Locke & Key Omega #4 (IDW)
Joe Hill writes some good drunk dialogue. I’ve attempted this brand of phonetic wizardry before, and usually just added a lot of “ughhh” to the regular words. Right out the gate, this bull is drunk as a skunk! Oh, that was an awful mixed metaphor…
Okay, so getting back on track, Locke and Key Omega #4 finds Hank Hill writing…
Sorry, JOE Hill writing, and Gabriel Rodriguez illustrating, one doozy of a cave-near-the-ocean rager! Kinsey finds herself in trouble after the prom, and it’s not the typical kind where you need a good dry cleaner or the morning after pill. Add to that all sorts of drama with Mama Locke, as she struggles to, well, comprehend things. Plus, danger for Tyler and his Uncle Duncan from things that call the darkness home. Oh, and the special needs dude, Rufus, comes back ready to tear shit up with his robot friend. His robot…friend.
It really is a shame Fox didn’t at least give Locke and Key a shot as a series. But then, Fox has never been known to make good decisions artistically. They have American Idol and enough other brainless bullshit to pad out their lineup. Even if they were to lose every show that required a writer, they’d just reality show it up. Okay, only tangentially related rant over.
Hill is firing on all cylinders, throwing in jokes and plot developments that make this issue one second funny, and the next exhilarating, or shocking. I make fun of Hillstrom’s psuedy a lot, but there is no denying the man’s pacing is a wonder to behold. Omega #4 is one of those issues where you finish it and immediately wonder why it was over so quickly. There’s a bit of a slowdown when we follow Rufus on the bus, but it’s a necessary slow to establish Rufus’ plan of attack, and to reacquaint ourselves with what might be a major player in the events soon to unfold in later issues.
9.0
- Great pacing
- Art is wonderfully three dimensional
- Fantastic perspectives and proportion
- Characters occasionally only play one note
Rodriguez’s art is fantastic with perspectives. Whether it be Nina Locke on the ground drunk reaching for a phone, or Tyler on the ground, sober, reaching for the head of his uncle Duncan. Space and proportion are something Rodriguez excels with. I don’t want to spoil anything, but there are some fantastic panels in this comic.
Is It Good?
Yes, just like issue 3, it is good. It makes you want to go back and read the series over again. Its characters, as always, are engaging, albeit occasionally one-dimensional. The art, as per usual, is a treat for the lookie-balls. And it moves at the clip of a cheetah on crack, when it isn’t slowing a tad for a bit of important character reflection and revelation.
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