Locke & Key follows a family who is moving back into the families home after tragedy has struck them. Rendell, their father, has passed away so Nina picks up and takes the kids from Seattle to Mattheson, Massachusetts. None of the kids, except the youngest, Bode, are excited to be there. But when Bode hears a voice in the well house talking back to him when he makes his voice echo, it’s clear that this isn’t a normal house. Soon Tyler and Kinsey are drawn into the crazy world that the house holds with many magical keys and Echo, the voice from the well who has gotten out. What does Echo want and why can’t their mother, Nina, remember anything about the keys?

Let me quickly give my thoughts on the show and then I’ll go into more depth. There might be some spoilers later on, but I’m going to try and keep them to a minimum. I really liked this show, even though it isn’t as dark and horrific as the first trade paperback, there’s definitely a very interesting and creepy story behind it. And that was enough for me, plus Joe Hill did the work on it to keep it in the spirit of the books, but not have to go fully dark. However, because of that it has much more of a YA feel to it, so if you’re a huge fan of the comics, know that before you jump in. There are a few things that stand out to me for the show.

The first thing is the acting. Most of the time, you have a cast that is mainly teen age (though teen in acting can be early 20’s) or kid actors, the acting will end up being suspect. However, in Locke & Key they do an amazing job. The actor who plays Bode, Jackson Robert Scott, does a great job. Bode is supposed to be a wide eyed 8-10 year old in the show, and you can really see that in the acting. He does a very good job of portraying an innocence and sincerity to his acting. And I won’t go into it a ton with the other actors, but the actors portraying Kinsey and Tyler, Emilia Jones and Connor Jessup respectively, do really good work as well. There are shifts in their acting as you get to see more of their character and as their characters change that are really well done. Even the adult acting is well done and it doesn’t just feel like so many YA stories where there’s a group of teens and no adults believe them and then the adults are wrong.

Another thing is that while this leans into horror tropes and supernatural elements that could seem cliche, it does a good job of keeping them different. When we were watching through it, it felt to Kristen and myself like several things we’ve seen or played before, Haven, Life is Strange, Oxenfree, and more, but it still felt unique. The element of the keys and how they work is really well done. And you can see where Joe Hill is borrowing form the work that his father has done before, but in a very respectful and well done way. I got numerous callbacks to IT in the show, and I appreciated that. It’s really that none of the tropes it used felt out of place or felt like they were forced in there because it’s horror or anything like that, it just flowed naturally.

Let’s talk a bit more about the story before I wrap up here. Like I said, the story is not going to be as heavily horror focused, which I’m fine with. While I love some good horror, there’s something whimsical about the keys that lends itself not just to horror but to this more fantastical element as well, and the show leans into that some more. As things unfold, there is definitely more horror and violence, but there’s also a sense of fantasy or magic to the story. Like I said previously as well, it doesn’t fall into the storytelling tropes of YA where the kids are smart and the adults are dumb and don’t believe the kids. It avoids some of that by a nifty plot device that they explain but also by just having the kids do their own thing. They use the grief of Rendell’s death and Nina’s reaction to it to drive some of why Kinsey and Tyler don’t bring as much to her as well, which I think is well done. And Bode is just too Bode to think about that.

So, I’ve said that I like the show, but would I recommend it to everyone? I’d lean towards no. It still has horror elements, so some people aren’t going to love that as much. Kristen actually stopped watching part ways through episode one because of some of the creepy stuff that was going on. But in the middle of the season, it hit more of that fantasy and whimsy, so I stopped and we rewatched it because I knew that she’d like it. So there’s definitely a piece where if people aren’t horror fans they’ll enjoy it as well, and like myself, Kristen and I are waiting for, hoping for, a second season to come out. Definitely an interesting show and if the trailer seems interesting, they do a good job and it’s worth checking out.

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Avengers: Infinity War
Now, this is going to be for both the trade paperback and the movie. For those who aren’t familiar with the term trade paperback (TPB), that is when comics from a given run, generally six or so issues, are put into a single book, so  you can get the whole story arc without having to track down the separate comics themselves. If the person is a big super hero fan, I wouldn’t be shocked if they already had Infinity War, the movie, but they might not have the TPB. And my guess is they would like to read it.

Marvel Legendary
A massive game if you consider all of it’s various expansions, but even in the base game, you have a lot of fun to play with. In it, you are building a deck of cards by spending points and then also having to attack villains. The game gives you a solid super hero feeling, and since my initial review of it, I’ve come around on it being a better game a bit more. I think it is possible with this game to get some bad combinations of characters when you have more expansions. However, if they already have the base game, consider getting them an expansions for the game as they do add in fun new characters.

The Reckoners
A book series about super heroes, this is a great trilogy of books that looks at a group of insurgents who are trying to stop all the super heroes, because none of the super heroes are good. It’s a young adult book series written by Brandon Sanderson, and they are really fun and enjoyable as adults, not just for teen age kids.

The Reckoners Board Game
Maybe you know someone who already likes the series, the board game would be something to consider getting them. The game has some pretty simple mechanics, but is extremely hard to win. Also, the components in the game are amazing.  It is also a lot of fun because you get to see the Epics as the super heroes are known from the books, and you get to play as various members of the Reckoners team. Both The Dice Tower and Watch It Played have good information on the game.

Cold Steel Wardens
Maybe you want to go in a different direction and the person is a super hero fan and an RPG fan, Cold Steel Wardens one of the possible super hero RPG’s. This game is grittier than your standard super hero fair leaning into the Iron Age of comics where things were tougher and grittier in the comics. You still get to have super powers, but the world isn’t going to be flying around and having flashy parades, it’s going to be doing the grunt work and worrying about being attacked. Kristen wrote a nice review on it a little while back, or at least the system, so you can go check out her article on that.

