Posted in: Comics, IDW | Tagged: idw, Locke & Key, sandman

IDW Publishes Roadmap For Locke & Key After Netflix Into 2021

Following the success of the Netflix adaptation of Locke & Key produced by IDW, and ahead of the Locke & Key/Sandman crossover the publisher is lining up everything that is coming out – and when.

August through October will see the release of the three-part miniseries, Locke & Key: …In Pale Battalions Go…, serving as a lead-in to Hell & Gone, Locke & Key's crossover with Sandman slated for the autumn. Set in the spring of 1915, the story follows John Locke, a patriot too young to enlist in the greatest war of all. He intends to use the impossible, reality-bending keys to turn the tide on the grimmest battlefield of the 20th century… a hellscape whose darkness might even strike fear into an army of shadows.

In October, the Locke & Key – The Sandman Universe: Hell & Gone #0 comic book reprints "Open the Moon" originally presented in 2011's Locke & Key: Guide to the Known Keys as Chamberlin Locke, patriarch of the Locke family, wields the Moon Key to reveal new secrets lurking in Keyhouse… and unlocks a strange new world leading directly into the events of the Hell & Gone series. Also, the #0 reprints Sandman #22 from Season Of Mists that saw Dream travelling to Hell to retrieve his former lover Nada who he had condemned to torment. As he arrives, Lucifer expels all the demons and damned souls from Hell, abdicates as its ruler, and gives Morpheus the key to Hell's gates, which also led to the spin-off comic book, and eventual TV series, Lucifer.

Locke & Key: Keyhouse Compendium  scheduled for release in October, collects the original Locke & Key series, in one massive 900-page hardcover edition complete with a dust jacket featuring all-new front- and back-cover artwork by series co-creator Gabriel Rodríguez. Marking the first time that the core Locke & Key six-volume series has all been collected into a single tome.

In November and January, the two-part crossover is published. In November, IDW will publish Locke & Key – The Sandman Universe: Hell & Gone #1, followed by DC's The Sandman Universe – Locke & Key: Hell & Gone #1 in January. "If you think you can unlock the gates of Hell and just invite yourself in, you must be dreaming," by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodríguez, overseen by Neil Gaiman.

Finally, IDW is adding the Locke & Key series into the company's comprehensive in-house Spanish Language publishing initiative with the release of Locke & Key, Vol. 1: Bienvenidos a Lovecraft  in February 2021. Collecting the six-issue "Welcome to Lovecraft" storyline that introduced the Locke kids and their nemesis Dodge, Bienvenidos a Lovecraft expands the accessibility of Hill and Rodríguez's storytelling to Spanish-speaking communities throughout the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

"I always wanted to have my own series character, like Philip Marlowe, Jack Reacher, or Sherlock Holmes. I just somehow never imagined my series character would be… a house. But that house is a home — my creative home," says writer and co-creator, Joe Hill. "I've spent some of the happiest hours of my life knocking around Keyhouse's closets, cabinets, and odd corners, hanging there with my artistic compadres, Gabriel Rodríguez, Chris Ryall, and Jay Fotos. We've never stopped having fun and I couldn't be more excited about the stories we've got ahead of us. We're going to do our very best to unlock some good things in 2020."

"Locks work both ways, so of course the ending of the first Locke & Key epic would lead to new journeys altogether. It's natural that Joe, Jay, Chris, and I would be eager to explore Keyhouse's other thrilling and impossible tales," says artist and co-creator Gabriel Rodríguez. "It's incredibly rewarding to see the saga of Chamberlin Locke unfold and reach a bombastic ending in the upcoming arcs …In Pale Battalions Go… and Hell and Gone, the latter of which will give us the chance to pay tribute to one of the mythologies that inspired us all to devote our lives to comics — DC's The Sandman Universe. And even that is only the beginning… so brace yourselves!"

"It's impressive how Joe and Gabriel keep finding new ways to expand the scope and breadth of Locke & Key, so for that reason alone, I'm happy to be working with them again," says Chris Ryall, editor of the series. "But really, what I remain most excited about is just the chance to continue working alongside some of the most talented and special people I've ever had the good fortune to work with. The great comics to come are just a bonus after that."

More tomorrow I am sure.,..

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