Locke & Key: Alpha & Omega

I don’t usually put spoiler warnings here but I’m making an exception with this. Locke & Key is a series that is at its best when it has the ability to shock and surprise. As such I’d firmly suggest reading the first five volumes before checking out what I have to say below. I won’t mention anything specific that happens in this collection, but I can’t make the same promise about the first five. You’ve been warned.

Alpha and Omega had a lot to achieve. As Locke & Key’s final (regular) arc it had to provide fitting resolutions for the main cast, explain the origins of the otherworldly Lovecraftian soul-stealers, give the dastardly Dodge his comeuppance, and dish out a few more facts about the mythology of the series. It also had to live up to the high standard set by volumes one to five and be generally compelling.

It was a tall order but the series did at least have seven issues to tell its story in. That was one more than normal.

Happily Locke & Key here gets the ending it deserved. Joe Hill’s inventive streak is alive and well, firing out revelations and one or two final keys. His knack for writing empathetic characters is as apparent as ever, something easily overlooked with a series with such a wonderfully inventive central concept. Tyler and Bode-Dodge are particular highlights. The oldest Locke child has been taken from an impulsive, angry teenager grieving over his father’s death into a young man who thinks about and considers his actions across the course of the series. The way he’s written here shows how good a job Hill’s done at progressing him, and it was so natural that it wasn’t immediately noticeable.

Dodge, still wearing the body of Bode, is impressive for an entirely different reason. As the character in the know he’s the one who gets all the infodumps and monologues. It’s information most readers will have been waiting to get for a long time and so needed to be included. It could have been forced and unnatural but Hill manages to make it compelling and natural dialogue. It’s an impressive accomplishment.

Gabriel Rodriguez is just as on form as his creative partner. The page which shows Dodge talking about bringing armies through the black gate, surrounded by at first dozens and then just a few possessed humans, is particularly good. It hints at the key powers we’ve never seen at the same time as creating an interesting visual for what would otherwise be a boring bit of prattle. Rodriguez is just as important when it comes to making those moments worthwhile as Hill.

It was the final additions to the mythology I was looking forward to most, being someone more interested in ideas than plot when reading comics. I wasn’t disappointed. Every plot gap you could want filled in is and the motives of the horrors from beyond are satisfyingly single-minded and depraved. Hill does his creation justice.

But with all of this said it was in many ways the story that mattered the most here. In addition to a fantastic concept Locke & key had given us a great story told in perfectly judged instalments across its previous five volumes. It all could have fallen apart in this volume had the story not delivered the proverbial goods. But it does. There’s a climactic battle with a logical reason for happening, Dodge meets an unpleasant end, and Ty gets one last farewell with his dad. What happens to Bode makes sense but it’s not something I’ll comment on here. The series needs to have some surprises for you to discover yourselves.

All in all Alpha & Omega is a great end to a great series. Thank you Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez for giving us one of the best written series comicdom has ever had. What could have been a wonderful idea milked endlessly was instead something to look forward to and savour. It’s something that can be returned to again and again. It’s a fantastic accomplishment.

Locke & Key: Keys to the Kingdom

After three six issue series readers were still keen for more Locke & Key. Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez were happy to give it to them. But they altered their approach a little to keep it fresh.

Keys to the Kingdom is far more experimental with what Locke & Key can be than any of the first three volumes, both in terms of writing and artwork. The first issue sees Rodriguez channelling Calvin and Hobbes creator Bill Watterson for a story that plays with the idea of how we view things differently as we age. Youngest Locke child Bode gets the Watterson treatment as he feels left out by his siblings and unable to connect with children his own age. It’s a nice self-contained story that contributes to the whole as well as serving as a reminder for the main characters of the series. The different approach to the artwork is a welcome change and shows how talented an artist Rodriguez is.

The third issue also presents a non-traditional script. We follow the Locke kids’ adventures throughout a calendar month, each day getting anywhere from a panel to a page dedicated to it. Hill uses this as a chance to show the passage of time in a way that only comics can, and subtly moves his story and characters along too. It’s not a mind-blowing approach, but it’s something different and something that Hill utilises to full effect.

Hill is also far more willing to play around with the concept of the keys than he has been before. Previously he introduced keys almost reluctantly, always making sure they weren’t used frivolously and ensuring he looked at the full scope of all the powers a new key introduced. With Keys to the Kingdom he introduces half a dozen new keys, many of which have powers that could support a mini-series in their own right. A mirror key allows people to change their ethnicity while a Mr T style medallion (naturally featuring a tell-tale keyhole) imbues wearers with incredible strength and we get a tantalising glimpse of Kinsey gliding around with wings sprouted from her back.

In addition to those Hill also throws in some throwaway keys clearly intended to be humorous. We see a monster made from thorns and another made from chains, the latter being battled by a muscular Bode, an acorn key that has a strange effect on squirrels, and a teddy bear with an intriguing lock in the back of its neck. There’s a sense of fun to it all and you get the feeling that Hill finally feels comfortable to play around with his creation after getting his characters and the rest of the book’s mythology established. It was worth waiting for.

Previous volumes are not ignored and there’s no sense of this being the volume where Hill and Rodriguez slow down and decide to milk their creation. Along with the fun and interesting keys we also get more developments and revelations regarding the main story than we have in any previous volume. Dodge reveals his true nature in the closing moments of the sixth issue and the volume ends on a cliffhanger that plays on everything that’s gone before it beautifully. I shan’t spoil what it is here.

With its fourth volume Locke & Key continues to prove why it is one of the greatest comic books of the century. It’s a ceaseless parade of captivating ideas blended with a gripping story and really natural dialogue. It’s so well written that it almost makes you hope Hill and Rodriguez will renege on their promise to wrap the main story up after the sixth volume.