Graphic Novel Review: Locke & Key vol.6: Alpha & Omega by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez

Locke and Key, Vol. 6: Alpha & Omega by Joe Hill  and Gabriel Rodriguez

Genre: Horror

Series: Collects Locke and Key Omega #1-5 and Alpha #1-2

Publisher: IDW Publishing

Publication Date: February 2014

Wendy's Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Dodge has all the keys, as well as little Bode's body and, with all the prom kids in the horrible cave, he's all set to unleash hell on earth and build himself a nice demon family. Kinsey, Ty and all those that aren't dead or under Dodge's control must fight desperately to stop Dodge from making his violent dream come true.

As far as epic battles go, this one is brutal. With all the keys at his disposal, Dodge unleashes all manner of chaos and debauchery, turning their friends and loved ones against Kinsey and Ty, while savagely murdering others. Once again, the seemingly cute and wide-eyed innocence of Rodriguez art powers through all of this, and then settles back into the quiet comfort and pain of a family dealing with all of their losses, hoping they can somehow heal.

But the end disappointed me. It felt too abrupt and too ... perfect. It was a Pyrrhic Victory, and I expected it to be so and shed the appropriate tears, but I was disappointed in one particular aspect of the ending that wrapped things up too nicely. I'm not a fan of forced happy endings, but otherwise, I appreciate the steps the story went through in the end, especially with Ty.

With thanks to NetGalley and IDW Publishing for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this graphic novel in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: NOS4A2 by Joe Hill

NOS4A2 by Joe Hill

Genre: Horror, Fantasy

Series: Stand-alone

Publisher: William Morrow

Date of Publication: April 30, 2013

Author Information: Website | Twitter
 

I've always adored horror novels that incorporate paranormal elements or a touch of the fantastical, and considering my enjoyment for such types of books written by Stephen King, it's a wonder to me why I waited so long to check out something by his son, an acclaimed author in his own right.

Why I thought this was a great book, reason the first: it succeeded in creeping me out. Honestly, why else would I pick up a horror novel? I mentioned before how much I appreciate having fantasy in my horror, because rather than dulling my fear by being "less realistic", a story with supernatural aspect actually accentuates it. In NOS4A2, Joe Hill manages to balance the "world of reality" and the "world of imagination" perfectly, sometimes blurring the lines.

In this way, a tale about a predator named Charles Manx who snatches children from his vintage Rolls-Royce becomes even more frightening when you think about how in this world of mystical powers, secret places and hidden roads, anything can happen. Manx's powers are even more disturbing, when you find out that his Wraith car has the ability to transport its riders beyond the veil to a place called Christmasland, which at first sounds like a wonderful place, except every moment a child spends there they lose more and more of themselves. Knowing that this villain uses his young victims' love of Christmas against them makes this book even more chilling.

Which brings me to another reason why I found this book so effectively unsettling: the fact that this is, in a way, a story about the loss of childhood innocence. Like Manx, our protagonist Victoria McQueen also has a power, which she discovers at 8 years old, when a rickety old covered bridge appears whenever she rides her bike, always leading her to exactly what she's looking for. Years later and seeking trouble as an angsty teenager, the bridge leads Vic to her first traumatic encounter with Charles Manx.

The events in Vic's past will remain with her forever, but all powers also have their costs. As she grows into adulthood, her memories and power change her life, her personality, her relationships with the people close to her. Her struggles with these changes are a big part of why I felt drawn to her character, because it's easy to sympathize with her desire to be a good person and do the right thing, even if it means facing her greatest fears and returning to the worst time of her life.

Joe Hill builds Vic up to be this fully-realized and well-defined character, so that her fears became my fears, what she cared about became what I cared about, and what she wanted became what I wanted, too. Indeed, it's not just the thrills and suspense that got me into this novel, but also the factors involving Vic's emotions and relationships with her parents, Lou, and her son.

It takes a very good storyteller to frighten their reader but to also move them, and in this way Joe Hill's writing reminds me a lot of Stephen King's work. This is one seriously talented family. While NOS4A2 may be the first book I've ever read by Joe Hill, it certainly won't be the last.

 4 of 5 stars

"Frightening and suspenseful, with

well-defined characters"

Comic Review: Locke & Key vol.1: Welcome to Lovecraft by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez

Locke and Key, Vol. 1: Welcome to Lovecraft by Joe Hill

I grabbed the hardcover copies of these books the moment I saw them and warned the librarian that they would look lovely on my bookshelf. She politely reminded me that she has my address on file. I’ve heard good things about this series from friends, but I had no idea how good. In fact, I intended to wait until I’d finished all five volumes before completing a proper review, but after finishing volume one last night, all I could think was “ffffuuuuuuuuuuhhh...”

Fortunately, I’m of sounder mind today and can explain why I’m giving this entire series five stars before I am even finished with it.

Volume one introduces the Locke family, with particular focus on the kids, Ty, Kinsey and little Bode. Their lives are destroyed by the brutal murder of their father and rape of their mother by two extremely troubled youths. In the aftermath, they move to the old Locke homestead, Keyhouse, in hopes of recovering some vague semblance of normality.

First of all, I have to speak about the art. This is a violent, brutal, frightening story that could easily have been depicted with much darker imagery typically attributed to the genre. However, Rodriguez’s more cartoony characters and bright colours make everything all the creepier once things really get going. Similar to Japanese manga, the large eyes of the characters can express a lot of emotion within a still image and intense emotional facial expressions and body language (or lack there of) are very important to all of the scenes.

There is also a great sense of stillness. Some of the panels repeat themselves, sometimes with minute changes, but always with a sense of time passing by slowly while the character contemplates the situation. I love that more than two entire pages were spent with Ty at the funeral home following his father’s death. A complaint I have with a lot of comics I’ve read lately is that they jump through the story. There seems to be so much more story they should be telling between each panel, but because of page constraints, they have to skip panels to get to the point. Locke & Key gets to the point without ever losing a panel along the way. I give credit to both artist and writer for this, as presumably Rodriguez is working under Hill’s instructions and clearly, Hill understands the show-don’t-just-tell power of the medium.

So the story goes, Keyhouse is an unusual place. Early in 6yo Bode’s exploration, he discovers a strange key and, when inserted into the back door, it causes him to die when he steps outside, becoming a ghost that’s able to move around the house at will, then return to his body with no harm done. As the story progresses, we learn that there are several other keys (beautifully front and centre on the covers of each volume) and that their father knew about the house’s secrets, but hid the keys for a reason. It is also implied that grown ups tend to forget the importance of such things, so its up to Bode to discover the secrets – especially if he wants to help the mysterious echo at the bottom of the well…

The story focuses mainly on the children, often times with their individual point of views encompassing an entire issue. Each copes differently with the loss of their father and their actions during the assault. Hill and Rodriguez delve deep into the exploration of their emotions, demanding that you feel for them and worry about their well being. The weight of Ty’s guilt is almost palpable and Kinsey’s angst is far more than just whiny, selfish teen mourning. And Bode’s innocent exploration leads to some of the creepiest and intense moments of all.

By the end of volume one, with the mystery box wide open and my compassion for the Locke children firmly established, it was only my responsible adultness that prevented me from staying up all night to read the other volumes in a single, spine-tingling go.

5 of 5 stars