Like every other comic book fan in the world I have heard great things about Locke and Key. Today I finally started reading it some time after the final issue was released. I began and finished reading the first volume today, burning through all of the issues in one sitting. It is as good as they say, it’s some of the best writing I have read in comic books and it is done with a truly cinematic flair.

Locke and Key is pure horror genius, there may not be a more frightening comic out there. Locke and Key has a gothic tone that is present in both the writing and the artwork. The art has an odd yet effecting style, I don’t know if are aware of The Uncanny Valley hypothesis or not but it is relevant here. The idea is that humans relate to a character that is artificial only if it is human looking but a little bit off. If an animated character is too human it has an eerie effect and it brings the audience out of the character as their brain looks for the features of it that aren’t like us. Animating a relate able and identifiable character for the audience to empathise with is about getting a balance of human elements and something else that makes it a little bit off. Gabriel Rodriguez has got it right in this one, he doesn’t draw characters perfectly anatomically correct because he doesn’t need to. We don’t notice that we just notice how excellently emotive he makes them. These characters are so easy to connect to because of how well he can draw emotion into the character’s eyes. This is where the Uncanny Valley theory comes in, we don’t notice what is wrong about the characters, because they are a little bit wrong but so human we connect with them.

We have to also talk about Joe Hill, he is a genius. I know I keep using that word but its true, Joe Hill, the son of Stephen King is a master at writing dialogue and an intricate story. These characters were so raw and so real, its amazing to think that a person can have so many real people in his head ready to place into a story. There were times where a character would say something that was like a punch to the gut, or a villain would say something that would send a shiver down your spine. There were even times in this comic where a character would say something that made me laugh which is also amazing given how gothic and glum this story is. Joe Hill also has an excellent writing skill in that he knows how to create a cinematic moment for the artist to create.

The concept of the keys and the locked door leading to endless possibilities is a fascinating one, it is an incredibly unique concept that has a lot of mileage. This premise is amazing, the writer has created a really fascinating mythos that make me want to learn more about this strange back story of dark magic. If you think that so far this doesn’t sound scary you are wrong, trust me. The strong writing making us identify with the characters alone makes this story scary as when the shit goes down you are terrified that these characters that you have come to care about might meet a terrible fate. The visuals pull no punches, not shying away from some quite brutal stuff making the danger of the antagonist very real. Which is why when the villain gets loose again in the final issue, the audience really is afraid of him. There is also a kind of jump scare which is amazing given that the format is that it is a comic book.

The issues are really well paced, building up the tension more and more, issue by issue as the villains get stronger until the shit finally hits the fan in the climactic final issue. I cannot wait to read the other volumes, I might do a review of each volume given how good this series is and how much I enjoy writing about it. The fact that I have got my thoughts on the general stuff such as art and writing style out the way in this review means the review of volume 2 can be more about my thoughts on the events and plot itself of that instalment. So if you are more interested in discussion on the actual story, not just the basic surface level stuff stay tuned for my review of volume 2: Head Games which will be more in depth and will no doubt talk more directly about the story.