Locke & Key, Volumen 4: Las Llaves del Reino

Locke & Key

by Joe Hill, Gabriel Rodríguez (illustrator)

¡Llega el cuarto volumen de la aclamada serie creada por el novelista Joe Hill y el espectacular dibujante Gabriel Rodriguez, quienes nos muestran aquí las Llaves del Reino! Mientras comienzan a aparecer nuevas llaves y crecen los misterios alrededor de la familia Locke, Dodge trata de proseguir con su desesperada búsqueda. En este volumen concluye el segundo de los tres actos de los que consta Locke & Key.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Horror, Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Comic Book

160 pages, Paperback

First published July 19, 2011

About the author

Joe Hill's debut, Heart-Shaped Box, won the Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel. His second, Horns, was made into a film freakfest starring Daniel Radcliffe. His other novels include NOS4A2, and his #1 New York Times Best-Seller, The Fireman... which was also the winner of a 2016 Goodreads Choice Award for Best Horror Novel.

He writes short stories too. Some of them were gathered together in his prize-winning collection, 20th Century Ghosts.

He won the Eisner Award for Best Writer for his long running comic book series, Locke & Key, co-created with illustrator and art wizard Gabriel Rodriguez.

He lives in New Hampshire with a corgi named McMurtry after a certain beloved writer of cowboy tales. His next book, Strange Weather, a collection of novellas, storms into bookstores in October of 2017.

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

2020

3rd time reading this particular volume and it still holds up quite well.
The major plot developments in this one make it one of the more gasp! *sob* installments for me. I always seem to forget what happens and that ending sneaks up on me.
For those of you who are wondering, reading these will not spoil the Netflix show or vice versa. There are quite a few differences between the two storylines. And personally, I usually like it (or at least don't mind) when movies or shows take a bit of a different route. It's nice to see things explored from another angle, you know?



2015

Man, Hill just takes everything and shakes it all to hell in this volume. The plot twists are just...very cool. And (this is the one great thing about losing your ability to retain information) that ending still managed to surprise the hell out of me.
And if you haven't read this one yet, it'll shock the shit out of you, too.



Original Review 2012
I was skeptical of the Calvin and Hobbes artwork that started this volume off, but eventually, it worked for me. Blending innocent art with the sinister going-ons in the plot definitely brought it up a notch.



Again, this was excellent. Excellent! I can't even...And the ending? What?! How could you do that to me, Joe?! Gah!

[Baba · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fourth volume of Locke & Key sees Dodge seek to confront the Locke kids whilst in disguise, as he/she goes in search of the Black Door and Omega Keys…

...to a dastardly conclusion. Great stuff, the plotting, suspense and artwork all work really well together. 8 out of 12

2012 read; 2016 read

[Andy Marr · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I'm done with this series now. The story's too slow for my liking, and the art just isn't my cup of tea. I'll read up on how it ends on Wikipedia.

[Kayla Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little less awesome than the first 3 but still very entertaining.

[Tan Markovic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Man I love this story so much

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 5 out of 5]

So I am seeing the Netflix Locke and Key series (which feels a little like a bit more family-friendly version than Jill and Rodriguez intended, but is still good and enjoyable) so am rereading these volumes and enjoying them again. In this volume, there’s a Bill Watterson (Calvin & Hobbes) tribute in the first chapter where Bode (the Calvin-like character) becomes a sparrow, and there’s a WWII GI EC comix tribute featuring Rufus and Sam as soldiers.

This volume doesn't have too much happen early on, but it builds in the last two issues fast and furiously to a cliffhanger to set up the last two volumes, though along the way we discover some more keys and how they work, which is interesting. And shape-shifting demon Bode, seeking that Omega key, continues to convince as a formidable villain for the Locke family.

[Kelly (and the Book Boar) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/

You guys are all aware of the fact that I’m an idiot, right? Yeah, I thought so. Just to confirm, I’m going to tell you a little secret. I accidentally started reading Locke and Key Volume 5 instead of 4 the other day. Luckily I figured out my mistake once I made it past Chapter 1 (which was a flashback). Then I started reading what I thought was Keys to the Kingdom only to find myself reading . . .



Calvin and Hobbes?



