange island in that creepy Key House with that poor, haunted family. wonderful! this volume is as strong as the first. while the first book was focused on slowly bringing the family and the reader into this fascinating world - introducing a handful of magical keys, throwing out a few hints of the incredible backstory, setting up a confrontation between the family and both a dreadful psycho & a creepy spirit villain - the second book zooms in one parti oooooo..... more eerie adventures on that strange island in that creepy Key House with that poor, haunted family. wonderful! this volume is as strong as the first. while the first book was focused on slowly bringing the family and the reader into this fascinating world - introducing a handful of magical keys, throwing out a few hints of the incredible backstory, setting up a confrontation between the family and both a dreadful psycho & a creepy spirit villain - the second book zooms in one particular key and one particularly fertile concept.

the key in question is fascinating: it gives you the ability to unlock your own head, put things into it (like a textbook! who needs to study? just pop that baby right into the box and all the answers are instantly available), and take things out as well (like bad memories... like fear... like an ability to feel sadness or doubt or even cry). and how this is exactly accomplished is one of the most enjoyable and rather jaw-dropping conceits of Head Games. i literally gasped out loud, then laughed and laughed and laughed. awesome.

Head Games is a lot more than just a perfectly realized and fairly unique idea. it takes that idea and expands upon it, in a truly literary style. no, scratch that, not "literary"... this is a graphic novel and the artist Gabriel Rodriguez is an equal partner in the undertaking. his art is wondrous. the word that comes most immediately to mind is limpid. Head Games deals with a lot of cloudy, ambiguous, mysterious goings-on and the art illustrates these mysteries with a clarity that is nearly hallucinatory. does that make any sense? a kind of hallucinogenic, so-real-it's-stylized pellucidity. wow i'm really tossing out the $10 words in this review.

but back to what i was saying. what makes Joe Hill such a strong writer is that he doesn't just unveil his gem of an idea and leave it there. he expands upon it, he works through it: what the inside of a person's imagination may look like (some extraordinary details there), how someone's fears and emotions can both hold them back and make them who they are, how we are controlled by our memories of different events and how those memories may differ from reality, how different people engage in different ways with their own personas, and more. a lot of food for thought. it is exciting to see how Hill plays with his ideas while keeping them carefully rooted in an astute, clear-eyed view of how our emotions rule us - how the human mind actually works.

all that plus the stories of two very different but equally tragic supporting characters, a villain who is slippery & cunning & menacing & yet terrifically real, a well-developed gay character, an increasingly intriging backstory, and some very endearing kid protagonists. this is a must-read series. ...more

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Feb 07, 2013 Dave Schaafsma rated it really liked it

Shelves: gn-horror

Brian Vaughn writes the intro to this second volume, which made me consider how Joe Hill is beginning to match up with the contemporary horror/sci-fi/fantasy comics greats such as Neil Gaiman, Joss Whedon or Vaughn himself. In short, he's not yet at that level. Surely Gaiman is technically better, deeper, more philosophical, more serious writing horror in all respects, but Hill is still good: witty, scary, imaginative, good writer of dialogue. And the core of this is like a lot of good horror, p ...more

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Dec 09, 2009 Trudi rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2009, all-in-the-family, 2015, series, joe-hill, re-reads, 2012, what-the-bleep, graphic-novel, stephen-king-recommends

2015 re-read. Magical, wondrous, crazy series continues to feel magical, wondrous and crazy. Like Warren Ellis in his introduction to this volume, I too want to find a key that opens up Joe Hill's head and steal from within all the "clever bits" -- because Mr. Hill is just too clever for his own damn good. Can this series possibly end as Herculean strong as it's begun? Also, a resounding standing ovation for the artwork of Gabriel Rodriguez.

2012 review:
If you've yet to begin on the wondrous and ...more

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Sep 27, 2019 ☠Kayla☠ rated it liked it

I don't read graphic novels nearly enough but I will say I do really enjoy this series. It's hard for me to rate it though. I really like it, but also I'm so lost and I cant make much sense out of it. I still cant wait to read more! All in all this is so far a good series that makes you question a lot. ...more

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Jun 08, 2014 Leah rated it it was amazing

Once again, my original review has spoilers. I don't recommend you reading past the 2014 numbers.

HEAD GAMES was an excellent second part to this story. I sometimes wish I had more to say when I love a book other than “holy shit, this is amazing…” However, I normally don’t.

