Locke & Key: Keys to the Kingdom, Vol. 4

Keys to the Kingdom, the fourth full-length installment of the captivating Locke & Key series, raises the stakes to terrifying levels. Life continues to get stranger and more dangerous for the three Locke children as they endeavor to unlock the mysteries of Keyhouse. Meanwhile, Dodge steps up his pursuit of the Omega Key. Several storylines rise and fall, new keys are uncovered, battles are waged, relationships are jeopardized—and yes, there are even some casualties along the way.

Locke & Key is strikingly dark and wickedly funny. Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez cut loose and experiment with different styles of storytelling and art, respectively. The inaugural story, "Sparrow," spotlights young Bode as he unearths the Animal Key capable of transforming its user into, you guessed it, an animal—in Bode’s case, a sparrow. Dodge, on the other hand, uses the Animal Key to take on a more wolfish form in order to extract the Omega Key's whereabouts from Tyler and Kinsey. What distinguishes this issue from the others is that a potentially horrifying series of events is toned down by a clever use of humor and artistic chic. While portions of the episode are drawn in familiar Locke & Key fashion, Rodriguez conveys the "Sparrow" story from Bode’s perspective in a "Calvin and Hobbes" pastiche that’s worthy of Bill Watterson, and intersperses the illustrative styles in a way that is both playful and unexpected. Every panel is a pleasure.

The subsequent episode, "February", covers an entire month in just a handful of panels. The small calendar pages alongside the panels deftly bridge several key events (pun intended) and hard-fought battles in rapid succession. Most readers will appreciate seeing the ongoing war between the Lockes and their shadowy nemesis played out in a brisk series of vignettes, though others might feel cheated in that several increasingly bizarre keys—the Music Box Key, the Angels Key, the Hercules Key, and a bizarre toy key—are introduced way too quickly without the details of their discovery or the specifics of their use being disclosed. The pacing here is either masterful or sporadic depending on your outlook.

Locke & Key is unlike any other graphic novel series. Here you have a horror/fantasy comic featuring an issue-long tribute to “Calvin and Hobbes” and another issue that dips into pulp war comics. Joe Hill even takes the time to delve into racial politics in a well-handed manner, skillfully blending real-world problems with the supernatural, while propelling the story forward and still managing to deliver some massive shocks.

Major events are brought to a head in the final pages, casting the central characters in a new morass of confusion. And with that absolute beast of a cliffhanger—I’m telling you, it’s a real jaw-dropper—readers won’t want to wait long to find out what happens next!

Keys to the Kingdom, the fourth full-length installment of the captivating Locke & Key series, raises the stakes to terrifying levels. Life continues to get stranger and more dangerous for the three Locke children as they endeavor to unlock the mysteries of Keyhouse. Meanwhile, Dodge steps up his pursuit of the Omega Key. Several storylines rise and fall, new keys are uncovered, battles are waged, relationships are jeopardized—and yes, there are even some casualties along the way.

Locke & Key is strikingly dark and wickedly funny. Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez cut loose and experiment with different styles of storytelling and art, respectively. The inaugural story, "Sparrow," spotlights young Bode as he unearths the Animal Key capable of transforming its user into, you guessed it, an animal—in Bode’s case, a sparrow. Dodge, on the other hand, uses the Animal Key to take on a more wolfish form in order to extract the Omega Key's whereabouts from Tyler and Kinsey. What distinguishes this issue from the others is that a potentially horrifying series of events is toned down by a clever use of humor and artistic chic. While portions of the episode are drawn in familiar Locke & Key fashion, Rodriguez conveys the "Sparrow" story from Bode’s perspective in a "Calvin and Hobbes" pastiche that’s worthy of Bill Watterson, and intersperses the illustrative styles in a way that is both playful and unexpected. Every panel is a pleasure.

The subsequent episode, "February", covers an entire month in just a handful of panels. The small calendar pages alongside the panels deftly bridge several key events (pun intended) and hard-fought battles in rapid succession. Most readers will appreciate seeing the ongoing war between the Lockes and their shadowy nemesis played out in a brisk series of vignettes, though others might feel cheated in that several increasingly bizarre keys—the Music Box Key, the Angels Key, the Hercules Key, and a bizarre toy key—are introduced way too quickly without the details of their discovery or the specifics of their use being disclosed. The pacing here is either masterful or sporadic depending on your outlook.

