Locke & Key Vol 2 by Joe Hill

Vol 2, Head Games: illustrated by Gabriel Rodríguez
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Bode uncovers another key while fishing in a pool on the property, but he can’t figure out what it opens.  At school, the drama teacher recognizes Ty's friend Zack as Luke, who was Rendell's friend from so many years ago, and Zack can’t have that.  As Uncle Duncan says goodbye to go back home for a while, Bode sees a keyhole at the base of his skull and starts to wonder if that’s what his new key opens. He shows Kinsey and Ty, and they find they can look inside Bode's head and see his thoughts and memories.  They take out the lady in the well house, and Bode instantly forgets her.  When they put her back in, he remembers her again. Ty theorizes that they can add things to their brains by stuffing it in their open skulls, so he experiments with his English homework by shoving novels in his brain.  Ty wants to share this discovery with his friends, including Zack.  Kinsey uses the key to remove her fear and sadness.  

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What a dangerous and intriguing concept - to be able to alter your mind, for better or worse, or to alter other people's minds as Zack does.  I love the vivid illustrations of Bode's young mind, and the horror that is the embodiment of Kinsey's fear.  This volume also contains a fair amount of history and travel across timelines as people remember Lucas because of something Zack does.  I enjoyed the backstory of the drama teacher and his personal tragedy that made him a real person in a matter of panels.  There is so much packed into this story that I was amazed it was only 160 pages.  The art overall is stylized with detailed backgrounds, especially of the Lovecraft estate, while characters are appropriately gritty.

There are some adult suggestive themes in this volume, but naked bits are off-page or cleverly covered.  

Sara's Rating: 9/10
​Suitability Level: Grades 10-12

Reviews of previous volumes in this series: vol 1

Tags: Rating: 9/10, Suitability: High School, Comicbooks, Horror, Magic