I started reading “Locke & Key” back in August of this year. Despite having read and enjoyed Joe Hill’s novel “Heart Shaped Box,” and despite all of the positive buzz that surrounded the title, I had passed it up several times. However, on that fateful day in August, the stars aligned as I perused the graphic novel section of my local library. I don’t remember what else I checked out that day, but I sure as hell remembered “Locke & Key.”
How could one forget the emotional sucker punch that happens within the first few pages? How could one forget the psychotic Sam Lesser, and the terrors he visited upon the Locke family? How could one forget seeing the first few glimmers of the maniacally evil entity known as Dodge? The mythology that Joe Hill wrote and that Gabriel Rodriguez then brought to nightmarishly vivid life wormed its way into my brain, and it wasn’t long before I was snatching them up like a rat.
Volume six isn’t scheduled for release until February of next year, but due to a possible pact with Satan of which I am unaware, an advanced copy fell into my greedy hands. I read it twice, and spent the rest of the week an emotional wreck. Joe Hill’s realistically flawed characters are so lifelike and endearing that every time Dodge sticks the knife into the family’s heart and twists, the reader can’t escape their pain. That being said, the conclusion of ‘Alpha & Omega’ offers the right amount of closure. Considering how much hell—both figurative and literal—that the Locke family has gone through within the pages of this series, it was a perfectly bittersweet ending.
Before the Lockes reach that satisfying point in the story, however, a lot of terrible, heroic, disturbing, and otherwise spectacular events take place. At the conclusion of volume five, Dodge is holding all of the cards—or, more appropriately, keys. Volume six builds towards his diabolical plan of opening the Black Door and unleashing the rest of his demonic brethren upon the world. On prom night, no less.
We also see Rufus, Ellie Whedon’s mentally disabled son, fully embrace his militaristic and heroic nature. For me, Rufus has been one of the most heartbreaking and honest characters of the series. There’s a beautiful moment which captures how profound his relationship with his mother Ellie was, which also fuels the reader’s desire to see Rufus give a bit of an ass-kicking to Dodge.
And let’s not forget the supporting cast of Scot, Jackie, Jamal, and Jordan. Where were these kids when I was in high school? Each of them embraces their inner courage during the apex of Dodge’s dastardly plan, and they do so in ways that remain true to their characters. They definitely lend credence to the fact that sometimes it’s the outsiders that have the strength to carry others through a crisis.
As it’s not due out for another few months, I really don’t want to wreck anything for you “Locke & Key” fans out there. Suffice to say, as a sufficiently passionate fan of the series, ‘Alpha & Omega’ is a perfect swan song for a series that shatters the boundaries of what a graphic novel can be. Joe Hill’s storytelling has remained solid throughout, despite the fact that his epic saga spans the course of a few hundred years; and Gabriel Rodriguez’s illustrations consistently managed to evoke the deep, often painful trials of the Locke family. There are very few comic book writer/artist pairings that are worthy to join the elite pantheon that includes the likes of Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon, but I think it’s safe to say that Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez have earned their place among the all-stars of comic book storytelling.