Locke & Key Volume 2: Head Games

Locke & Key Volume 2: Head Games 
Joe Hill, author
Gabriel Rodriguez, illustrator
Hardcover: 160 pages
Publisher: IDW Publishing (September 29, 2009)
5/5 stars


The story of Locke & Key Volume 2: Head Games follows the Locke children from volume one (Welcome to Lovecraft) and picks up right where that volume ended. The youngest, Bode, has found another strange key. The discovery of what the key opens is stranger still. Ty and a reluctant Kinsey include their new friend Zach in on this discovery, never realizing that doing so is creating more danger for them, their family, and the residents of Lovecraft. The volume ends with some questions answered and more questions posed--and with the reader eager to read the next installment.

Hill's storytelling remains fantastic. He continues to tell back story and currently story simultaneously with no glitches. The Locke children are well rounded characters with believable reactions and emotions. Supporting characters, such as Ellie and Rufus, are fleshed out well and become important to the reader. The fiendish enemy is so full of personality that he puzzles and charms the reader, just as he does to the Locke family. Head Games is a much less gruesome tale, more fantasy than horror, than the previous one, and reads just as quickly and smoothly.

Rodriguez contributes immensely to the flow of the narrative, as well as telling much of the story with the art. The placement of panels, the focus of certain elements in the panels, and the color and style of the art in general is often original and always perfect for the story. His ability to display human emotions so effectively is amazing; there is never any question as to what the characters are thinking or feeling.

With Locke & Key Volume 2: Head Games , Hill and Rodriguez present another five star collaboration.

~~Read for the Graphic Novels Challenge~~