Collects all six issues of LOCKE & KEY: HEAD GAMES, plus bonus materials!New York Times bestselling writer Joe Hill and artist Gabriel Rodriguez, the creators behind the acclaimed Locke & Key: Welcome to Lovecraft, return with the next chapter in the ongoing tale, Head Games. Following a shocking death that dredges up memories of their father’s murder, Kinsey and Tyler Locke are thrown … are thrown into choppy emotional waters, and turn to their new friend, Zack Wells, for support, little suspecting Zack’s dark secret. Open your mind– the head games are just getting started!
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Wow, I mean, just wow! With a series, I always get nervous that the second book is going to be a disappointment, especially after I gobbled up the first book in no time. That was not the case with this novel.
Head Games follows right after the events of Welcome to Lovecraft. Dodge is on the loose wreaking havoc, while the Locke family investigates the magic keys in possession and their own personal mysteries of the past and present.
Everything I loved about the first graphic novel was present in this one too, and I was overjoyed.
The art is stunning, gritty, and a bit grotesque at times, but rendered expertly. I’m still in awe of how well produced the artwork was.
All of the characters were entertaining, had depth, and kept my attention the whole time. Dodge continues to be a great villain and went a step further in this one. It was so easy to badmouth him every time he showed up on the page. I mean seriously, go back to the well where you belong!
With the multiple perspectives, I especially liked that not all of them were from the Locke family. At the same time, I did feel from time to time that some of the perspective switches were a little fast for my liking.
The plot was great, and this volume had something of a psychological thriller vibe to it that surprised me in a good way.
Magic key madness continues in this novel, and I was living for it every step of the way.
I can’t wait to see what happens next!
Original review: https://myshelfbooks.wordpress.com/2020/11/17/review-head-games-by-joe-hill-gabriel-rodriguez/
Horror/Terror, Paranormal: According to Goodreads, this second volume’s genre is still Horror, like the first one. I do not agree a 100%, but there is still some of it. I mean, the first volume was clearly in that genre with a big spoon of Dark; but this one is way more sutil. I would say the Fantasy part is much more prominent this time. What I want to say: if the gore and brutal scenes of the previous volume put you off, you should give this saga a second chance, because there are little of those this second time.
Great worldbuilding: The story in this second book is much meatier than in the previous one. It is mainly focused in just one of the keys, but a lot of hints about the past are presented. We get to know old and new characters much better and the mystery stats are properly buffed to keep the reader engaged. Little by little it is building up to something that smells like greatness.
I decided to continue the series after loving the Netflix series and re-reading volume 1. That being said, I don’t think I’m going to keep reading past this volume.
For me personally the story just works better on screen than it does on the page. It held my interest enough that I wanted to finish, but when I was done I didn’t find myself immediately opening Amazon to order volume 3. This volume focused a lot more on Lucas/Zack/Dodge than on the Locke kids and I found that kind of boring. He’s not the most exciting villain and I feel like he’s so obvious and everyone but Rufus is just so oblivious. There are also elements of the story that just seem to convenient and it makes it less believable.
I do love the illustrations, and I think they compliment Hill’s writing really well. I think at the end of the day I’m just not a huge fan of Hill’s writing. I feel like this series is trying to be more than one genre, but isn’t doing a very good job of weaving them together to form a great story.
Locke&Key Vol 2: Head Games by Joe Hill continues this wild and crazy story! In this book, Bode finds out what the next key does and it freaks out everyone but his mom, ( she is in shock). What this does will leave you with a creepy feeling, at least it did me! The thing in the well house is a big player for Team Evil and has a large role.
The graphics are super tremendous! I loved just looking at the illustrations! Pick up this graphic book series but start with book one!