These allergy meds are really something! Okay, let’s go with it. Welcome to Locke and Key Volume 4: Keys to the Kingdom Bill Watterson style . . .



Talk about a volume with freaky fast delivery. Holy moses! There is a lot of focus on “game playing” this go around with old keys like the Giant Key, as well as performing a little memory swappage with help of the Head Key . . .



but there’s also the introduction of new keys like the Animal Key that allows you to . . . .



and the Herkules-Schlüssel which grants the user super strength and the ability to handily take down any opponent . . .



Also in this volume, Tyler finally begins to get wise of the whole Zack situation that culminates in a tussle of epic proportions and a cliffhangery ending that makes me soooooo thankful I have Volume 5 queued up and ready . . .

[Mir · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half was disappointingly incoherent. And what was up with those cartoony-style panels about Bode, who appears to have turned from a slightly weird, sightly dumb little boy to a very weird kid who talks like a Charles Wallace baby genius?

The second half got better. I was glad to see Rufus finally having a plot role. Ty got smarter (as one ideally does during the course of adolescence and after some rough experiences) and Kinsey got dumber (as one probably does after artificially removing parts of one's mind with a magic key). Sam's unexpected role continues.

I enjoyed it, but definitely not up to the standard of earlier installments in the series.

[Calista · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book moves the plot forward quickly. The first chapter has a nod to Calvin and Hobbs it appears. The art is great and it can also be gorey. In this book, ever chapter has a new key that does something.

It still feels like Zack is always ahead of everything and he's going to win. Yet, Bode seems to be catching on. There was a huge cliff hanger at the end. I mean I need to find out what is going to happen.

Just like with other volumes, characters die, it looks like the Locke children might get ahead and it seems that Zack is ahead. I am constantly surprised by this series. If you are into graphic novels, you should be reading this.

[Will M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing ending! Sort of a cliffhanger, but wow I need to read the next one right away. I've said it before, but I'm saying it again, Joe Hill can fucking write.

Aside from the ending, I liked volume 3 more than this. The story continues to develop but it lacked the depth that the last volume had. I am hating the shit out of Zack as the series goes on. The characters are really likable and they continue to grow on you.

4.5/5 stars. Still shy of a .5 but it's almost there. I want more keys.

[exploraDora · Rating 5 out of 5]

***5 stars***

These comics are so damn good, I can't even!
Volume four was so much gorier than the previous ones, but it's also one that made me laugh more, at least in the first half :D

I would recommend these to any fans of Joe Hill and to any comic book fan. Both the art and the story are amazing!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5ish stars.

The start of the volume was a bit slow but it really picked up at the end. I’m really excited now to read the next volume because that ending was crazy! The illustrations were stunning as usual.

[Sam Quixote · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hmm, not a whole lot happens in the fourth Locke & Key book: Zack/Dodge is still monotonously hunting for the Omega Key. He targets an old girlfriend of Rendell’s (the Locke kids’ dead dad) who recognises him, and he continues to torment Rufus, the son of the woman he’s living with. Then it’s a waiting game until something resembling a plot emerges in the final act. It’s not really plot-driven - it’s not really character-driven either! Locke & Key’s “story” just kinda… floats there.

Maybe this is a detail I’ve forgotten from previous books, but I don’t get why Zack - if he can change his sex on a whim - doesn’t adopt a different face from the one he’s worn for decades? You know, the one that attracts unwanted attention and damningly appears in old photos? Or why he even has a lip-ring, an easily identifiable marker? Surely everything would be easier for him if these two things were gone altogether?

Amid the waiting around, there’s some clumsy social commentary on the double standard in society for whites and blacks, and some corny melodrama with Tyler’s girlfriend Jordan - the kinda crap that doesn’t happen outside of bad fiction. Joe Hill’s also just not very good at pulling off real emotions. One scene has Tyler suddenly sobbing about his dead dad that comes out of nowhere and is unexpectedly funny!

Gabriel Rodriguez’s art is fine. There’s a cute Bill Watterson tribute in the first chapter where Bode becomes a sparrow, and I liked the Jester Key design. Generally his art is good.

But, wow, what a lot of filler! A whole heckuva lot of watching the characters putz about doing nothing for page after page! I guess the fans of this series must really like the Locke kids for them to think this book is all that and a bag of chips? Not me. I was bored for much of it and only mildly interested once Hill decides to start doing things in the final 20 pages or so.