Action Figures/Funko Pops
Maybe they already have the books and the games, there are plenty of other things that are super hero related to consider. One of the biggest areas is the action figure realm. There are tons of amazing action figures out there. I personally am a big fan of the Marvel Diamond Select figures as they are bigger than your standard action figure and come with nice props and amazing details. DC also does some very nice figures as well. Or maybe you don’t want to spend that much money or a looking for a stocking stuffer, Funko makes figures with large heads and very cartoony looks that are very popular right now.  Try and find their favorite hero in those and give them that. 

Super Hero Legos
Maybe you want something for a younger kid who might not what something that people would consider collectible. Lego now has a ton of super hero sets that you can get. They often tie into the movies, so if they have a favorite movie, see if you can track down the characters in Lego form. This also works well for adults.

Blackest Night/Brightest Day
Finally a dip into the world of DC. If you have someone who is into the DC universe, consider the TBP for those two sagas. In particular Blackest Night tells a really good story. It also something that is very different from your standard super hero fair in Blackest Night, while you do get plenty of hero moments there is good depth in the story being told.

TPB
Finally, there are a ton of classic stories and TPB’s that you could look at getting.  From Marvel, House of M and Secret Invasion are two that stand out as really strong options. DC has Infinite Crisis that is really good. Then there are non-Marvel and non-DC options that are strong. I personally am a huge fan of the Powers series by Brian Micheal Bendis. It’s super hero adjacent as it follows around a couple cops who are dealing with super powered criminals.

There are a ton of other options for super heroes as well. There are a lot of movies, obviously, in the Marvel world, so if someone who is a big Marvel movie fan, help them fill in their collection. Or go into a lot of other areas as well, movie posters, custom artwork, or clothing.

Have you gotten a super hero themed gift before? If so what did you get or what have you wanted to get?

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Getting into comics can be intimidating. It seems like once a year there is a news story of Action Comics #1 selling for some absurd amount, and there are hundreds, or more likely thousands, of different issues for different characters. Where do you start with someone like Spider-Man?

Fortunately, there are some good ways to keep your wallet from being completely destroyed while you dive in to comics. The first option is, instead of getting single issues, to get trade paperbacks. Trade paperbacks (TPB from here on out) are collections of different comics that often comprise a story arc or part of a longer story arc. You can use these story arcs to decide what to buy without buying TPBs, as well. You just need to spend a little time to figure out when a new arc is starting in a comic. You might have to wait a few weeks, but about every six months a new story arc will start in a lot of comics. Finally, both Marvel and DC do world events. These events generally have tie-ins to different characters and different stories, but it is something that is world-shaking (or possibly world-destroying) for all of the characters, and no one is left unaffected. I will caution that these, too, are often underwhelming. There will be good character development and build-up, and then they just fall flat in the end as this completely impossible challenge is tripped up by something that is odd or overpowered and never seen again in the comic book world because it would break it. I personally would recommend TPBs over this type of comic. You can research online to find out some of the popular ones, or go into your local comic book store, and they will be able to give you suggestions, and if they don’t have it, they will gladly order it for you.

What if you don’t even know what type of book to start with?

That’s another good question, because at least for Marvel and DC, there tend to be two different types of comic books. The first is a solo book. That would be something like Spider-Man, where he is generally off doing his own thing. He might run across Wolverine once in a while, but generally it is Spider-Man dealing with Spider-Man’s problems. There are other times, though, where you will want to read about Spider-Man in a group; these group books will often have a leader to the team, which the story might focus on a bit more, but will have a strong cast of supporting characters. For this type, DC has Justice League, and while Superman and Batman will probably be most often in the spotlight, they do spend time telling stories about the other characters. These ensemble casts are a good way to get introduced to lesser characters as well. Would you pick up a book about Martian Manhunter off the shelves? Probably not. But you’d read about him in Justice League and might find out that you like him. That is how I figured out in Marvel’s universe that I really like Doctor Strange. Doctor Strange isn’t a character I’d pick out otherwise, but seeing him in The Avengers and seeing his powers made me want to pick up more books about him.

What would you recommend?

That’s a great question that I can’t really go into that much detail on, as I haven’t been picking up books at all recently. So much of picking out a good comic book series to read is trial and error at the beginning. Different writers write characters in unexpected ways; sometimes that is good, and sometimes it doesn’t work. It’s the same for artists — certain artists have certain styles. Now, that might work for you, or it might not. If the art isn’t the style you are expecting, it might distract you and take you out of the story. So instead of recommending series or characters, I’m going to recommend a few different writers.

Scott Snyder – Snyder has been writing Detective Comics, which is the main Batman line. His style of writing leads to more in-depth stories, and it doesn’t hurt that he’s on a title that a lot of people are going to enjoy. Along with that, he wrote a fair amount of American Vampire, which isn’t a superhero comic, but is very good. American Vampire also had Stephen King as a writer for a little bit.

Jim Lee – He wrote Aquaman for a while, and might still be writing it; I’m not sure. However, I really liked his Aquaman story, and the fact that he took the time to take a character who is a punchline way too often and make him into a better developed character.

Brian Michael Bendis – He’s probably my favorite writer out of all of these. He’s one who is working for Marvel and is high up in Marvel so directs many of the storylines that run throughout the whole universe. One of the things that I really like about him is that he is very wordy for a comic book writer. That isn’t to say that he writes description when pictures could do, but he writes dialogue better than most writers of comic books, and his storylines are fantastic. I’d recommend his non-superhero comic, Powers, greatly (but be warned, it is for a mature audience).

So there you have a starting point with comics, all without getting into the Marvel v DC debate. What comic books are you reading? Or, who is a superhero you want to read about?

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