Locke & Key is unlike any other graphic novel series. Here you have a horror/fantasy comic featuring an issue-long tribute to “Calvin and Hobbes” and another issue that dips into pulp war comics. Joe Hill even takes the time to delve into racial politics in a well-handed manner, skillfully blending real-world problems with the supernatural, while propelling the story forward and still managing to deliver some massive shocks.

Major events are brought to a head in the final pages, casting the central characters in a new morass of confusion. And with that absolute beast of a cliffhanger—I’m telling you, it’s a real jaw-dropper—readers won’t want to wait long to find out what happens next!

Keys to the Kingdom, the fourth full-length installment of the captivating Locke & Key series, raises the stakes to terrifying levels. Life continues to get stranger and more dangerous for the three Locke children as they endeavor to unlock the mysteries of Keyhouse. Meanwhile, Dodge steps up his pursuit of the Omega Key. Several storylines rise and fall, new keys are uncovered, battles are waged, relationships are jeopardized—and yes, there are even some casualties along the way.

Locke & Key is strikingly dark and wickedly funny. Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez cut loose and experiment with different styles of storytelling and art, respectively. The inaugural story, "Sparrow," spotlights young Bode as he unearths the Animal Key capable of transforming its user into, you guessed it, an animal—in Bode’s case, a sparrow. Dodge, on the other hand, uses the Animal Key to take on a more wolfish form in order to extract the Omega Key's whereabouts from Tyler and Kinsey. What distinguishes this issue from the others is that a potentially horrifying series of events is toned down by a clever use of humor and artistic chic. While portions of the episode are drawn in familiar Locke & Key fashion, Rodriguez conveys the "Sparrow" story from Bode’s perspective in a "Calvin and Hobbes" pastiche that’s worthy of Bill Watterson, and intersperses the illustrative styles in a way that is both playful and unexpected. Every panel is a pleasure.

The subsequent episode, "February", covers an entire month in just a handful of panels. The small calendar pages alongside the panels deftly bridge several key events (pun intended) and hard-fought battles in rapid succession. Most readers will appreciate seeing the ongoing war between the Lockes and their shadowy nemesis played out in a brisk series of vignettes, though others might feel cheated in that several increasingly bizarre keys—the Music Box Key, the Angels Key, the Hercules Key, and a bizarre toy key—are introduced way too quickly without the details of their discovery or the specifics of their use being disclosed. The pacing here is either masterful or sporadic depending on your outlook.

Locke & Key is unlike any other graphic novel series. Here you have a horror/fantasy comic featuring an issue-long tribute to “Calvin and Hobbes” and another issue that dips into pulp war comics. Joe Hill even takes the time to delve into racial politics in a well-handed manner, skillfully blending real-world problems with the supernatural, while propelling the story forward and still managing to deliver some massive shocks.

Major events are brought to a head in the final pages, casting the central characters in a new morass of confusion. And with that absolute beast of a cliffhanger—I’m telling you, it’s a real jaw-dropper—readers won’t want to wait long to find out what happens next!

This one was different in a lot of ways from the other books. It was still great. Some more bad stuff happens of course and some really funny stuff with Bode.

The graphics were a little different too, but they were still awesome!

I loved the end with the exception of one thing but I can't say what that is... only.. one person got what was coming to them and one didn't!!!!!

MY REVIEWS:
www.melissa413readsalot.blogspot.com
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1334625832

Up to now, the pattern of Hill and Rodriguez's Locke and Key has been pretty consistent: the action (and frequently the metaphor) of each collection has focused on one particular magical key and its powers and practical repercussions.

But in this fourth volume they've got a hell of a lot of ground to cover to set up for the series finale, so they choose to do a handful of snapshots, each featuring a different key and its powers, to break the exposition into digestible chunks and keep things moving along.That means there's a lot of here-and-gone awesome, particularly the series of dated panels reflecting the Locke children's battles with their shadowy nemesis, which by now are almost a must-be-Tuesday-night-in-Sunnydale regular occurrence.

