Locke and Key Volume 2: Head Games

Locke and Key Volume 2: Head Games
Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodiguez, 2009

Premise: Sequel to Welcome to Lovecraft. The Locke family kids try to adapt to their new life and make friends at their new school, with mixed success. Zack aka Lucas aka Dodge is distracted from his plans by the need to tie up loose ends. His methods continue to be pretty violent. And Bode, the youngest Locke sibling, finds a new key, this one a key to the strangest realm of all: the human mind.

While I liked this volume more than the first, it still isn't a favorite of mine. The plot continues to move forward, but the slow burn means that we're still in the part of the horror movie when I'm yelling at characters: don't go in there! Don't do that! While Tyler and Kinsey's more foolish decisions are believable for teenagers, they still frustrate me a little.

There's a little less gore and a little more creepiness in the volume, which I liked. Some of the art was really nice, especially once they start using the Head Key to see into people's minds. The relationship between symbolism and memory was well expressed, I thought.

I am intrigued about where the story goes from here. I especially want to see the fallout from Kinsey's rather frightening use of the Head Key.

There's a bunch of interesting back story for Dodge, and his relationship with the late Mr. Locke. The collection also has some supplemental material in the back that alludes to the origin of the magic keys, and has some intriguing implications for Dodge's origin.

To sum-up: this is a strong series that doesn't quite gel for me. I still think it's good, though.

3 Stars – A Good Book