Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
Welcome to Lovecraft; welcome to the world of Joe Hill but whatever you find it might be better to keep it under Locke & Key.
Locke & Key: Welcome To Lovecraft was the opening graphic novel by the writer Joe Hill and top rated artist Gabriel Rodriguez and as graphic novels go it is sensational. A story of incredible depth but with the added bonus of some of the most interesting comic art to ever see the light of day that its only peers in the last twenty years would be arguably Watchmen and the Sin City series, certainly when it comes to independent graphic novels.
There are many great artists doing the rounds, contributing to one graphic novel or another but perhaps it’s the way that Joe Hill writes that makes the artwork come alive. Not surprising really when you consider how lush, how intricate the writing and just where Joe Hill gets his immense talent from. Each panel tells a story by itself and yet as a reader it’s possible to understand where the fluidity of Joe Hill’s imagination comes from. Being the son of arguably the greatest and most prolific Horror writer of the 20th century, Joe Hill shows that aptitude and gifted endowment give you a great start but also its how you take that particular bag of bones, how you nourish the skill and let the fever, the spark of ingenuity for the very long, perhaps at times lonely, ride.
Locke & Key is a story of such wealth that it stands up brilliantly against Stephen King’s own work and perhaps only fails at the last gasp to topple even the majestic and chilling tale of The Stand. The detail even in just the slightest of lines is akin to the way that British supremo of Horror James Herbert was able to frame a situation with a well-placed verb. You can almost feel the heat coming off the computer as Joe Hill takes the situation that the Locke family have found themselves in, the emotion of losing a father to a deranged young killer and the guilt that some of the family carry around like a rock that’s constantly gaining weight and mass is enough to make even the most hard-hearted of Horror fans recoil away the forces that are unleashed.
For Gabriel Rodriguez, the artwork compliments the writing perfectly. You could only dream long into blackness of night with only a flickering battery torch for company, just what the artist could have done if he had been around to offer Stephen King drawings to go along with books such as The Tommyknockers, Misery or even It. The strong definition of the nightmare that unfolds before the Locke family is heightened by the sheer ordinariness that is palpable in the household, the colouring eye catching without becoming overbearing or even gaudy and throughout the first volume it is the unembellished addition which makes the story so simple to slip into and enjoy.
It isn’t easy being the offspring of a famous writer or any other artist, when you have two equally impressive parents to live up to, you can only applaud those that don’t let the supposed stigma get in the way and in Joe Hill, aided supremely by Gabriel Rodriguez, Locke & Key: Welcome To Lovecraft stands out as one of the best examples of Horror in the graphic novel form. Welcome to world of Joe Hill.
Locke & Key: Welcome To Lovecraft is available to purchase from Worlds Apart, Liverpool.
Ian D. Hall