2020 3rd time reading this particular volume and it still holds up quite well.The major plot developments in this one make it one of the more gasp! *sob* installments for me. I always seem to forget what happens and that ending sneaks up on me.For those of you who are wondering, reading these will not spoil the Netflix show or vice versa. There are quite a few differences between the two storylines. And personally, I usually like it (or at least don't mind) when movies or shows take a bit of a d...

Hmm, not a whole lot happens in the fourth Locke & Key book: Zack/Dodge is still monotonously hunting for the Omega Key. He targets an old girlfriend of Rendell’s (the Locke kids’ dead dad) who recognises him, and he continues to torment Rufus, the son of the woman he’s living with. Then it’s a waiting game until something resembling a plot emerges in the final act. It’s not really plot-driven - it’s not really character-driven either! Locke & Key’s “story” just kinda… floats there. Maybe this i...

From 5 stars to 4. I still really enjoyed this but it's slightly less awesome than I remembered.6/16 2014Holy shit with the ending! Why would you do this to me Joe? Why?Wow. Just wow. If you haven't read my review of Volume 1 where I say to pick up this series and read it. Well, I'm saying it again. Read this series.When I first opened Keys to the Kingdom, I wasn't a huge fan of the childlike artwork at first, but it grew on me, and it ended up working really well with the art I'm used to wi...

Man I love this story so much

This book moves the plot forward quickly. The first chapter has a nod to Calvin and Hobbs it appears. The art is great and it can also be gorey. In this book, ever chapter has a new key that does something. It still feels like Zack is always ahead of everything and he's going to win. Yet, Bode seems to be catching on. There was a huge cliff hanger at the end. I mean I need to find out what is going to happen. Just like with other volumes, characters die, it looks like the Locke children might ge...

***5 stars***These comics are so damn good, I can't even! Volume four was so much gorier than the previous ones, but it's also one that made me laugh more, at least in the first half :DI would recommend these to any fans of Joe Hill and to any comic book fan. Both the art and the story are amazing!

Good wintery volume of the Locke & Key graphic novels. I wasn’t as fond of this as I was the last one. I found the pacing a little slow and sometimes the plot gets convoluted and confusing - harking back to events that happened 2 volumes ago and never mentioned again until they seem important. However. That twist. I didn’t expect it. I didn’t see it coming. And it was good. I also do like the added complexity to the story. It’s multi faceted, hinting at future events with little Easter eggs scat...

Many more keys, things become even more mixed up, someone dies in the end issue and it tells you this on the cover. Dodge continues to be creepy; Bode learns about life. Tribute to Bill Watterson.... Loved that part.

A little less awesome than the first 3 but still very entertaining.

Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/You guys are all aware of the fact that I’m an idiot, right? Yeah, I thought so. Just to confirm, I’m going to tell you a little secret. I accidentally started reading Locke and Key Volume 5 instead of 4 the other day. Luckily I figured out my mistake once I made it past Chapter 1 (which was a flashback). Then I started reading what I thought was Keys to the Kingdom only to find myself reading . . . Calvin and Hobbes? These all...

The first half was disappointingly incoherent. And what was up with those cartoony-style panels about Bode, who appears to have turned from a slightly weird, sightly dumb little boy to a very weird kid who talks like a Charles Wallace baby genius?The second half got better. I was glad to see Rufus finally having a plot role. Ty got smarter (as one ideally does during the course of adolescence and after some rough experiences) and Kinsey got dumber (as one probably does after artificially removin...

The fourth volume of Locke & Key sees Dodge seek to confront the Locke kids whilst in disguise, as he/she goes in search of the Black Door and Omega Keys… to a dastardly conclusion. Great stuff, the plotting, suspense and artwork all work really well together. 8 out of 12

So I am seeing the Netflix Locke and Key series (which feels a little like a bit more family-friendly version than Jill and Rodriguez intended, but is still good and enjoyable) so am rereading these volumes and enjoying them again. In this volume, there’s a Bill Watterson (Calvin & Hobbes) tribute in the first chapter where Bode (the Calvin-like character) becomes a sparrow, and there’s a WWII GI EC comix tribute featuring Rufus and Sam as soldiers.This volume doesn't have too much happen early

Amazing ending! Sort of a cliffhanger, but wow I need to read the next one right away. I've said it before, but I'm saying it again, Joe Hill can fucking write.Aside from the ending, I liked volume 3 more than this. The story continues to develop but it lacked the depth that the last volume had. I am hating the shit out of Zack as the series goes on. The characters are really likable and they continue to grow on you.4.5/5 stars. Still shy of a .5 but it's almost there. I want more keys.

3.5ish stars. The start of the volume was a bit slow but it really picked up at the end. I’m really excited now to read the next volume because that ending was crazy! The illustrations were stunning as usual.

Not bad, but not great either. I felt like this volume had a lot more fillers than the others. Also the cliffhangers a little too obvious. I will go on with the series, but my interest is definitely not at its peak right now.

Funny enough, given that Volume 3 was my favorite of the series so far, Volume 4 was my least favorite. There was a lot of action without dialogue that made it just feel like filler material, as well as some particularly sad events that were a little bit hard to follow through the storyline.One thing I did enjoy about this volume, however, was the opportunity it took to make fun of bigoted, racist assholes. I never get tired of that.Series content warning: violence, sexual assault, homophobia, r...

2015 re-read: Closing in on the final two volumes and I can barely stand the tension. I have the day off work and am blissfully binging on the terrifying thrills and spectacular adventure that is Joe Hill's Locke & Key series. I'm madly in love with this wicked crazy gothic modern fairytale about a sprawling, mysterious house with forbidden secrets hiding behind locked doors and a cast of unusual keys with the power to open them. This story works not just on a fantastical level that blows all th...

The series just gets better and better. In Keys to the Kingdom I feel the need to remark on the daring use of unconventional storytelling and experimental graphic settings. The opening issue, Sparrow is a particularly well executed homage to my all time favorite artist Bill Waterson and his newspaper style of small panel stories. The choice of Bode as a stand-in for the subversive Calvin is obvious to anyone familiar with the personalities of the Locke children. Here’s a gem from the mouth of...

SECOND READ:One of my favourite volumes (though in fairness I could say that about all of them) it moments of wonder, due to the many keys, but the violence and death increases rapidly as well. The Sparrows story is a particularly affecting one. I loved the mix of art styles, especially Bode's "Calvin and Hobbes" style pages. FIRST READ:🗝️A volume that was both fun (especially because of the amount of Keys that are revealed) and brutal, I'm continuing to enjoy every page of this. 💖