I have the whole series so I’ll finish the remaining two books but this fourth volume is slow and uneventful for the most part - a tedious read that feels like Hill and Rodriguez milking their cash cow for as long as possible.

[Trudi · Rating 5 out of 5]

2015 re-read: Closing in on the final two volumes and I can barely stand the tension. I have the day off work and am blissfully binging on the terrifying thrills and spectacular adventure that is Joe Hill's Locke & Key series. I'm madly in love with this wicked crazy gothic modern fairytale about a sprawling, mysterious house with forbidden secrets hiding behind locked doors and a cast of unusual keys with the power to open them.

This story works not just on a fantastical level that blows all the circuits of your imagination at once, but on an emotional level where you care and worry about the characters and grip the pages white-knuckled in total abject fear for their safety. Little Bode Locke stole my heart from the opening pages of Welcome to Lovecraft and I've come to adore the sweet, precocious brat even more as the series has gone on, gathering steam and momentum and magic along the way.

Tyler and Kinsey are great older siblings acting as stabilizing forces to Bode's youthful uncontainable exuberance and transgressions. But even Tyler and Kinsey have made mistakes that have put the entire family in the worst jeopardy. Where do we go from here? What happens next?

What is the Omega Key? And what lies behind the black door?

Eeek!


2012 review:
Outstanding!!!! I cannot wait for more! This series continues to get stronger with every installment. Since Chapter 1 "Sparrow" is dedicated to the great Bill Watterson, it is only appropriate that I express the extent of my pleasure in a happy dance thusly:

[Jadranka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Misim da komotno mogu i preostala dva dela ovog serijala da ocenim sa 5* bez čitanja.
Crtež i priča su u savršenom skladu, i međusobno se dopunjavaju, a svaka epizoda je bolja od prethodne.

Ocena: 5+

[☾❀Apple✩ Blossom⋆｡˚ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not bad, but not great either. I felt like this volume had a lot more fillers than the others. Also the cliffhangers a little too obvious. I will go on with the series, but my interest is definitely not at its peak right now.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good wintery volume of the Locke & Key graphic novels. I wasn’t as fond of this as I was the last one. I found the pacing a little slow and sometimes the plot gets convoluted and confusing - harking back to events that happened 2 volumes ago and never mentioned again until they seem important.

However. That twist. I didn’t expect it. I didn’t see it coming. And it was good. I also do like the added complexity to the story. It’s multi faceted, hinting at future events with little Easter eggs scattered throughout (much like the keys themselves). All of the characters are incredibly well developed too, with all of them suffering from their traumas and dealing with the repercussions. The Locke children are all damaged, yet still trying to hold their family together. It’s really interesting to see unfold. And it helps that the antagonists is sufficiently evil and complex.

A good edition to the series, that really pulls off a massive twist in the end pages and leave a thrilling build up to the final showdown to come.

[Aesaan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Talk about endings - surprise... SURPRISE!
Just when I thought I was losing interest in the antagonist, things take a turn. I can't wait to see where this goes!
- The first half though was not the best which takes away a star.

[Algernon · Rating 5 out of 5]

The series just gets better and better. In Keys to the Kingdom I feel the need to remark on the daring use of unconventional storytelling and experimental graphic settings. The opening issue, Sparrow is a particularly well executed homage to my all time favorite artist Bill Waterson and his newspaper style of small panel stories. The choice of Bode as a stand-in for the subversive Calvin is obvious to anyone familiar with the personalities of the Locke children. Here’s a gem from the mouth of the adventurous kid:

@#&%!
Teenagers!
What the heck is wrong with them?!
Just when you’re about to get a good snowball fight going, they have to ruin it by talking about ‘relationships’!

Left to his own devices by his teenage siblings, Bode discovers yet another magical key, one the opens to him the kingdom of beasts. An amazing flight of fancy that ends in blood and tears as the Adversary of the Locke family is still plotting to bring them down.

In the next issue, White Kinsey and Bode investigate the past mysteries of their father’s generation, with the help of another magical key, one that allows a person to change his/her appearance. The premise offers good material for an exploration of racial prejudice and identity issues.

