I did not expect to become so fiercely attached to the members of the Locke family so quickly, but here we are. Volume 1 acknowledges each family member’s traumatic past while still diving right into the intrigue of their new adventures in the compelling, creepy realm of Keyhouse. ( )

RECENSIONE A CURA DEL BLOG "GLI OCCHI DEL LUPO" - Pamela Perretta

Quando Rendell Locke viene assassinato senza un apparente motivo, la sua famiglia decide di trasferirsi a Key House, proprietà che appartiene ai Locke da diverse generazioni. Qui Nina insieme ai suoi tre figli spera di poter ricominciare una nuova vita lasciandosi alle spalle il passato, ma il destino sembra avere altri progetti per loro.
Key House, infatti, non si chiama così per caso: deve il suo nome ad una serie di chiavi magiche che sono nascoste tra le mura della proprietà. Tyler, Kinsey e Body iniziano pian piano a trovare tutte le chiavi scoprendone i poteri, tanto pericolosi quanto affascinanti, ma ignorano che, involontariamente, insieme alle chiavi hanno risvegliato un’entità assetata di vendetta che farà di tutto pur di averle!

“Locke & Key” è una serie di graphic novels composta dai seguenti volumi:
Locke & Key vol. 1 – Benvenuti a Lovecraft;
Locke & Key vol. 2 – Giochi mentali;
Locke & Key vol. 3 – La Corona delle Ombre;
Locke & Key vol. 4 – Le Chiavi del Regno;
Locke & Key vol. 5 – Ingranaggi;
Locke & Key vol. 6 – Alpha e Omega;
Locke & Key vol. 7 Cielo e Terra (special).

La storia che Hill ha ideato è molto visionaria, come ci si aspetterebbe (giustamente) dal degno figlio di Stephen King!

La trama è complessa e viene sviluppata molto bene nel corso dei sei volumi (il settimo libro è un racconto special), incatenando il lettore già dalle prime pagine.

Joe Hill è riuscito a costruire un mondo tutto suo, in cui la realtà ha molte più sfaccettature di quelle che siamo abituati a vedere nelle storie fantasy e soprannaturali.
I disegni sono fatti molto bene, per brevi tratti sono loro, infatti, a raccontare pezzi di storia al posto delle parole.

Con “Locke & Key” si sogna, si sta col fiato sospeso, ci si incuriosisce, si spera, ci si spaventa. E’ un ottimo modo per evadere dalla realtà in un mondo tutto nuovo, con i suoi misteri, le sue stranezze, i suoi pericoli e la sua fantasia.
Decisamente una lettura consigliata. ( )

Freaking fantastic! All the elements in a graphic novel that I love. Fantastic art, freaky story, and enough blood, guts and gore to satisfy horror enthusiasts. I love the Locke family! I just wished they would LISTEN to Bode! Geez. On to Vol. 2. ( )

Quick Thoughts
1. There was a lot of jumping around. I got easily confused.
2. The villain is especially creepy.
3. Not sure how I'm feeling about the characters. There was a lot going on.
4. Tons of plot.
5. Still excited to read the next one. ( )

Full review: https://wanderinglectiophile.wordpress.com/2018/03/21/review-locke-key-by-joe-hi...

This story is dark and oh so interesting, my friends. If you like a good horror-meets-fantasy story then definitely give them a go.

The plot line of this series is SUPERB. It’s so full of depth and intrigue that you get to experience that total submersion feeling.
I love the premise of a house built on mystery and danger that just so happens to give you the keys to even more mystery and danger. Such a unique story. My only critique is that I would have liked to have been completely caught of guard my some surprising plot twist, that would have really made the whole story perfect.

….How does one critique or comment on the writing of a graphic novel?? *strokes chin with thumb and index finger* I’m honestly not sure since most of the “writing” occurs in speech bubbles and such. It’s hard to say much about the writing by itself, but perhaps the speech bubbles, art/drawing, and the plot can be commented on together?? (If you have a recommendation on this, please share your methods.) I did not feel like these three elements left me wanting or confused about what was going on in this story. So In a way, I guess that means the “writing” was good? Yes. I’m going to go with that. *nods head once* The artwork/drawing is good, but has a gritty, unpolished feel to it. Which, upon reflection, works really well with the story.

