Locke And Key: Welcome to Lovecraft: 1 Paperback – Illustrated, 18 Aug. 2009

I confess I'd been avoiding Joe Hill's work, purely based on the fact that he's Stephen King's son. Unfair perhaps, but I figured there are so many books out there I want to read that it was daft wasting time on an author whose reputation is so closely linked to one of the greats.Damn, do I wish I'd picked this up sooner!Both the story and the artwork are incredible. I don't think I've been this excited about a graphic novel since I first discovered Gaiman's Sandman, and that's saying something. Of course, a lot of the praise goes to Rodriquez for the fantastic artwork - there are plenty of panels with no text that tell the story in a hundred subtle ways.I don't really want to go too much into the story itself - I think it's best to discover it for yourself. We'll just say that the main characters move to "Key house" after a somewhat traumatic event. The house is well named, and with the discovery of each new key comes a little bit more of the story.I've already picked up volumes 2-5 and gone through them incredibly quickly. Looking forward to the final volume in Feb now!Oh, and in case you're wondering about how they display on the kindle app. I've been reading them on a 10.1 Samsung Galaxy Note and they look great. The only comment would be that the double page spreads sometimes require you to flip back and forth between a couple of pages, but there aren't too many of them so it's not really an issue.

This is a graphic novel with many nods and homages to many great horror, mystery and sci fi endeavours. What I love about it is that it has faith in its audience, with a first volume comprising of several well developed chapters setting up various plotlines, characters, and already throwing up and delivering a few nice twists and fascinating questions, you know that this is going to be a series where you can expect to be in on a long haul for some of the more deep rooted mysteries, but at the same time it will be an enjoyable ride. The elements and nature of mysteries in this tale are perhaps most inspired by the miniseries "The Lost Room" focusing in the first volume on mystical keys/items that appear to have supernatural effects and/or, open doors to realms beyond or different to our own... The recent series "Lost" also appears to be somewhat influential by way of the nemesis we encounter in the climax of the first volume due to echoes, the way in which it is contained, and the unusual power and influence it appears to have, as are certain Japanese horror movies for its location and appearance. The title is obviously going to draw Lovecraft fans in and they will not be disappointed as the township, Keyhouse, and many elements of mystery and dread permeating the tale such as madness, death, magic, hints at demonic forces, etc all echo themes from his short stories and novellas. This is easily one of the best graphic novels I have read in a long time and pacing and artwork wise I would rate it up there with Civil War, Fear Itself, and Nemesis; as for the story it is rare to find something this deeply developed in a graphic novel. If you are a fan of the old series "American Gothic" or more recently "American Horror Story", and as I previously mentioned "Lost" and "The Lost Room" you should be very pleased with this to say the least.

I had been looking forward to reading this graphic novel for a long time. My first graphic novel was The Kite Runner, and since I read that I've been craving more. But I had to wait until I found a job, because graphic novels can be bloody expensive, and that is certainly true for the Locke & Key series. So, I bought this ASAP, and I absolutely devoured it!I am a huge fan of horror and blood and gore, and as soon as I started reading this I knew that it would be the book for me. There's a murder in the first couple of pages, and Welcome to Lovecraft only gets darker from there.At the beginning of the book, Papa Locke is murdered and his family go to live at the Keyhouse, a mansion owned by the family. And from then on, a load of crazy [...] happens. Bode, the youngest child, discovers a key to a door that, if you walk through it, turns you into a ghost. He also discovers a ghostly Echo in the wellhouse in the grounds, who seems to be locked in there. Bode's curiosity mirrored my own as he discovered a small handful of the Keyhouse's mysteries.While all this exploring is going on, the Locke family is also still dealing with Papa Locke's murder. Mama Locke is currently spiralling into a deep depression, and the children are at a loss of what to do with themselves, without any parental influence in their lives. They lost two parents that day instead of just one.As if that wasn't enough, Sam, one of Papa Locke's killers, escapes from prison with some paranormal help. And he comes for the Locke family. I really liked how Joe Hill didn't forget about Sam. Often, I find that the villains get little backstory, and so people aren't interested in them and just want the heroes of the stories to save the day. I, however, am really interested in evil characters and their stories and psychology. I love discovering what's going on in their heads! And Joe Hill developed Sam's character really well. We got flashbacks with him in, we saw how he was tied to the Locke family, and we saw what led him down this road. Sam is a very broken character, and one that I can't help but sympathise with, despite the fact that he is insane.I have another favourite character in this book, but I don't want to go into detail on that due to potential spoilers. I'm always wary of those! Just know that someone turns up towards the end of the book who I am totally captivated by, and I can't wait to find out more about them. Whether they're a hero or a villain, you'll have to read the book to find out. I think Tatum will know the answer to that without reading, though.This book is really creepy, and not even just because of the paranormal stuff that was going on. I was thoroughly creeped out by some of the things that the characters did, and it really drove the message home that humans can be the most evil things out there. Forget about the ghosts and the demons!The art was fabulous. The characters aren't painted as conventionally beautiful people. They look like your regular person, someone that could easily live next door to you. I loved the detail that Rodríguez goes into with the landscapes and backgrounds. I particularly enjoyed looking at the drawings that took up the entire page. The attention to detail is fantastic, and Rodríguez is seriously talented. In addition, at the back of the book there is a series of more artistic work from him, that connect to the story but look less realistic than the actual art within the story itself.I have made the decision to buy this series gradually, since each individual book ranges from £9 to £15. That's a lot to spend, but I think it's worth it as long as I don't go too crazy. Like I said, Locke & Key turned out to be right up my alley, and I cannot wait to discover more about the Keyhouse, the Locke family, certain other characters, the Omega key, various other keys... I never thought I would be so interested in keys!

I only found out about this when I watched the TV series and it made me want to read the series. Now have volumes 1-5. Suck a great concept and the art work is amazing!

It really hooks you up. Some details of the art and the intriguing story are impeccable! I haven’t watched the TV serie but the book is a must, I’m definitely going to read the other two.

What can i say? L&K is one of my favourite comic books, and definitely one of the best horror/fantasy works out there.The story is engrossing, characters are fun, very creative magic system, and the horror aspect is great as well. Just go ahead and read this masterpiece, there's no way you're going to be disappointed.P.S. if you are coming here after watching the netflix series, know this - the comics are a lot LOT better than the tv series. So if you liked the series, you're simply going to fall in love with the series

This Graphic Novel was good. Nice little short story, was not disappointed at all. Definitely will recommend this to others.

Muy rápida la entrega, lo que no me gusto es que no venia con envuelto en el típico plástico de un libro nuevo, lo que podría hacer pensar que recibí un tomo de exhibición, no obstante las hojas no presentaban desgaste o maltratoEl primer volumen de 6, en este se nos presenta el primer arco de la historia, con un buen arte visual, narrativa y suspense, este comic es recomendable si quieres leer algo diferente, definitivamente comprare los demas, el libro no es extenso, en un rato lo terminas y quedaras con deseos de saber que pasa después,ademas de que el formato pasta dura le da un toque muy elegante para tener en tu librero/repisa

Locke and Key: Welcome to Lovecraft was an amazing graphic novel full of emotion and a horrific intensity. The characters were extremely fleshed out and the artwork was so impactful. Even the villain of this volume, Sam, was a character I could sympathise with.If you like bloody horror that preys on your deepest fears, this is for you.