I still very much suggest trying this series out if you haven't yet. It just gets better in this second volume. If I remember correctly, the head key is my favorite. It's a fascinating idea.

6/8 - 6/9 2014
Locke & Key Volume ...more

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Nov 05, 2019 Sara rated it liked it

Shelves: horror, graphic-novels, fiction, library-loan

The second Locke & Key graphic novel volume follows directly on from the first as we find the three Locke children in deadly danger from a visitor from the past. This volume wasn’t as tension filled or action packed as the last, relying more on plot and character development to drive it forward instead of action. As such, I found the pace a lot slower, with the enemy moving forward with their mysterious plans unknown by the children, but nothing really happening in terms of questions being answe ...more

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Apr 21, 2020 Tan Markovic rated it really liked it

Excited to go to sleep so I can wake up and read the next one....... That level of love for this series right now!

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Aug 25, 2014 Chad rated it it was amazing

There are so many crazy, wacky elements of this story to go along with the horror side. It's a fantastic mix of the two. The whole idea of the head key and the visuals when looking into one's own head is just bonkers and I love it. Especially seeing each person peek over the top into their own head. We really see how evil and manipulative Zack / Luke / Dodge is in this.

Rodriguez's art continues to impress. I love how he uses heavy inks to outline and weight the important elements of each panel. ...more

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Feb 26, 2020 Montzalee Wittmann rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

What an amazing imagination!

Locke&Key Vol 2: Head Games by Joe Hill continues this wild and crazy story! In this book, Bode finds out what the next key does and it freaks out everyone but his mom, ( she is in shock). What this does will leave you with a creepy feeling, at least it did me! The thing in the well house is a big player for Team Evil and has a large role.
The graphics are super tremendous! I loved just looking at the illustrations! Pick up this graphic book series but start with book ...more

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Feb 19, 2020 Pantelis Andreou rated it it was amazing

This stuff is really great! I wonder what will happen next!

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Feb 24, 2020 Trish rated it really liked it · review of another edition

In this 2nd volume of the series we get the Head Key. The Head Key opens what you'd expect: people's heads. You get to see their memories and can put knowledge in there or take something out.
Kinsey and Tyler have made friends with a boy that looks an awful lot like one who has been at their school one generation earlier - a friend of Kinsey's and Tyler's dad to be exact. For those, who have seen the show, the mystery is no mystery and I must say that it was almost painfully obvious in the comic ...more

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Feb 09, 2011 J.G. Keely rated it it was ok

Shelves: reviewed, comics, fantasy, horror

Well, I was hoping that if I kept on with the series, I'd get used to the art, but unfortunately not. Giant chins and tiny, lipless mouths everywhere. And everyone looks like a pallid corpse thanks to the questionable choice of shading all fleshtones with an unsaturated grey. It's just not pretty.

And I don't think it's some deliberate attempt at disquieting horror art, either, because low-saturation isn't the way to make unsettlingly corpselike characters. There's a whole palette of greens, blu Well, I was hoping that if I kept on with the series, I'd get used to the art, but unfortunately not. Giant chins and tiny, lipless mouths everywhere. And everyone looks like a pallid corpse thanks to the questionable choice of shading all fleshtones with an unsaturated grey. It's just not pretty.

And I don't think it's some deliberate attempt at disquieting horror art, either, because low-saturation isn't the way to make unsettlingly corpselike characters. There's a whole palette of greens, blues, and yellows out there that have been used to great effect in horror comics, and that's not what we're getting. It's not realistic, nor is it stylized, which seems to be my problem with this book in general.

We've got more and more plot unfolding everywhere, but no small story or character arcs to keep us entertained in the meantime. If Hill isn't going to give us small payoffs as we go along, the one at the end is going to have to be gobsmacking to make up for it. Too many good authors have dug that hole and proved how daunting it is to escape.

So far, the main impetus for the plot is watching the fox in the henhouse and waiting for them to stop him. It's about as dynamic as a car wreck in slow motion. You see everything coming, and there's a kind of unpleasantness as Hill slowly brings about the inevitable, but I'm not sure that it constitutes 'horror'.

Horror has to surprise us, not just make us squeamish, and there aren't going to be any surprises unless they start with the characters. So far, they're mostly archetypal: tools for facilitating the plot. Hill is all about pacing and getting the plot moving, which is impressive, but without the depth, voice, and character to back it up, what's the point? It's all getting a bit tedious.

