Locke & Key, Vol. 3: Crown of Shadows

This is the 3rd graphic novel in the Locke and Key series. The 4th, Locke & Key Volume 4: Keys to the Kingdom HC , comes out July of 2011. This was an excellent installment in this series; this story just keeps getting more and more interesting. I think this was my favorite one yet, which is really saying something since I have loved them all. I should also mention that the hardback version of this is just beautiful; even has a lovely ribbon to keep track of your place in the book. As the Locke children's mother is incapacitated by grief and forced to deal with yet another loss, the Locke children are left to fend for themselves in a house where things are becoming increasingly strange. Dodge continues his search for the Black Door Key and summons an army of shadows to torment the Locke children. The Locke children are forced to fight for their lives against the shadows within. This is just such an interesting, if profoundly creepy, series. Every installment introduces new mystery to the storyline and every installment introduces strange new keys that do fantastical things. I am so excited to see what each new key does, and so interested in how this battle between the living and the dead, between Dodge and the Locke children will play out. This is definitely a novel for adults, some of the things in here are disturbing. The mother of the Locke children continues a rapidly increasing descent into misery and spends a lot of time drinking and being generally useless and tragic. The Locke kids struggle along as well as they can. It is interesting to see some of the affects from Locke & Key: Head Games and how they played out in this book. I was thrilled by the fact that this installment cranks up the level of fantasy quite a bit. When Dodge uses the Key of Shadows and summons and epic army of shadows things get really awesome. The artwork is incredibly beautiful and the shadow army lets the illustrators show off even more of their considerable talent. The story ended well enough, but I am still desparate to see what will happen next. Overall just an outstanding addition to this series. These books just keep getting better and better; more and more engaging and interesting. I can't help but feel that this is all building up to something incredibly tragic and I am desparate to know what will happen next. This is one of the few graphic novels I will go out and buy new in hardback; they are definitely keepers. The hardbacks are very beautiful with a lot of attention to detail to the quality of the book; making this book something that is a pleasure to hold in your hands and read. I can absolutely not wait to read Locke & Key Volume 4: Keys to the Kingdom HC !

Crown of Shadows, the third full-length installment of the sensational Locke & Key series, continues to follow Dodge (disguised as classmate Zack Wells) in his unremitting quest to unearth the Omega Key that will unlock the Black Door. Armed with an unholy crown found in the dark recesses of Keyhouse, Dodge raises an army of shadow monsters to torment the Locke children. Surrounded and outnumbered, Tyler, Kinsey, and Bode find themselves alone in a desperate battle for survival. Meanwhile, their grief-stricken mother, Nina, drowns her sorrows in alcohol, wrecking emotional havoc on herself and her children. Riveting and profoundly creepy, the Locke & Key series gets better with each installment, injecting new mysteries into the existing storylines and introducing new bizarre keys that perform fantastical feats. Readers at this point will be glued to the pages waiting to find out what each newly discovered key does. The fantasy element is literally taken to new heights with the discovery of a so-called Giant Key that—yeah, you guessed it—turns you into a giant. Joe Hill’s unique writing continues to impress and immerses readers in what feels like a full-fledged novel. The brilliant visuals crafted by Gabriel Rodriguez are flawless, and the emotions of the characters bleed through even without words. Both author and artist have an equal chance to shine in this latest volume, and audiences can only expect great things in the three remaining installments.

It's no surprise that Joe Hill is pumping out stories of the macabre, right? And he sure is doing it as well as his Dad (Stephen King) with Locke & Key. I was first attracted to Locke & Key when I was reading a February 2011 New York Post article about comics and graphic novels that have been or will be turned into movies or TV series. Locke & Key will be one of the latter with a potential pilot episode airing as soon as the end of this year on FOX. So I thought that I'd get "the real story" from the actual author prior its release as a TV series. And so far, after Books 1, 2 & 3, I am not disappointed. (EDIT: 7/2011 - Fox has scratched the Locke & Key pilot - see link in the comment section of this review.) Locke & Key is violent at times, bloody at times, scary at times, disturbing at times, but most importantly it is very well written. After tragedy struck and took away the father in the Locke family, they relocate from the West Coast and move into a big old spooky mansion in, where else but..."Lovecraft", MA. And you can bet your bottom dollar that in a mansion in a New England town called Lovecraft created by the spawn of Stephen King...thar will be ghosts! And it turns out that there are more than just ghosts; there are keys hidden all over this spooky mansion that unlock amazing powers for the holder of the key(s). While well written, in Book 1 there were some recycled themes and predictable moments that I thought might take the series to a, well...predictable place. But as Book 2 and 3 unfolded, or should I say unlocked, there's more of a cool uniqueness that's really got me hooked and looking forward to digging into Locke & Key Volume 4: Keys to the Kingdom due to be released this year. The Locke & Key series is an excellent read for fans of the Fantasy or Horror genres. And I'm now really looking forward to the TV series. It seems like it has a promising Supernaturalish chance of succeeding with War of the Worlds / Sarah Connor Chronicles writer Josh Friedman joining on to help Hill get it "out the door" and onto TV.

Buenísimo, la trama excelente y como siempre los pequeños detalles del dibujo son un agasajo

Well written, great atmosphere, simply addictive! I’m a huge fan of Locke & Key. Only downside is that is will end. I’m glad only to be halfway.

I wanted to give 4.5 stars, so bad to round it off to 4. Loved the writing, story and the graphics. Would recommend to everyone whether or not you are into graphic novels or not. 😁

Great book.

Libro bellissimo, ma arrivato leggermente danneggiato agli angoli come anche gli altri due prima. Dovete usare un imballaggio più adatto. Solo per questo una stella in meno. Per il resto niente da dire, qualità del libro (hardcover) fantastica, bei disegni, storia sempre più coinvolgente