Hands down my favorite ongoing series, Locke & Key, is a thrilling roller coaster of suspense and horror. With only 4 issues left to the impending finale of the Omega arc, Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodríguez definitely aren’t holding back with the jaw dropping drama.
This is one of those series that focuses on characters so much so that you can become so engrossed in them that you completely miss large chunks of plot development. An example of this occurs in this issue as only a handful of the 22 pages has actual action occurring and yet you become so involved in the drama as Bode’s shadows weave their chaos in the background that you can miss some of the fore-shadowing (pun intended) if you aren’t paying close attention.
It’s finally prom night in Lovecraft, and Dodge starts his all-out attack on Keyhouse and the Locke family. First and foremost which has always been the case with Locke & Key, character development plays a large role in Omega #3. We witness some key players removed from the game while others are left to contend with whatever it is Dodge has in store for them.
The most horrifying thing for me personally is watching a ghostly Bode attempt to warn his mother of the danger she is in before she is attacked by Dodge, who currently possesses the youngest Locke’s form. So essentially she thinks her small child is doing these horrid acts to her using the shadows.
We see several other heart wrenching things happen in this issue to each of the Locke children; Uncle Dunk gives a very downtrodden Tyler some advice that seems like it’s a look into himself and the secrets that he kept from his family, Tyler shows how much he has changed and matured during his interaction with Jordan and that while he is in love with her he has now acknowledged that high school and love both suck and has embraced that he may not get what he wants which brings some closure to that subplot, Kinsey has a great night at prom with her friends she has recently made amends with after the falling out they had in previous volumes, there is a brief pause in the drama which manifests itself as an homage to Joe’s Hills father which personally I found quite cute but it’s received mixed reviews as it isn’t crucial to the storyline. Kinsey then arrives home afterward and sees what she believes is her mother in utter disarray from drinking herself into oblivion once more and falls apart as she expresses her hatred for what her mother has done and disowns her before heading to the caves with all of her friends and classmates.
This issue ends on the cliffhanger and readers will be left wondering who lives and who dies.
Locke & Key: Omega #3 and all the issues and volumes previous is definitely something you NEED to be reading if you aren’t already, So head over to Cosmic Comics in Las Vegas and #getyourfix!
– Natalie
Spoilers ahead! Watch out!