It's unusual to see someone who has polished the structure of his writing so much but who is so otherwise lacking in subtlety and style. Usually, these aspects develop in tandem, but sometimes you find authors who work to perfect one aspect of their craft so much that the rest suffers.

It's those little things that make characters stand out: turns of phrase, emotional reactions, hypocrisies; things that indicate that the character has a past and an existence outside of the story (including plot-revealing flashbacks). I'm just not getting that from Hill and it's disappointing, because I want to like this story, I want to connect with it, I want to see its ideas explored, its influences nodded to and twisted around, but so far it's all too convenient, too plainly artificial.

And yet, it doesn't save itself by relishing its own artificial nature; a strong cliche can be a lot of fun, a weak, degraded cliche rarely is. It's neither realistic, nor an adventure, and I feel like this story is really losing itself between the extremes.

The background art is still far and away the most impressive part of the comic, but unfortunately, it never becomes the focus for longer than an establishing shot. It could be very effective if the comic quietly lingered on it, shifting through scenes and places and letting them become real, like in Hellboy. But we've got a lot of expositionary dialogue and flashbacks to get through if we're going to get to the good vs. evil climax any time soon, so we march on.

I can't stand a villain without a motive, and if ours has one, there's no indication of it in his one-track personality. So far, he just feels like a tool, in more ways than one, and the way the camera lingers on him, I'm starting to think the author has an unhealthy passion for his villainy, since we see it demonstrated over and over. We get it, he's the bad guy, now make us care!

My Suggested Reading In Comics ...more

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Jul 23, 2019 Ginger rated it really liked it

Shelves: library-book, graphic-novel, 2019

Another great addition to the Locke & Key series!

Head Games starts after new high school friend, Zack Wells gets introduced to the Locke family. Kinsey and Tyler seem to really like Zack and they're both still trying to get over the murder of their father.

Uncle Duncan seems to be having issues remembering a face from the past and Bode Locke finds a new key in Keyhouse.

This key involves adding or subtracting something from your head.
Yeah, it might seem weird but it was super cool and a bit creepy ...more

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Aug 18, 2017 destiny ♡⚔♡ [howling libraries] rated it really liked it

Shelves: adult, owned-physical, horror, graphic-novels-manga-comics

Another great volume of Locke & Key! I love Joe Hill's bizarre, creepy writing style, and the illustrations in this graphic novel are just gorgeous. There's so much detail and intricacy, and you really want to look closely at every panel because sometimes, there are tiny little details hidden that are just so neat.

This volume introduces the Head Key, which is literally a key that, when inserted into the back of one's neck, opens their skull and allows them to see all the little goodies (and badd ...more

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Jun 03, 2015 Bradley rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, graphic-novels

Okay, this one was much better. We're finally getting some more rules for the magic. Limitations always make for great stories. It also helps that I now wish I could get my hands on that key and straight dump all the books I've ever read into my noggin. And a lot more, of course. I wonder how the magic would rearrange me? Fascinating.

Back to the story. Dodge is rather interesting. He's building into something Lynch-like, and I like it.

All the over-the-top prejudice stuff feels like a page taken ...more

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Jul 09, 2015 Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin rated it it was amazing

Shelves: comics-graphic-manga, library-book

www.melissa413readsalot.blogspot.com

This second installment was awesome! It was creepy, weird and I loved it. You will never guess where the other key goes!

I loved the graphics and the continuing storyline. I look forward to the next book in the wonderful world of Joe Hill! ...more

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Jan 17, 2015 Sam Quixote rated it it was ok

The Locke family kids, Tyler, Kinsey and Bode, are slowly recovering from their father’s brutal death and settling in to their Lovecraftian manse which is located in, funnily enough, Lovecraft, Massachusetts. But their new friend, Zack Wells (because he lived in a well, geddit?!) aka Lucas “Luke” Don Caravaggio (Worst. Character Name. Ever.) is killing people because he has a plan for the Locke kids that nobody knows anything about but it’s bound to be creepy. Also: more magic keys!

