Thanks for coming to Keyhouse, an impossible house in New England with amazing doors that change everyone who chooses to step through them. And the home of an a murderer, hateful creature that won’t stop until it breaks through the worst door of them all.
This is the idea behind Joe Hill’s comic book series Lock and Key, which was published by IDW and is currently available on Netflix. Hill created the series. Since then, a number of short stories with historical settings have been released in addition to the limited series that defined the first run of the series. The universe created by Lock and Key continues to develop while slowly.
Moreover, there are other editions of this highly popular comic book. Here’s a guide to help you make sense of it all.
The Night of the Owls Reading Order
Locke and Key Reading Order
Locke and Key: The the main Collection
The Locke family in the present is the focus of the major storyline. Tyler, Kinsey, and Bode Locke come to the family home of Keyhouse in the writer Lovecraft, the US state of Massachusetts with their mother Nina following their father’s murder.
The Ghost Door, which separates Bode’s soul from his body, is quickly realized by the young boy. Along with his sister and brother, they start to find more secrets and keys that unlock more than just doors.
Though there are many opportunities and issues connected with each key, the real danger comes from those who want to keep the keys for themselves.
- Welcome to Lovecraft
Gathers Welcome to Lovecraft issues #1–6.
- Head Games
Gathers Head Games issues #1–6.
- Crown of Shadows
Gathers Crown of Shadows issues #1–6.
- Keys to the Kingdom
Gathers Keys to the Kingdom issues #1–6.
- Clockworks
Gathers Clockworks issues #1–6.
- Alpha & Omega
Gathers Alpha issues #1–2 and Omega issues #1–5.
Locke & Key was also compiled into three hardcover volumes featuring all-new cover art and design by Gabriel Rodriguez.
- Locke & Key Master Edition Volume 1
Gathers the first two arcs, Welcome to Lovecraft and Head Games.
- Locke & Key Master Edition Volume 2
Gathers the third and fourth arcs, Crown of Shadows and Keys to the Kingdom.
- Locke & Key Master Edition Volume 3
Gathers the fifth and sixth arcs, Clockworks and Alpha & Omega.
Recently, all six arcs of the main story have been published in one compendium edition.
- Locke & Key: Keyhouse Compendium.
Gathers all six volumes of the critically acclaimed series into one massive compendium, showcasing new front and back cover art by Gabriel Rodriguez.
Locke and Key: The Golden Age
Also to being the opening volume to World War Key, a planned Lock and Key series, The Age of Gold is a collection of stand-alone stories that look into the history of the Keyhouse and the Locke Family. There is also a connection between Sleeper and the Hell & Gone story.
- Locke & Key: The Golden Age
Gathers Small World, ‘Open the Moon’, ‘…In Pale Battalions Go…’ issues #1–3, ‘Face the Music’, and Hell & Gone issues #1–2.
- Locke & Key: Small World
Gathers The Golden Age stand-alone issue Small World.
- Locke & Key: Heaven and Earth
Gathers The Golden Age stand-alone short stories ‘Open the Moon’, Grindhouse, and ‘In the Can’, a rare Locke and Key short published in IDW: 10 Year Anniversary Comic Book in 2009.
Other stories
A few Locke & Key short stories that showed up over the years are currently seen as stand-alone issues (and not part of any storyline).
- Locke & Key: In the Can (2009) — In a special feature published in IDW: 10 Year Anniversary Comic Book, while exploring the woods near Keyhouse in search of more keys, Bode Locke answers nature’s call and discovers a mysterious outhouse. Inside, he finds the IDW Key hanging from a hook, along with a roll of toilet paper.
- Locke & Key: Grindhouse (2012) — Amidst the scorching summer of the Depression era, three Canadian gangsters execute the heist of their dreams and escape to the ultimate hideout—a secluded mansion on Lovecraft Island’s edge, known as Keyhouse.
- Locke & Key: Nailed It (2019) — A 2019 San Diego Comic-Con exclusive, Locke & Key: Dog Days (2019) follows the children of Mary Locke, two brothers, as they play with their dog Lloyd and the Animal Key
