Same disclaimer as before - this review will cover things unique to this volume, not necessarily things that are constant across all trades. For whatever reason I liked this trade more than the others. There were some really touching moments of friendship as well as conflicts that put my heart through the wringer. I also liked that this volume addressed things that were merely side points in previous volumes, and we got some monsters that were beautifully illustrated.

Things I Liked

1. Honest Look at Alcoholism: Nina Locke has been struggling with alcoholism for the past few volumes, but it hasn’t really been addressed with any severity until this volume. I appreciated that the kids all had their own reactions to their mother’s drinking, and I like that it was acknowledged to be a problem that essentially allows the kids to have their shenanigans. There are also these great moments when the kids stand up to their mother, saying how her pain doesn’t give her free reign to be a jerk to everyone else. It makes my heart really break for them.

2. Shadow Key: I really dig shadow monsters, and this volume delivered. The art shines through here (pun intended), and there are a lot of cool shapes and silhouettes that are made interesting because of the monochrome palette.

3. Ghost Fight: Okay, that fight between Dodge and Sam was badass.

4. Kinsey’s Friendships: Kinsey hangs out with some people in this volume that Zach/Dodge judges to be losers and harbingers of social death. Kinsey doesn’t care. She hangs out with them anyway. You go girl.

Things I Didn’t Like

1. Simplicity of the Shadow Key Plot: Dodge raises a shadow army. Okay. A bit simplistic for my tastes, but I guess because of this plot, more focus could be put onto Nina’s emotional state.

Recommendations: I would recommend this book if you’re interested in monsters, shadow creatures, grief, emotional pain, trauma, and alcoholism.

Things are getting so good and I am here for the world Joe Hill is slowly building. Nina is totally shattered from the traumatic murder of her husband and her rape. Her alcoholism is rearing its ugly head which has severe repercussions for her children as they are dealing with the "dark lady" on their own. Sam is pissed about being used by Dodge. After Kinsey removes all of her emotions in Volume II, her recklessness puts her life (and that of her friends) in danger. I felt this was the best part of the whole volume -- such a real predicament you could see teenagers getting themselves in. Dodge is using every means possible to find the key. Also, Bode is everything! Looking forward to Volume IV.

This is so obscure and great.

Les aventures des jeunes Locke se poursuivent entre le manoir Keyhouse et Lovecraft High.

Le vent semble commencer à tourner pour eux dans ce troisième opus de la série Locke & Key, avec la découverte de nouvelles clés, utilisées à leur avantage lors de confrontations moins subtiles avec la Dame Noire du Puits, AKA Dodge (Luke ou Zack, selon le point de vue).

Mais la main de Hill et Rodriguez ne laisse pas de doute et tout ce qui paraît s'améliorer pour les Locke est contrebalancé par de nouvelles manigances de Dodge visant les membres de leur entourage ou les adultes de la famille.

Quel sera le revers des nouvelles amitiés de Kinsey, elles-mêmes nées de son absence de peur toute fraîche et l'éloignant de Zack? Où est passé la mère des Locke dont l'alcoolisme semble avoir atteint son paroxysme (ou pas encore?)?

Pour chaque nouvelle information ou clé de Keyhouse, une nouvelle question se présente et alimente la dynamique qui pousse à poursuivre la lecture... le tout livré par graphisme et colorisation toujours aussi efficaces. Ne parlons pas de ces dernières planches qui ne laissent rien présager de bon. Argh! Cliffhanger! Quelle torture...

Merci encore à Babelio et les éditions Bragelonne - Milady, sans lesquelles je serais sans doute passée à côté de cette sympathique série de comics fantastiques, dont ce tome, reçu à l'occasion d'une Masse Critique, confirme l'excellente qualité.
À suivre!

Each volume of this series reveals more secrets about the Locke family and the strange house they find themselves living in. It's interesting watching a family try to keep itself together after such a horrific attack, whether it's using magic to remove your pain or alcohol to simply numb it.

I felt like there was a comparison with Stephen King's "It" early on, but it was only superficial and seemingly momentary because the story definitely combined monsters, magic and horror in a very different direction.

That's it--I'm finished. Perhaps it is the medium. Each installment provides a new turn, a titular key which leads to further dimensions of the world. That should be fascinating, but it isn't. I will have to tell my coworker, no mas.

Ovaj deo mi se već veoma dopao. Članovi Lok porodice postaju sve draži i napisani su vešto i nežno, i u eto tih 150str boja i slika i nešto teksta ima ovde baš dosta umešne i efikasne karakterizacije. Zlikovac poprima neke lavkraftovske nijanse (što je superiška) i mitos serijala produbljuje se ali ne na onaj mystery box fuš način, već na način koji služi likovima koji populišu stranice. Prelazim na sledeći, koliko odmah.

4+

This book was super fun. A bit more creepy stuff than the last entry, and it's great getting to dig a bit more into the mythology and discover what the various keys can do (and the creative interpretations of what keys and doors can be).