Today I neither got dressed nor went outside and it was everything I hoped it could be.
I still put in a full day’s work at my job, and showered (but not shaved!), of course. But after I logged off and watched a YouTube video or two and an episode of Wellington Paranormal I had effectively settled in to my day of nothingness.
Up until about fifteen minutes ago, I was standing in my kitchen and silently judging my neighbor for how fat she had let her dachshund get in its advanced years – “That should be considered animal abuse…we should leave this world behind…goddamn Bezos going to space while I’m stuck here…and oh my god my column.”
Now, I’m not saying that I forgot…I just didn’t realize that today was TODAY. Luckily for you all I am a consummate professional and I had already done all the required reading and am ready to spin it into comics column gold…OR whatever it is I’ve been doing for the last 250+ articles.
Locke & Key: Keyhouse Compendium
Joe Hill (W)
Gabriel Rodríguez (A)
IDW Publishing
It’s common knowledge that Locke & Key is one of my favorite series in recent memory so when I got a chance to check out IDW’s new Keyhouse Compendium you’d better believe I jumped at it.
As I’ve been fond of saying about other collections in the past…this is an EPIC TOME. But this time I may actually be serious about that. The Keyhouse Compendium is inherently cool due to having “compendium” in the title, but it also collects all six volumes of the Lock & Key series in one pelvis-shattering, easy to lug around volume. I just checked the stats and it’s tipping the scales at around six pounds (one pound per volume) which supports my claim of it being an epic tome.
The Keyhouse Compendium is a great piece for your home library if you’re fortunate enough to have one. I’m currently fleshing my own library out and could easily see this book being a fine addition to it…providing I can acquire shelving strong enough to support it. If anything, this collection makes a strong case for ditching my previous editions to upgrade to this magnificent beast.
Which reminds me, IDW has never been shy about getting Locke & Key to the people. If the Keyhouse Compendium isn’t your speed you can always pick up the individual volumes, go the traditionalist route and hunt for the individual back issues, or be a digital heathen and purchase the ebooks (no judgement here, I got talked into the Joe Hill Humble Bundle last year). The timing of this release could not be better too since Season 2 of Netflix’s Locke & Key series is on the horizon; the Keyhouse Compendium offers the perfect opportunity to digest the whole series that inspired the show!
Special Anniversary Issue
Within the last month I quietly inched over the line of having a total of 250 comics, comics related, and toy articles to my credit between this site and the previous site where I got my start. Believe me when I write that no one is more surprised than me that I’ve done that much work.
It’s not thankless work either, everyone I’ve worked with here from the top on down has always been incredibly, suspiciously, grateful for whatever it is I do on a weekly basis. Plus, since I get to review stuff that I enjoy the creators behind the work are appreciative of me saying nice things about them. It still blows my mind that Jonathan Ames read what I had to say about his work (a vested interest, I’m sure) and was great enough to compliment me in return. That was a big one, yes, but no act of kindness goes unnoticed.
All things considered I’m glad I wound up here with a wonderful group of individuals who still have the audacity to get excited about the stuff they love.
