Locke & Key: Clockworks

ClockworksBackground

Previously, on Locke & Key…

When Keys to the Kingdom ends, it looks like the Locke kids killed the evil Zack, but then in a major twist, it turns out he used the ghost door to switch bodies with Bode.

Review

I mentioned last week that Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez pulled off an impressive feat when they stopped the action dead to rights and told a number of solo side stories. While they continued the action from the horrors of Keyhouse, they also took the time to let us get to know the characters a little better.

At the end of that book, though, they went all out and had a knock down and drag out battle with Zack, which left bodies dead and emotions shattered. So, what do Hill and Rodriguez follow that up with? An issue long flashback.

Locke & Key: Clockworks presents a brand new key, one that allows Tyler and Kinsey to actually look back in the past. Sadly, the clock the key was made for stops at 1999, so they can’t look into the 2000’s (which means they can’t see that Bode is possessed by Zack). However, they can see what happened to lead to this point.

And, with that, Locke & Key: Clockworks finally tells us the story of Keyhouse and we learn that Zack is not an ancient old demon, but was actually one of Rendell’s best friends, and was actually a really, really good guy until the Omega Door was opened and a demon possessed him.


So, what we get here is the story of how the Locke’s ancestors were killed and how they discovered the keys that unlocked everything in the house. We also see that Rendell and his friends (Luke (Zack), Erin, Mark, Kim) and his little brother Duncan all mastered the keys to the house. They could even control the shadows. However, the problem here is that the reason that only kids can use the keys, and only young children can find them, is so adults don’t use them for evil.

When Rendell decides he wants to let a demon out to create a new key, and Duncan makes his way down there, Luke tries to save him and gets possessed. The friends then have to try to subdue Luke, fail, and two ends up dead, two permanently scarred and Rendell regretting every minute.

This entire book is almost all about the flashbacks and letting us know what happened in the past and that is when we realize, as Bode holds the Omega Key, that bad bad things are coming in the final issue. This is a horror comic series that can slow down and never stop the tension. Another brilliant book in one of the best series I have ever read.

Next Week’s Preview

Bode opens the door and all hell breaks lose in the finale of  Locke & Key.


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