The only reason I didn’t give them a five star rating was because there are little things that I wish were just a tad different. That, and I usually don’t give out five star ratings unless I feel an obsessive love for the book receiving said rating. I love these books, but not in an obsessive kinda way. ( )

By far my favorite Graphic Novel series ever. The final volume absolutely brought tears to my eyes. Fantastic series as a whole! ( )

After the death of Rendell Locke, his wife and children move cross country to live with his brother Duncan in their family home. But it wasn't any ordinary death -- Rendell was murdered by one of his students and the family is haunted by the ordeal.

I actually watched the Netflix show Locke & Key and was invested in it before realizing it was based on a book series. I know many people like to intone 'the book is always better,' but I think that it's often a case of what medium you were exposed to first. In this case, I think I enjoyed the TV series more. For instance, it could be scarier with less blood and more sound cues (creepy voices, music, etc.).

The book certainly does touch on the inner lives of the characters, but I felt the show explored this more (although of course I watched multiple seasons compared to having read just one volume of the book series so far). I had a lot more sympathy for killer Sam in the show who was manipulated into doing what he didn't want versus killer Sam in the series who is also manipulated but much more gleeful about spewing violence wherever he goes.

That being said, there are some differences like that between the book and the show that make me interested enough to check out the next volume of the series to see where things go next (even if I do have a sense of the bigger picture already). ( )

I've heard a lot about this graphic novel, everyone I know who read it loves it and always encourages me to read it, so I finally did. I gotta say I the synopsis does not prepare you for the number of emotions this evokes out of you.

The Graphics/ Artwork
Gabriel Rodriguez did an amazing job bringing the characters of Hill's imagination to life. Usually taking such heavy content and animating makes it loose some of the emotion, not in this case. Rodriguez did a wonderful job painting turmoil on each character's face, while simultaneously evoking that same emotion in the reader. Brilliant use of color and sometimes lack thereof really sets the tone of certain scenes.

The Story
Hill does an amazing job of taking the tragic story of the Locke's and their journey to Keyhouse and giving it life. To be honest, I don't think I prepared myself enough for it, I was prepared for horror but you get so much more than that in this Graphic Novel. You see this family that has been torn apart by loss, who now have to struggle to keep themselves from falling apart, move to Keyhouse and have to deal with a new place as well as the freaky shit that keeps going on.

Overall
Overall the story is great, but I couldn't bring myself to give it a full 5 stars, this is probably because the story left me with some many questions. These questions I know will be answered as I read through the other books, but still, it should give a hint. ( )

I'm a bit confused, but intrigued by the story. Its a bit creepy. The art work is great! I look forward to reading further in the story and having a few things cleared up. ( )

I loved this. Not sure why it took me so long to get around to reading it. I love Joe Hill. This is a great horror comic. Lots of twists and a great story. The art was fantastic. ( )

In this first volume, I feel like we only dip our toes in the story. Something happened with a trucker that I'm like whyyyy about, but nevertheless I eagerly placed holds on the next two volumes before I was halfway through this.

The story seems to center around 3 siblings. They remind me a bit of the Baudelaire orphans, especially in their introduction. After a tragic incident, they go to live with an uncle in the old family mansion. ( )

Far too violent & gruesome for me. I listened to the audiobook Locke & Key while reading/looking at this graphic novel - I found that it was good to have both because neither gives a complete story. Too bad the story it told was so awful... ( )

Not amazing, but interesting enough that I want to read the rest of the series (given that it's only 6 volumes long). ( )

This is definitely not bedtime reading, and, having read it AFTER seeing the Netflix adaptation, it's a little bit more raw and brutal than I expected. That's cool though. I mean, it IS Joe Hill. I'll just read the rest of the series during daylight hours :) ( )