I have no id The Locke family kids, Tyler, Kinsey and Bode, are slowly recovering from their father’s brutal death and settling in to their Lovecraftian manse which is located in, funnily enough, Lovecraft, Massachusetts. But their new friend, Zack Wells (because he lived in a well, geddit?!) aka Lucas “Luke” Don Caravaggio (Worst. Character Name. Ever.) is killing people because he has a plan for the Locke kids that nobody knows anything about but it’s bound to be creepy. Also: more magic keys!

I have no idea what people see in this series.

Let’s talk about Zack/Luke – who or what is this character? He’s the baddie, sure, but in such a one-dimensional way. He can live forever because he’s spooky so he always looks like a teen - wooo! He begins knocking off anyone who recognises him because, while he has powers, he can’t change his appearance, which would solve all his problems in this book.

So why is he cosying up to the Locke kids – what’s his plan? Unsatisfyingly, we don’t find out. I guess that’s the “mystery” portion to this “horror” (which also isn’t very horrific – boring gun murders fill the book again) but I would’ve liked a glimpse into what’s going on otherwise why should I care? I’m supposed to just trust Joe Hill, a writer who hasn’t earned that yet? No dice.

Magic keys. There’s one in this book that can open up people’s heads – literally! When the key nears people’s heads, a keyhole appears in the base of their skull, the key goes in and the top half of their head – minus the brain and everything else – disappears. The person is conscious through all of this and even appears behind themselves to peer into their empty heads. And their memories – which, if you think about it, would be uncountable – are depicted as a dozen or so dancing about physically inside.

Think about that description. How utterly retarded does that sound?! It reminds me of Stephen King (Hill’s dad) and his novel Dreamcatcher – remember how memory was depicted in that trash? Like a stacks library where, when you retrieve a memory, you literally wander through the shelves and pull it out with the memory itself depicted as a file. The King family are a very literal, very unimaginative family.

Also, you can shove in books into your gaping head hole and you’ve “read” that book. So the object just disappears and your brain and everything else reappears but you retain the knowledge? Where does the physical object go?! Oh and Kinsey takes out her emotions?! “Sadness” and “Fear”, two mini-avatars bouncing around her head get plucked out and placed in a bottle – does this mean she can never be sad or fearful again? So when she loses another loved one, she’ll be chuckling or when she’s facing danger, she won’t bother saving herself? This comic is GARBAGE!

Zack/Luke goes around killing, even raping the woman he’s holding hostage in her own home, there’s some unpleasant homophobia where the Locke kids’ uncle Duncan gets glassed by asshole townies, followed by even more unpleasantness with child abuse when a developmentally challenged kid has lit cigarettes put out on him – what do people like about this trashy comic again!?

Gabriel Rodriguez’s art is ok I suppose – it’s his own style and, though the lines seem a bit too thick, the pages look fine. But that’s about the only real positive I can ascribe to Locke and Key Volume 2, a book as empty-headed as its characters. ...more

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Oct 22, 2017 James DeSantis rated it really liked it

Locke and Key continues to be a extremely interesting series.

So the kids have gained the ability to open heads. Like they can open someone's head, reach in, and grab a memory or a creature of a memory, and tear it out and it's formed in real life. How nuts is that? Also we have the villain here being evil as fuck and scheming the hell out of this family. Also the uncle is going through some crazy shit once he leaves and it's only going to get worse.

Good: Some of this shit is the funniest comic ...more

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Oct 10, 2017 Calista rated it it was amazing

Shelves: comics-graphic-novel, 2015, genre-fantasy, genre-horror-gothic, series, award-various, bage-young-adult, i-idw, z-joe-hill

Wow, this series is good. I want to know more of what's happening. It feels like the antagonist Zac is winning and the main characters are totally losing at this point. They don't have a clue. I can't figure out how the story is going to go. That is a rare thing. I love the art and I think the story is new. It's doing some 'Inside Out' stuff. It really is about head games.

What joy to find something I can't figure out what is going to happen. I'm surprised and interested in everything. If you rea ...more

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Nov 10, 2017 Mindi rated it it was amazing

See Locke & Key, Vol. 6: Alpha & Omega for my review of the entire series.

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About Joe Hill

Joe Hill

21,491 followers

Joe Hill's debut, Heart-Shaped Box, won the Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel. His second, Horns, was made into a film freakfest starring Daniel Radcliffe. His other novels include NOS4A2, and his #1 New York Times Best-Seller, The Fireman... which was also the winner of a 2016 Goodreads Choice Award for Best Horror Novel.

He writes short stories too. Some of them were gathered together in ...more