Algernon (Darth Anyan)'s Reviews > Locke & Key, Vol. 3: Crown of Shadows

[9/10]

The Dreams and Ideas of Free Men are as an Army of Shadows, and as impossible to strike down ...

So says Colonel Adam Crais, a hero of the American Revolution whose statue guards the grounds of the school where the Locke kids go in Lovecraft, Massachussets. The quote is well chosen to define the turning moment in the comic book series written by Joe Hill and brilliantly illustrated by Gabriel Rodriguez. Because in this third album, the Locke kids start to fight back against their hidden enemy who hunts them mercilessly in their own home – the ancestral family mansion called the keyhouse.

A place of shadows and secrets, where unlikely keys make the impossible possible. Grown-ups can’t see the magic that surrounds them in keyhouse. Usually...

The army of shadows is also a literal one, unleashed by Dodge with the help of another magical key and a crown that allows him/her to command darkness. The best single issue so far is number five - “Light of Day” - where a battle between giants fills several full page panels. Great characters, amazing creativity and graphic skills are the ingredients that once again ensure a memorable experience for the readers.

To the panoply of keys discovered in the previous two albums we can now add the ones that unlock shadows, one I dubbed the Gulliver trick and a last one I like to call the Asklepio key. The last one gives the author an opportunity to showcase another adult character study, to balance the world as seen through the eyes of the Locke kids. In this case the protagonist of the last issue is Nina Locke, whose only way to cope with her trauma so far is to find refuge in the numbness provided by alcohol.

The story arc ends with a huge cliffhanger, promising an even scarier and thrilling experience for the next issue. One that is already waiting for me by the bedside. I guess I’m lucky to be able to read this stuff without having nightmares afterwards .