Locke & Key, Vol. 1: Welcome to Lovecraft

Part of Locke & Key

Author Joe Hill
Illustrated by Gabriel Rodriguez
Introduction by Robert Crais
Paperback
$19.99 US
| $25.99 CAN
On sale Aug 18, 2009 | 168 Pages | 9781600103841
Now a Netflix original series! Named a "modern masterpiece" by The A.V. ClubLocke & Key tells a sprawling tale of magic and family, legacy and grief, good and evil. Acclaimed suspense novelist and New York Times best-selling author Joe Hill (The FiremanHeart-Shaped Box) has created a gripping story of dark fantasy and wonder—with astounding artwork from Gabriel Rodriguez—that, like the doors of Keyhouse, will transform all who open it. The epic begins here: Welcome to Lovecraft.

Following their father's gruesome murder in a violent home invasion, the Locke children return to his childhood home of Keyhouse in secluded Lovecraft, Massachusetts. Their mother, Nina, is too trapped in her grief—and a wine bottle—to notice that all in Keyhouse is not what it seems: too many locked doors, too many unanswered questions. Older kids Tyler and Kinsey aren't much better. But not youngest son Bode, who quickly finds a new friend living in an empty well and a new toy, a key, that offers hours of spirited entertainment. But again, all at Keyhouse is not what it seems, and not all doors are meant to be opened. Soon, horrors old and new, real and imagined, will come ravening after the Lockes and the secrets their family holds.

Locke & Key, Vol. 1 features an introduction by Robert Crais, author of the bestselling Elvis Cole series of crime novels.
  • WINNER | 2009
    British Fantasy Society Award
  • NOMINEE | 2009
    Eisner Awards
"A modern masterpiece..." — AV Club

"It's great! ...The art here by Gabriel Rodriguez is some of the finest stuff in comics today... The team of Hill and Rodriguez is top notch!" — Blair ButlerFresh Ink

"Solid pacing and plot twists, combined with Rodriguez's clean lines and detailed pencils make Locke & Key a lock for best horror book of the week." — Wizard Magazine

"In a year of auspicious comics debuts, Joe Hill turned in one of the few comics that truly came from a different place. Written with skill that makes me jealous, courage that makes me smile, and honesty and brutality that makes me want to see what comes next. Okay, I'm officially a fan." — Ed Brubaker

"A modern suspense thriller meets something more wondrous and magical." — IGN
Joe Hill is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Full Throttle, The Fireman, Heart-Shaped Box, and NOS4A2, recently made into a TV series from AMC. His horror novella In the Tall Grass, co-written with Stephen King, was made into a feature film from Netflix. His book of short stories, 20th Century Ghosts, won the Bram Stoker Award and British Fantasy Award for Best Collection. He earned the Eisner Award for Best Writer for his long-running comic book series, Locke & Key, featuring the eye-popping art of Gabriel Rodríguez.
 
Born in Santiago, Chile, Gabriel Rodríguez began working as an illustrator in the late 90s and in 2002 started drawing books for IDW Publishing, including CSIGeorge Romero’s Land of the Dead, and Beowulf, amongst others. In 2007, he co-created the award-winning series Locke & Key with Joe Hill. He continued developing other creator-owned projects: the Eisner-winning Little Nemo: Return to Slumberland, with Eric Shanower; Sword of Ages; and the gritty sci-fi adventure Onyx, with Chris Ryall. In 2019, he partnered with Hill once again for two new Locke & Key stories, “Dog Days” and “Nailed It.”

About

Now a Netflix original series! Named a "modern masterpiece" by The A.V. ClubLocke & Key tells a sprawling tale of magic and family, legacy and grief, good and evil. Acclaimed suspense novelist and New York Times best-selling author Joe Hill (The FiremanHeart-Shaped Box) has created a gripping story of dark fantasy and wonder—with astounding artwork from Gabriel Rodriguez—that, like the doors of Keyhouse, will transform all who open it. The epic begins here: Welcome to Lovecraft.

Following their father's gruesome murder in a violent home invasion, the Locke children return to his childhood home of Keyhouse in secluded Lovecraft, Massachusetts. Their mother, Nina, is too trapped in her grief—and a wine bottle—to notice that all in Keyhouse is not what it seems: too many locked doors, too many unanswered questions. Older kids Tyler and Kinsey aren't much better. But not youngest son Bode, who quickly finds a new friend living in an empty well and a new toy, a key, that offers hours of spirited entertainment. But again, all at Keyhouse is not what it seems, and not all doors are meant to be opened. Soon, horrors old and new, real and imagined, will come ravening after the Lockes and the secrets their family holds.

Locke & Key, Vol. 1 features an introduction by Robert Crais, author of the bestselling Elvis Cole series of crime novels.

Awards

  • WINNER | 2009
    British Fantasy Society Award
  • NOMINEE | 2009
    Eisner Awards

Reviews

"A modern masterpiece..." — AV Club

"It's great! ...The art here by Gabriel Rodriguez is some of the finest stuff in comics today... The team of Hill and Rodriguez is top notch!" — Blair ButlerFresh Ink

"Solid pacing and plot twists, combined with Rodriguez's clean lines and detailed pencils make Locke & Key a lock for best horror book of the week." — Wizard Magazine

"In a year of auspicious comics debuts, Joe Hill turned in one of the few comics that truly came from a different place. Written with skill that makes me jealous, courage that makes me smile, and honesty and brutality that makes me want to see what comes next. Okay, I'm officially a fan." — Ed Brubaker

"A modern suspense thriller meets something more wondrous and magical." — IGN

Author

Joe Hill is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Full Throttle, The Fireman, Heart-Shaped Box, and NOS4A2, recently made into a TV series from AMC. His horror novella In the Tall Grass, co-written with Stephen King, was made into a feature film from Netflix. His book of short stories, 20th Century Ghosts, won the Bram Stoker Award and British Fantasy Award for Best Collection. He earned the Eisner Award for Best Writer for his long-running comic book series, Locke & Key, featuring the eye-popping art of Gabriel Rodríguez.
 
Born in Santiago, Chile, Gabriel Rodríguez began working as an illustrator in the late 90s and in 2002 started drawing books for IDW Publishing, including CSIGeorge Romero’s Land of the Dead, and Beowulf, amongst others. In 2007, he co-created the award-winning series Locke & Key with Joe Hill. He continued developing other creator-owned projects: the Eisner-winning Little Nemo: Return to Slumberland, with Eric Shanower; Sword of Ages; and the gritty sci-fi adventure Onyx, with Chris Ryall. In 2019, he partnered with Hill once again for two new Locke & Key stories, “Dog Days” and “Nailed It.”