Issue no. 3, February , is built on a calendar template, with each panel representing a day in the winter month. We have Tyler trying to fit in on his school’s hockey team, Bode discovering new and dangerous keys, a little highschool romance drama with Kinsey playing the rebelious girl and hesitating between the dark and hansome Zack and her geeky class mates while Tyler wins and loses his girlfriend attentions in the space of a few days. I’m starting to lose track of all the new keys and abilities among creeping sharp vines, rusty chains, mesmerizing mechanical dancers, sword wielding squirells and strength enhancing amulets. The three Locke scions find out among other things that playing around with magic and bringing their friends in on the secret can have unforeseen and painful consquences.

Casualties is using a classical comic template, I believe from the 1970’s, from some military themes series that I’m unfamiliar with. Bode is assisted here by the boy Rufus, and together they discover that their make-believe game of toy soldiers is mirroring the larger conflict between the Locke family and their Adversary. The autistic Rufus has his own magical abilities of perceiving the supernatural manifestation in the mansion, among them the ghost of Sam Lesser, still haunting the halls and corridors looking for revenge against the Adversary.

Detectives , parts I and II, bring about a timely and surprising major development in the plot, so I will talk less about them. Suffice to say, I felt it was about time for some revelations and a game changer from the interesting but repetitive experiments with new keys.

Overall, the quality of the writing and the graphical excellence show no signs of faltering after four albums, and I have high hopes from the following albums.

[Chad · Rating 5 out of 5]

After many attacks the kids finally figure some things out just in time for a major turn in the story. The Bill Watterson tribute issue is fantastic. I love the juxtaposition between the cartoony panels and the graphic battles in the backgrounds. There are so many great panels in the February issue where they just throw away battles between the Lockes and the Dark Lady in one panel. They could really revisit these and flesh each one out into an entire issue. They are so creative. I think that's what I like the most about this series. The amount of original creativity and thought that's gone into the entire Locke and Key series. I dread coming to the end of each volume, because that means I'm one step closer to the end of the series.

[destiny ♡ howling libraries · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny enough, given that Volume 3 was my favorite of the series so far, Volume 4 was my least favorite. There was a lot of action without dialogue that made it just feel like filler material, as well as some particularly sad events that were a little bit hard to follow through the storyline.

One thing I did enjoy about this volume, however, was the opportunity it took to make fun of bigoted, racist assholes. I never get tired of that.

Series content warning: violence, sexual assault, homophobia, racism, sexism, ableism. All negative views are challenged by the text, but are very present.

[Shainlock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many more keys, things become even more mixed up, someone dies in the end issue and it tells you this on the cover. Dodge continues to be creepy; Bode learns about life.
Tribute to Bill Watterson.... Loved that part.

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

From 5 stars to 4. I still really enjoyed this but it's slightly less awesome than I remembered.


6/16 2014
Holy shit with the ending! Why would you do this to me Joe? Why?

Wow. Just wow. If you haven't read my review of Volume 1 where I say to pick up this series and read it. Well, I'm saying it again. Read this series.


When I first opened Keys to the Kingdom, I wasn't a huge fan of the childlike artwork at first, but it grew on me, and it ended up working really well with the art I'm used to with this series.

The story itself though, yeah, that just keeps getting better. The plot just freaking thickens with Keys to the Kingdom, and I was holding on for dear life as this world that Joe Hill has created continued to come to life on the pages in front of me. Props to Gabriel Rodriguez for being able to create this world visually so well. It was just another outstanding, amazing, volume to this.


I can't believe there's only two left to go. I'm nearing the end, and I'm frightened at what there will be when I come to the end. At this point, I just have no idea if the Lockes are going to win.

[Kerri · Rating 5 out of 5]

SECOND READ:
One of my favourite volumes (though in fairness I could say that about all of them) it has moments of wonder, due to the many keys, but the violence and death increases rapidly as well. The Sparrows story is a particularly affecting one. I loved the mix of art styles, especially Bode's "Calvin and Hobbes" style pages.

