Usually, I only review graphic novels vs single issues, but this is Locke & Key, I obviously needed to make an exception. Small World is a one-shot, but the creators plan a few more of these type of stories, covering some of the history prior to the original series that will be under the umbrella of Locke & Key: The Golden Age.

The Locke family has lived on the Keyhouse estate for over 250 years, and this particular story takes place in the early 1900s. Chamberlin Locke and his wife Fiona give a gift of an ornate dollhouse which is a replica of their own, to their daughters Mary and Jean. The magic Small World key creates the family in miniature and the girls can watch their family in the dollhouse. But in this supernatural thriller, things take a sinister turn quickly. Soon the miniature girls and their brothers Ian and John are fighting for their lives when a spider takes up residence in the dollhouse.  The artwork is again superb, with Locke family traits being readily evident, plus the keys we are familiar with are utilized to great effect in the story.

The note at the end of the issue, From The Publisher’s Desk, is what truly excited me for it included information about the future of Locke & Key. Creators Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez share news of the script that Hill is writing for Hulu (edit- Netflix picked up the series to film when Hulu passed on it) based on the series, and hint at a new Locke & Key comic series called World War Key. Be still my beating heart- a live series and a new six-book cycle??  So I am thrilled that I hopefully have many more years of Locke & Key epicness ahead of me!

Make sure you check out my reviews for Volume One and then the remaining horror series, Volumes Two through Six.

-Nancy

 

Hill, Joe, Gabrriel Rodriguez & Jay Fotos. Locke & Key: Small World. 2016 Variant Covers