Cassie’s IDW Publishing Review: LOCKE & KEY: CLOCKWORKS #6

Possessed by a demonic force, Dodge, formerly Luke Caravaggio will stop at nothing in his relentless pursuit of the Omega Key, even if his friends get in the way. This finale in the Clockworks arc will answer all your questions about the tragedy surrounding Rendell Locke and his friends as Locke & Key speeds toward its last issue.

This final issue of the Clockworks arc did everything Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez set out for it to do: answer all our questions. All that’s left is to wrap up the story of Dodge and the Locke’s in the final arc, Locke & Key: Omega. Thankfully, even after the final issue, Hill has promised they will release a series of one-shots to act in the same way Sandman: Dream Hunters did. Excitement all around!

Continuing where issue five left off, we are still in Rendell Locke’s high school years, on the fateful night that everything went wrong. It is has been hinted at throughout the mythos and in this issue we get to find out how the rampage played out. Why is Dodge found as a woman? Answered. How do Cho and Kim die? Answered. Who planted the memory of lady Dodge and the Echo Key for Ellie? Answered. Why did Erin have her memories removed? Answered. This is the darkest issue yet, steel yourselves readers.

The plot opens with Ellie being knocked unconscious by Dodge, who is busy inside the well-house returning all the removed memories into his head. Poor Gabriel Rodriguez probably gets nauseous every time he sees a mason jar now. Dodge is interrupted by Rendell’s brother Duncan, who is currently a little girl playing with the Gender Key when he arrives in the wrong place at the wrong time. Things spiral down from here with our poor doomed heroes arriving to save the day.

There is not a lot I can talk about in this plot-tastic issue without giving everything away, but I will tell you that there are a lot of keys in use and lots of events that hearken back to other issues. It really all did lead up to this issue. If anything can be said without spoiling things, it's that this issue is hands down amazing, with perfection in both the art and the writing. From the Gender Key, the Shadow Key, the Music Box Key, the Angel Key, the Hercules Key, the Head Key, and the Echo Key, there is a whole lot going on in these pages. Everything was meticulously planned in advance and it shows. Plots just don’t come together like this on a whim, especially not plots brought up in issue one.

Any questions left not concerning the events occurring to the Locke children? You won’t after reading this issue, in which almost all the mysteries have been answered, and as the cover will sadly remind you, “In 7 issues, it’s all over”. Stop torturing us IDW! I am sad to see Locke & Key winding down to a conclusion. I’m just not ready to leave the fantastical Keyhouse.

Story: Joe Hill
Art: Gabriel Rodriguez
Cover: Gabriel Rodriguez
32 Pages/FC
$3.99
On Sale May 16, 2012!