Locke & Key Volume 2: Head Games/ Joe Hill

Locke & Key Volume 2: Head Games by Joe Hill graphic literature, horror, supernatural, adult content 160 pages

Even though this book is a graphic novel and an 160 page graphic novel at that, I still find it quite an accomplishment that I finished this book in one shift at the library. Maybe this is a testament to my speed reading skills, maybe this is a revelation that I don't actually do any work at the library and just read all day. While these are both possibilities, I think the best possibility is that Joe Hill knows how to right one compelling story.

I'll admit, this whole "haunted mansion with doors that manipulate the people who unlock them" storyline is STILL lame, but Hill manages to still make me want to know what happens next regardless of this weak premise. The one thing that I have to comment on that kind of bothers me story-wise is that Hill is ADDICTED to foreshadowing. Everything that is going to happen later in the book is foreshadowed either through an image or through exposition. It seems super predictable, but also, since I read it all in a short period, it may have been easier for me to make some of the less-than-obvious predictions.

The artwork is still amazing, and the unnamed party who recommended this series to me made sure to tell me that I failed to name the artist responsible in my last post. His name is Gabriel Rodriguez. My failure to mention his name last time does not mean that I think Hill drew every frame himself, I just tend to give a lot more credit to the writer/creator (i'm an English major, give me a break here...)

The last thing I really want to praise is that Hill manages to make even his most minor characters connect with every other character in the series. To some, these coincidences may be annoying and unrealistic, but it's a freaking comic book, people...get over it. I actually like these connections and can't wait to see more of them.

Annie...you will never be cool, no matter how good this series gets