Villordsutch reviews Locke & Key: Omega #4…
“For month after bloody month, a demon named Dodge has struggled to obtain the Omega Key, so he can open the Black Door…A portal to another dimension, secreted in the depths of the Drowning Cave. Once the door is unlocked, there will be nothing to stop Dodge from bringing through a legion of beings just like him.”“
IDW brings this entertaining battle of dysfunctional Good and Evil to the comic book world, written by Joe Hill (Heart-Shaped Box, Horns) and art created by Gabriel Rodriguez (SP Edition of The Shining, SP Edition of NOS4A2).
This is a very busy comic book! It doesn’t forgive anyone who has entered this world mid series. You can pick up morsels of what is going on, but for the full story you’re going to have to collect the comics before it…and the possibly the few graphic novels before them. Now I’m not saying ignore this issue and trawl Amazon for the past Locke & Key right now – you can carry on reading and still be happy.
If you’ve read Preacher in the past I’d say that you’d like the tale unfolding in Locke & Key – Omega as it feels like an extension of the Preacher’s world. We start with a Mother on the floor, effing and Jeffing at the soul of her dead son who is currently encouraging her to get up off the floor. From nephew and gay uncle hiding in the boot of a car as solid shadows attempt to rip them to pieces, we then hop over to a Commando and armed robot sitting on a bus (or are they) and to top it all off a demon-possessed boy enticing a high school party deeper into the cave. I told you it was busy.
The writing by Joe Hill is spot on and keeps in time perfectly with each panel. You are speeding through the pages to read more of what is coming. Each branch of the story weaves in and out making you want to find out what comes next. When you get to the end of the comic, you wish it was a full graphic novel so you can carry on. Accompanying Joe Hill’s story is Gabriel Rodriguez and his artwork. It is perfect and busy too. Look at the cave scene when it kicks off – wrapped up in all the action solid shadows are drawn into the blackness of it all. Every panel is full and good to look at. I can understand why these two people look for each other when undertaking a project.
I like it and I want more. Time to trawl Amazon for back issues. Would it be easier for IDW to have a standing order set up from my bank account?
Villordsutch is married with kids and pets. He looks like a tubby Viking and enjoys science fiction. Follow him on Twitter.
Originally published April 2, 2013. Updated April 11, 2018.
