Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION Dr. Gym'll's Cultural Rarities Any recommendations

I love Camelot 3000. Mike W. Barr is one of the most underrated writers of his generation, IMO.

Thanks for the feedback, folks! Just won an auction on eBay for the Deluxe Hardcover. Only 9 bucks including shipping for a $35 book!

After seeing Excalibur, I always read Merlin in the accent shown there.

Last week I read Locke & Key Vol. 1: Welcome to Lovecraft by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez. I'd been hearing about this series for years, so I'd been patiently eBay-stalking the entire 6-volume set for a good while. I finally won a lot for a very good price a few weeks ago. Based on this first volume, I'm really glad I did!

Joe Hill has quite the pedigree, him being the son of horror legend Stephen King. To this point he has authored three novels and a number of short stories, including one anthology collection of them. It's hard for any child of a famous person to distinguish him or herself in the same medium that made their parent famous. On top of having the material succeed on its own merits, there's the inevitable comparison to what the parent has done. King has done very little work in comics, so Locke & Key is a fine way for Joe to distinguish himself from his famous dad.

You know, at first blush, there are a lot of elements in this story that seem pretty "been there, done that" especially in the horror genre. Hill uses a lot of familiar horror cliches--a mysterious, supernatural house, a creepy girl in a well, a family stricken by tragedy and unable to run away from it--to name a few that come to mind. Of course, you can argue quite successfully that every basic story has been told before. The difference is the execution, and I feel Hill does so nicely here.

To me, this story is successful for the same reason that I typically find success in stories versus ones I don't care for: Joe makes me care about the characters. A lot. The story features three siblings at its center, and you really get to know a lot about them through the course of the story, especially as you learn how the tragedy that initiates the story has affected each of them. The other characters are well-done as well, even the most monstrous of them.

I'd say that's one strength that Joe shares with his father. As well-hailed as Stephen King is as the master of horror, I've always felt that he would never have attained his success without his gift for crafting memorable, relatable and flawed characters. All of those elements are on full display in Locke & Key. If you can convey all of that with characters, chances are you will win my admiration and devotion as a storyteller.

This is not to say that there is nothing fresh and interesting in Locke & Key. I think the concept of Keyhouse is rife with potential of which the surface is barely scratched here. I can easily see how we will get five more volumes potentially loaded with twists and surprises. And I certainly liked what we saw here.

Even better, though this is part of a longer series, we get a fairly complete and satisfying story that stands alone pretty well, even as it clearly sets up further developments. There's an immediate threat to the volume that echoes some of the more thrilling horror movies, and that threat is more or less resolved by the end. I don't know if subsequent volumes are that satisfying on their own, but I really admired that element in this one.

Locke & Key is blessed in its entirety with the same artist, Gabriel Hernandez, who I felt did a pretty awesome job here. His work reminds me of two other artists I've enjoyed, Steve Dillon and Steve Pugh. And I also perceive a smidge of Kevin Nowlan in there--something about the eyes and the line, I think. But Gabriel is his own artist; those are just the nearest comparisons I can make. He tells the story very effectively and conveys a lot of emotion in those eyes and the body language. Very good job on the design of the house and keys and some very nice special effects when needed. Great job on backgrounds, as well.

So what you can expect from "Welcome to Lovecraft" is a solid, deftly illustrated horror story occupied by believable and sympathetic characters that will draw you in. It is both satisfying on its own and gratifying in that you know there is still much more story to come. Though I have them all, I choose to read each volume intermittently, so that I can savor the experience and look forward to more of the story when the mood strikes for some time. I give this book a very high recommendation!