About ten years ago I discovered a comic book that I really enjoyed called Locke and Key. Netflix has turned it into a show that just barely released it's third season a couple of weeks ago. Just like the age old saying "Don't Judge a book by it's cover.", I can also say, don't judge the comic book by it's Netflix series. It's not bad, and I suggest it, but at the same time, the comic book version is way better, and if you have seen the show and like it, I strongly suggest that you go and read the comic books. The series is over, but very accessible, especially where you can buy a couple of books that have all of the comic books in them.
I know that not everyone is into comics, but Locke and Key is a pretty good one. It's written by Joe Hill, who is actually horror master writer Stephen King, but goes by his mother's maiden name because he didn't want people to think that he was riding on his daddy's coattails to get noticed. He has other comics and even a couple of books, so he is doing well on his own.
I do recommend this comic book, but it isn't for everyone. While the Netflix rating is usually TV-14, the comic book has more language and blood that the Netflix show doesn't. It's not something that I would allow my almost 12 year old son read, at least until he is a late teenager. I have also talked to some friends who say that their families watched the show on Netflix and if they should read the books. Again, the comics are more adult.
So, what is the comic book about? It's about the Locke family. a widow and her three kids, two of them are teenagers, and the youngest is around ten years old. When their husband/father is murdered, they inherit their famiy's mansion across the country. The teens hate it, the mother is drinking pretty much non-stop, but the ten year old boy, Bode, starts finding these cool looking keys around the house that he learns are magic.
Every key has something awesome, but at the same time has something terrible. For example, when Bode finds one of the keys, he feels the back of his neck, and there is a keyhole there in his neck. He uses the key, and his head opens up, and he finds that he can add and remove things from his mind. For example, if he wants to learn how to be a great cook or chef, he can open his head and put a ton of cooking books into his head, shut it, lock it up, and then he has all of the knowledge from those books.
That power sounds awesome, but when the sister finds the key, she removes things from her mind that she really shouldn't, but does it anyway. In that case, she chooses to to forget her father all together so that she isn't sad about his passing, but by doing so, she is ridding herself of all of the good memories about her father.
The keys do neat things, but there is an evil entity who used to be friends with the Locke family's father. When Bode releases the entity from the well on their property, the entity is bent on finding all of the keys from the Locke house because he knows that he will be able to control the whole world. The problem is, he kills someone, inhabits their body, and then pretends to be a new student, and the Locke teens and this person become close friends, while the bad guy is just searching for the keys that are in the house.
So, basically the plot is discovering the good and the evil each key possesses, and then battles between good and evil. It's a great story. It can be a bit heavy-handed, which is why I don't recommend the comic books for kids, or even young teens, but if you have seen the show, the comics are better, and if you are invested in the story, go back and read the comics because they have more keys, more plots, but more language and violence. I usually try to recommend things for families, but I just wanted to publish this short blog about it and that I recommend it if you are into the Netflix show. If you haven't watched the Netflix show, that's great, read the comic books first.
Anyway, that's all I have for tonight. I just wanted to recommend the comic and show, but mostly the comic.
As always, I hope you are happy and healthy. I love all of my readers, and it's nice to know that people like my stuff. I will be back with another entry soon!
Nate
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