Definitely a slow started, but in a good way. It's got some gore, but I never felt horrified. Which might be in fact due to the fact you can dissociate to the art and comic look and it's not as realistic. I'm very curios about the whole set of keys, how people remember and how people forget. This series will definitely stay in my hand as I'm nowhere near done with my focus on reading it and getting to see what it's all about, especially with everyone in my life who's mentioned it in the last month. ( )

Locke & Key, Vol. 1: Welcome to Lovecraft is a well written and engrossing graphic novel. This is by far the best book I have read by Joe Hill, not that all other books I have read is in any way bad, but the story in "Welcome to Lovecraft" is fascinating and really leaves me with the feeling of wanting more! ( )

I'll be honest: I started reading this because of the Netflix series. It was on my to read list for forever but the show made me want to finally pick it up. And boy I'm glad I did. This is everything that was missing from the show. It's so much darker and what I was expecting from a Lovecraft based story.

Plus the artwork is absolutely fabulous! ( )

Pretty good graphic comic fare. Looking forward to the later volumes. Good story, creepy at times, and a real page turner, I couldn't put it down. The characters were engaging, believably characterized and you really ended up caring about them. Nice setup for future issues while resolving the current story.

The interior artwork was great, a real plus from the Fables books I have been trying to read. Really dark (lots of ink on every page), I don't think the sun ever comes out in Lovecraft, MA!

Joe Hill is a good writer and Gabriel Rodriguez is a good artist. ( )

I have no idea why this is so hyped.

The story is convoluted, full of gore and violence. The plot slogs and lacks anything particularly original. The art doesn't really work.

Very disappointed. ( )

Dark and creepy, Locke & Key Volume 1 took a little to get going but it really picked up during the last chapter. I will definitely be checkout out Volume 2.
I enjoyed the way just enough information about what is living in the well was given to keep it interesting and build suspense. ( )

Oh boy!
While I generally shy away from comics, or graphic art, this book gives even prose a run for its money. No words could have captured the brutality, the horror, the gore that Rodriguez's art and Joe Hill's dialogue do. When I saw the first few minutes of the first episode of Locke&Key on Netflix, I knew this would be a worth reading. So I stopped watching the TV adaptation and read the first volume on my Kindle. And though I finished reading Volume 1 within an hour, I knew I'd made a terrible mistake! This book is not meant to be read on a Kindle. It needs to be held, to be breathed in, to be put on a pedestal from where it's never coming off. And so, to rectify my blunder, I waited a whole year (for logistics reasons and not because I'm a masochist) to buy the entire series.

This volume is awesome, awesome, awesome. The way the teenage angst of Tyler or the innocence of Bode have been captured through just the first few panels is difficult to achieve. Nina's drinking, the mysterious and evil Echo, and Sam Lesser's inevitable path to becoming a psychopath have all been portrayed brilliantly. The book, of course, ends at a cliffhanger, so please do not read it unless you have the next one queued up. That's how riveting Locke& Key is! ( )

I was eager this graphic novel because of the Lovecraft associations, but aside from the name of the town it’s set in, there wasn’t much of the Mythos in there. It’s more of a supernatural thriller.

A high school guidance counselor is murdered by two of his former students and his wife and children traumatized, having had to hide from the killers and then attack them on their own. One teen attacker dies while the other has his face disfigured by the murdered man’s teen son, who bloodily bashes him with a brick. Afterwards they move cross country to a old Edwardian house in Massachusetts on its own private island which was in the late father’s family. The house is called Key House and the town, Lovecraft.

The house has special keys that unlock special doors, which, when you go through them, turn you into someone or something else, or transport you somewhere else. A demonic woman living in the wellhouse wants one or more of the keys so she can get out of her supernatural prison and cajoles the youngest child into befriending her. Meanwhile, the crazy youth who planned the father’s murder escapes from jail and travels cross-country to seek the same keys from the family. And — surprise! — he had been cajoled by the demon lady in the wellhouse as well (sorry for the pun) because she had communicated with him out of a picture of it in the murdered teacher’s house!

