Locke & Key: Alpha & Omega

For the big finale Hill and Rodriguez bring the horror and the feels in about equal abundance. Well, maybe the ratio of feels is higher, but the horror drives most of the feels it being that kind of comic. Demon-possessed Dodge has possessed Bode and wants to bring some friends over and make keys and rule the world, and the Senior Prom party in the caves is the perfect oppotunity to wreak havoc and woe. Just as the family and friends seem to be getting their stuff together, Dodge-Bode brings the wrecking ball. There is crying. So much crying. (Brave wee Rufus steals the show though. The feels for Rufus are weapons grade.)

“Secrets are hell. Secrets are the prisons we make for ourselves.”

Oh Tyler. You wore the hate of my favorite baseball team, the Oakland A's, and that made you my favorite! Then you said this, of my favorite band, “I hate Dave Matthews’ music, too.” :( For shame.

Other than that misstep, this is a heck of an ending to the series! Very satisfying and well done! I'm very impressed about the momentum this story had and they way they were able to make me feel that the ending justified the means. And it hit all the right notes for me about who lived, who died, and who, and how, characters were affected. Well done Mr. Hill!

“Eighteen and stupid happens to everyone...” Sooooo true....

Summary: Dodge - currently inhabiting the body of six-year-old Bode Locke - has finally achieved what he's been searching for his entire life - and more. He's got the key that will open the Black Door, and let the demons on the other side enter our world. Tyler and Kinsey, along with their mother and uncle, have stood against Dodge, but now that he's got control of the keys, he may be too powerful for them to stop. And when Lovecraft Academy's biggest after-prom party is being held in the caves underneath Key House, it may be impossible for them to avert tragedy - or the end of the world.

Review: I was apprehensive, but this volume was everything that I wanted out of the end of such a great series. It was scary, it was suspenseful, it show more made me laugh, and man alive, it made me cry. (Or at least get extremely misty-eyed.) There were parts that were almost too brutal to read, they were so heartwrenching. Hill & Rodriguez have developed characters with huge emotional depth over the course of the series, and they don't disappoint here. Their use of horror is also once-again spot-on; it's a little gory in places, but it never seems gratuitously show, and personally, I found the results of the Shadow Crown to be some of the scariest parts of this book. They also wrap up a lot of smaller threads from earlier in the series in ways that feel organic and satisfying. There was only one element of the ending that I wasn't crazy about, and I suspect that's due in large part to the fact that it's been a while since I read the first five volumes, and I've forgotten some of the details about how each of the keys work. But regardless, this series is amazingly good, and Hill & Rodriguez chose to end it while it was still at the top of its game. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: Nothing will make sense if you don't start at the beginning, but the series as a whole is well worth reading, even if horror isn't typically your favorite genre. There's a quote on the back cover calling Locke & Key "this generation's Sandman", and I have to say, I think I might agree. Highly recommended. show less

So good! I feel like Hill and Rodriguez managed to wrap up the story avoiding any glaring pitfalls, and deliver a deeply satisfying conclusion. I really appreciate the delicate balancing they had to do in order not to lose the horror-tension, but also deliver a cathartic, hopeful, and emotional ending.

I’m really glad I’ve read this series. No one ugly-cried, shut up.

Excellent art, extended interlocking story that makes promises and keeps them. This is a perfect example of what modern comics can do—so much creativity and power in here—all created without dependence on some pre-existing comic characters—without dependence, even, on a pre-existing mythos or worldview. This is a horror comic. The only problem with it is that it doesn’t need to be. Children are murdered for the storyline, and I’m not convinced they all needed to be. However, part of this series’s charm is that no punches are pulled—adolescents say and do things that adolescents say and do—as adults, we forget that world. This comic doesn’t forget. That’s a major theme of the book, too. I love it and recommend it, but show more the story and impact and power of this comic could have worked with a little less horror. Okay... maybe just cut the kite-bus moment and I’d be set? show less

The final volume of the Locke & Key graphic novel series. And a sufficiently climactic conclusion it is, too, full of suspense and horror and violence and nobility and warmth. I enjoyed it a lot, and I'm sorry it's all over.

I wholeheartedly recommend this series as a whole, if you have any interest at all in a beautifully drawn fantasy/horror comic that tells a great story with great characters and makes excellent use of the graphic novel format. I'd strongly suggest picking up all six volumes and reading them at once, though, because the only thing I disliked about these books was the way that the loss of momentum in the long wait between installments did such a disservice to the story.

Rating: 4.5/5, although the whole thing, put all show more together, might well deserve a 5/5. show less

When I got a copy of this from NetGalley to review I was absolutely ecstatic. I love love love this graphic novel series. It is my absolute favorite graphic novel series and sadly this is the last book in it. This was an excellent close to the series, I really could not have asked for a more wonderful ending to the series.

Dodge has all of the keys and he is using them to drag the kids from the Locke house and their friends into the Demon Realm. Dodge wants to rule the world with the help of his demonic friends. To do this Dodge has possessed Bode’s body, displacing Bode to spirit form. Unfortunately getting everyone in one place is made incredibly easy because the after prom party is being held in the cave that holds the portal. The show more Locke kids will need all their wits about them if they are to vanquish this evil once and for all...and they will have to pay a steep cost to do so.

Whenever I pick up one of these books I forget how incredibly engaging they are. I am absolutely involved with all of these characters, they evoke such strong emotions. I have hated and loved all of these characters at one point of another. The story and the scenes are just so...visceral...I think that’s the right word to describe them. They are raw, evoke a lot of emotion and just grab you.

There are some truly awesome scenes in this book. Dodge has all of the keys...so Shadows are attacking people, Giants are roaming, and he is digging around in people’s heads. It is so truly terrifying, yet just...so...absolutely stunningly awesome.

As with all of these books lots of bad stuff happens, lots of scary stuff happens, and lots of truly disturbing things happen. But, unlike previous books, there is a lot of good stuff too. The Locke family is finally pulling together. Their mother is finally sober and things are starting to really look like maybe, just maybe, the whole family won’t end up in absolute disaster.

The authors did an absolutely fantastic job of wrapping things up. No portion of the story is left dangling, no character abandoned. It was a truly excellent ending. We see characters here be heroes that I never thought would step up to the challenge and they did.

As with previous installments the artwork is just beyond top notch. It is beautiful, full color, and adds a ton to the story. I am thrilled with this book, excited to know how everything turned out, and depressed that it is over.

Overall an absolutely stunning conclusion to this graphic novel series. I loved this book! I couldn’t put it down and now that I am done I want to read these all again. This graphic novel series is highly recommended to anyone (adult age) who loves graphic novels. It is definitely a horror graphic novel, but there are a lot of really neat fantasy and supernatural elements as well. The first book in this series was the weakest, but the series only got better and better from there on out.

Oh, how I loved this series and this final book was absolutely the icing on the cake! show less