Broken Frontier

Rendell Locke opens the Omega door.

Locke & Key: Clockworks #4 continues to chronicle Rendell Locke and his friends’ adventures in Keyhouse.  In an effort to preserve the magic they surround themselves with, the group of ill-prepared teenagers makes contact with the parallel dimension that is at the root of the evil in all of Locke & Key.  More importantly, however, Clockworks #4 finally provides a concrete story of Dodge’s downfall.

Clockworks #4 is sure to be a treat for longtime followers of Locke & Key.  Little Easter eggs, like the underwater graffiti Kinsey Locke discovered so many issues past, make their way into the greater fold of the series.  Beyond small surprises, however, the issue tells a great story that will certainly pull at readers' emotions.  Like a tragedy you know is coming, the characters play out their necessary roles, but knowing their outcomes will surely make readers want to scream at their book and demand the characters stop their poorly planned actions.  It is rare for a book to create such a strong response.

With Locke & Key coming to an end in nine issues, Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez are wasting no time exploring the mystery behind Keyhouse.  Clockworks #4 is  another great chapter in an arc that relives the past to heighten the tension of the present.  More than anything else, however, #4 shows the tragic downfall that sets in motion everything the series is based on.