Locke & Key is a comic book written by Joe Hill and drawn by Gabriel Rodriguez and published by IDW. The volume I'm reading is volume one titled, "Welcome to Lovecraft." I went to a few comic shops in the city hoping to find a copy of volume one only to be told they are all sold out. Had to go online to grab this one.

*Spoilers*

We meet the Locke family, Rendell (father), Nina (mother), Tyler the eldest (son), Kinsey (daughter), and the youngest Bode (son). During a family vacation a former student of Rendell's named Sam Lesser arrives with another local from their home town in San Francisco comes by for an unexpected visit. Both Sam and his friend Al are armed. Rendell gets killed in the process. The children who were on their way back to the house when they hear the gunshot barely escape. In the end Glen gets killed by Nina and Tyler manages to subdue and brutally beat Sam.

After the funeral for Rendell the family decide they will start a new life at Rendell's childhood home in Lovecraft, New England. The new home is owned by Rendell's brother Duncan. The house also has a name, Keyhouse. Bode immediately goes off to explore his new home and discovers a key. The key, when used on the exit door, allows him to leave his body when he tries to step outside. Meanwhile body lays disturbingly on the floor. He begins to see it as an adventure and loves to go out as a ghost. He tries to tell his moody brother Tyler about it but he won't hear any of it. Same for Kinsey who smashes an object against the wall trying to hit Bode with it.

Tyler who was moody and depressed before the tragedy is now even more so due to guilt about what happened to his father and his sister Kinsey is afraid of making friends since she feels they already stare and she doesn't want anyone to bring up their father's murder. Their mother Nina is trying to make sense of Bode's actions such as when drawing a comic to explain what he did over the Summer. On the drawing were his father dying and the fact that he uses a secret door to become a ghost. At the same time Nina has started drinking more and more. Bode has also made a new friend that no one is aware of. A friend that is living at the bottom of a water well. To top it off Sam Lesser has just escaped prison and is on his way to fulfill his original mission to obtain a special key.

Talk about a creepy read. Joe Hill wrote one heck of a good story. I found myself fascinated at the turn of every page. I like scary stories and this one was all kinds of scary. I'll refrain from saying what exactly was creepy in order not to spoil the whole story and surprises. At the end of the book I found myself looking for hints after getting to the last page. A great book to read during the Halloween season to set the scary mood.

Gabriel Rodriguez's art was very fitting for the story. While I must admit I don't like the way Tyler is drawn, Rodriguez does capture a mood very well. From drawing a kid at play to seeing a person getting beaten to a pulp the art definitely stands out.

The book covers a lot of scary ground. I would definitely recommend this one. If your local shop doesn't have it and you can wait a bit, go ahead and order it. Locke and Key is a title that deserves a space on the bookshelf. Hopefully that pilot I keep hearing about gets picked up. A Locke and Key television series would be amazing.