Keys builds to a violent and shocking conclusion, but Hill and Rodriguez gut-punch you right at the start with a lovely, grotesque, and terribly sad section rendered mostly in a Bill Watterson-esque style where Bode uses the Animal Key to make some friends who wind up coming to the defense of his family.

In other words: Nowhere is safe - not for the reader and certainly not for the Lockes. And, honestly, that's just the way I like it.

For four volumes now, Locke & Key has repeatedly demonstrated why it should be at the top of your "to read" list. Not "comics to read," but "works of fiction to read." It is so well written and beautifully illustrated that it will go toe to toe with anything else on your list.

After I read Locke and Key, Volume 3: Crown of Shadows (reviewed elsewhere on this site), I didn't quite know what to expect from Locke and Key, Volume 4: Keys to the Kingdom, written by Joe Hill and illustrated by Gabriel Rodriguez. When I first flipped through the book, I realized more keys were introduced in this volume than in previous ones, and the artwork had a different feel (more on that later). Volume 3 had a creepy, quiet, sad vibe to it. Turns out that was the calm before the storm because Volume 4 is packed with surprises, charm, violence, and the best ending to date.

Volume 4 begins with a pastiche to Calvin and Hobbes. I was a little surprised by this because it's such a different style than what Rodriguez does throughout Locke & Key. But it makes perfect sense, when you see how it is used (and look for a cameo by "Yukon Ho!"). Volume 4 also contains several wordless panels and pages that let Rodriguez's talent shine. I really can't say enough about the artwork in this series. It's beautiful, funny, gory, sexy, spooky, and visceral. Every panel is a pleasure.

And Joe Hill's writing reveals how the Locke kids are coming to terms with their new life and their struggles. Bode is making friends, despite seeming to prefer staying inside his head. He's also learning the severe consequences of fighting the ghosts of Keyhouse Manor. Kinsey is realizing that taking away her fears and sadness might not have been the smartest idea. And poor Tyler learns that becoming an adult can mean getting hurt again and again. But that gives him time to figure out a few things about who is friends really are.

My only complaint is that Nina Locke makes only one appearance in the volume. However, it's a spark of hope amidst the sadness and violence of the rest of the volume. And it reinforces the idea that this is really the story of the Locke kids.

But that's a tiny complaint. And it's more than made up for with the volume's ending. I don't want to spoil it, but man, oh man. Here's my impression of the last few pages: Oh no. Oh no! OH NO! Just when you thought things couldn't get any worse, they get MUCH worse. I can't get my hands on Volume 5 soon enough.

This is a great combination of writing and artwork.

This is my least favorite in the series to date, but it was still an amazing journey!

In a nutshell, the Locke children continue to fight off Dodge's attacks as he continues his desperate search for the Omega key.

As usual, I really enjoyed the main characters. Tyler, Kinsey, and Bode are great and their frustrations are very relatable as they try to figure out who this dark lady is and balance the normal part of their lives. I will say, they didn't have as much depth as certain other volumes. I also still think their plan to stop Dodge is much too reactionary, but they still had many great moments and there were even some good funnies in there this time, which was refreshing.

The artwork was great as usual. I was a bit confused by the switch from the beginning's more cartoony style to the usual artwork, but it didn't really deter from the experience. It just felt a bit odd since I don't believe that's been done up to this point.

The events that happened in this novel were entertaining with plenty of action scenes. That being said, I wanted a little bit more. We get a LOT of action in the month of February in this book's timeline, but it goes over the incidents much too quickly. I'd like to know the backstory behind each individual attack and really have it more fleshed out. This series could seriously be longer than it is!

At the same time, I really enjoyed the awesome key discoveries. At this point, there's a diverse number of keys, and anytime a new one is found I get very giddy and excited. That's what is so great about this series. It just has that sense of wonder to it.

All in all, this may not have been my favorite Locke & Key novel, but it's still got a lot of great action, plot, and tension that'll please any die-hard fan. Definitely worth a read!

Good product

Great series!!