The artwork was OK, if not as expressionistic as I wanted, and bloodier than I wanted. Too angular and stylized for my taste. The palette of subdued browns, golds, and blues was restful, but monotonous. I would have liked it used to convey emotion. The character design of the teen killers made them look supremely goofy, and in the case of the stalking teen, unsettling. He began to remind me of Mad Magazine’s gap-toothed mascot Alfred E. Neumann. Shortly after this came into my mind, there came a page showing him sitting on the steps of the high school, which is named William Gaines Academy! Gaines being the original publisher of Mad Magazine. I appreciated the in-joke, but know also a teen reader of this (it’s made to appeal to teens and YA) wouldn’t get it.

“What? Me worry?”

I thought the story lacking. It sounds like a good story in synopsis, but just wasn’t written well. Much of the dialogue sounded two guys were joking around as they wrote it, trying to sound edgy and flip, even as the things they were writing about — grief, PTSD, guilt, the fear of forever being a victim — were serious ones. It devalued the more heartfelt parts. For example, one of the teens who killed the father mentions twice that the mother used to bend over while she was packing groceries to show him her panties. I guess the purpose of this was to show he’s a gross teen psycho who makes things up, but as far as grossness goes, it’s a cheap shot. It served no purpose except to make the writers sound flip and edgy. The story wasn’t about this yucky dude who dies early. It’s about the family and the mysterious house.

There’s another cheap shot later when the demon lady, who has escaped the well, uses one of the magic keys to change her gender to male and quips, “Time to have clothing to fit balls again.” Like…what?

I don’t recommend this despite the hype. ( )

I enjoyed this book on audible awhile back. I did not realize what I was missing. I love the artwork! I have not been a fan of graphic novels. I read comic books as a kid, of course. I loved them. But I always thought of them as a different category from books. I love watching a book unfold in my mind. Especially horror books. Nothing is more terrifying than what your mind conjures up. It knows exactly what your fears are. This graphic novel, though, comes mighty close. I’m definitely looking forward to the rest of the series. ( )

I picked this one up after watching Locke & Key on Netflix.
I wanted to see how the Netflix adaptation differed from the original graphic novel.

I found the Netflix adaptation to be harrowing and filled with sad turns of events, but after reading the GN, I now consider the show to be much toned down. TV-14 for sure, while the GN would be TV-MA.
I really enjoyed the unique magic of the keys.
While the gist of the story is similar in both formats, the graphic novel is MUCH more violent and gruesome. Glad lots of those details were left out of the show.
A beautifully illustrated adult graphic novel to be sure. But I think I've had my fill of the GN series after Vol. 1:-) ( )

I've heard a lot about this graphic novel, everyone I know who read it loves it and always encourages me to read it, so I finally did. I gotta say I the synopsis does not prepare you for the number of emotions this evokes out of you.

The Graphics/ Artwork
Gabriel Rodriguez did an amazing job bringing the characters of Hill's imagination to life. Usually taking such heavy content and animating makes it loose some of the emotion, not in this case. Rodriguez did a wonderful job painting turmoil on each character's face, while simultaneously evoking that same emotion in the reader. Brilliant use of color and sometimes lack thereof really sets the tone of certain scenes.

The Story
Hill does an amazing job of taking the tragic story of the Locke's and their journey to Keyhouse and giving it life. To be honest, I don't think I prepared myself enough for it, I was prepared for horror but you get so much more than that in this Graphic Novel. You see this family that has been torn apart by loss, who now have to struggle to keep themselves from falling apart, move to Keyhouse and have to deal with a new place as well as the freaky shit that keeps going on.

Overall
Overall the story is great, but I couldn't bring myself to give it a full 5 stars, this is probably because the story left me with some many questions. These questions I know will be answered as I read through the other books, but still, it should give a hint. ( )