FIRST READ:
🗝️A volume that was both fun (especially because of the amount of Keys that are revealed) and brutal, I'm continuing to enjoy every page of this. 💖

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

So as a quick update - this is - hmm that is a good point how many times have I re-read this series anyway this is the next time. I must admit that the story is still full of twists and turns and yes the odd surprise. As I said before this really was kicked off with me watching the Netflix series however the books have now gone way beyond anything in series and honestly things are not only getting interesting (they were before) but now the stakes just keep on getting increased. This is something any series struggles with, the ability to find that balance between keeping the story going and yet not making things so drawn out - however we are now past the midpoint and as the saying things get darkest before the dawn

As I commented in the comments to the previous volume its very tricky to comment about a series of books unless its negatively. The problem is with this series is its quality - its just so good that one book blends in to the next. The story is seamless and so consistent, okay time may pass in the story, locations change and cast of characters alter but the artwork, storyline and even just the feel of the story feels the same. And there in lies the problem - how do I differentiate between the volumes when so far the are all so good.

So there is the challenge how do I (or more likely fail to) pick out aspects of one book to the next which makes this review any different to the volumes either side of it.

Well what can I say. the series is now past the half way point and as you would know from the earlier volumes the story is now heading towards its confrontations and conclusions and in Keys to the Kingdom we start to see the major shifts in the storyline start including a massive shift at the end of the book ( remember no spoilers). SO all I can say is that volume 5 was started very quickly after the ending of this one!

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh my. So many new keys and almost all unknown so far (they aren't on the show). There is one to make you inhabit an animal, one to produce all kinds of toys, one that makes you strong like ten men ... and then there is the music box we know from the show.
The kids find many of those keys but unfortunately, the music box is in Doge's posession. He/she fights the kids in a number of forms a number of times but the best plan definitely is the one in the end of this volume (same principle as on the show but very different and quite devious execution).
In between we get Nina trying to sober up, the kids falling in and out of love, trying to form friendships and just living a good life. Which is often hard.
They also meet Erin, a former friend of their father's who's now at the mental hospital (just like on the show). And Kinsey does what I wanted to happen on the show, only she can't interpret what she sees correctly (something that greatly emphasized the limitations of the Head Key).

I really liked to see all the different keys and what they enable you to do - but also the limits (and how to get around them). It made for the most adventurous volume yet.

What delighted me in this volume was that Bode was reading some comicbook with Hobbes on the cover and that the artist drew quite a lot like that comic in the beginning. As a fan of Calvin and Hobbes, I loved that.


It also made for a change in the drawing style. Though I do get the feeling that the artist got better over time.



So yeah, still having fun.

[Stepheny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Goddamn I love these.

[Virginie Roy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I preferred the first three books, but the ending was really good and I can't wait to read the next one to see what's gonna happen!

[Shannara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I almost feel like I might as well rate them all a five because they’re sooooo good!!! I’m totally into the art. It is especially great and no detail was left undone! The facial expressions are spot on and I am caring about this family!!

Then the storyline gets you chills down your spine!!! I’m soooo glad this is on comiXology!!! I’m saving up my review energy until I get to the last book where I will review basically the series as a whole. Cause really, the best I can do is get to that point and see if I recommend this or if it randomly starts to tank! Which I seriously doubt, but you never know!!!! So at this time I can only say, “Happy Reading!!!”

Check out this review and others on my blog: https://shannarareads.com/?p=289
Thanks!!!!

[mark monday · Rating 4 out of 5]

oooooo... the eeriest of rollercoaster rides, a rush of images, sinister vistas zooming in and out of view, unreal tableau cascading pell-mell, willy-nilly, hurly-burly: an homage to Bill Watterson, a bloody battle between birds and wolves; racial dismay and distortion in an insane asylum; a hockey loss, a greenhouse comes alive, sprouting wings, battling chains, battling squirrels, a death-tune, the end of friendships, battling teddy bears, battling friends, the worst way to win at hockey; an homage to EC Comics, soldiers in battle, a ghost with an agenda and an autistic child, a "philososcope"; a long-awaited confrontation, the return of a terrible tune, a terrible death, a terrible transformation... Joe Hill (brilliant writing) and Gabriel Rodriguez (brilliant art) decide to unleash everything at once and the effect is wonderfully disorienting, the carefully scattered puzzle pieces begin uniting in mad spurts, the slow pace moves into fast-forward, everything comes together, everything falls apart... my hands gripped this volume too tightly, my eyes wide, my mouth agape, my brain began to hurt...