LOCKE & KEY: ALPHA #2: [Remember, Cool Shit usually
contains spoilers, so tread lightly.] So this is it. The final issue of my
favorite ongoing comic book series, and it’s a big motherfucker with 10 extra
pages, plus a bunch of extras in the back. It starts out with Bode’s funeral,
which is perfectly juxtaposed with how this series began. Remember, when we
first met Mr. Locke’s family, it was at his funeral, and the panels match
perfectly. But this isn’t about tragedy. No, this is about tying up loose ends,
and it only makes sense that it’s Ty that does it. He goes back to the ruins of
their home and does the one thing no one really expected him to do: he saves
Lucas Caravaggio from the well. Pretty crazy, no? He does a couple of other
things while he’s there, one of which alleviates a lot of sorrow, and after
another funeral, Ty closes out the series with one final talk with his dead
father. It’s a very beautiful issue, not just due to Joe Hill’s outstanding
writing, but also because of Gabriel Rodriguez’s incredible artwork. Hill asked
Rodriguez to do some of the craziest art in comics history, and the guy fucking
delivered each and every time. He’s easily my favorite artist working in the
industry today. I’m going to miss this series.
Check out this awesome quote from Mr. Locke: “Death isn’t
the end of your life, you know. Your body is a lock. Death is the key. The key
turns . . . and you’re free. To be anywhere, everywhere, two places at once.
Nowhere. Part of the background hum of the universe.”
So that’s it. If you have any problem with how this book
ended, Joe Hill has something for ya’:
