Kickin' it old school sort of.

I will be discussing Locke & Key: Welcome To Lovecraft by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez

1.What was your graphic novel about?

• My graphic novel was about a family's struggles after losing their father/husband. When Sam Lesser goes to Mr. Locke for guidance, since he is his guidance counselor, he recieves a cry for help from a painting in the office. Sam learns that Mr. Locke has the answer of how to help the person in the painting, but doesn't know what Sam is talking about when he confronts him at his summer home. Mr. Locke is killed by Sam, leaving behind his wife and three children. They move to Lovecraft, where he grew up to move in with his brother who helps them to cope. The youngest Locke child, Bode starts to unravel mysterious going ons within his new home. No one believes him though, until Sam returns to find what he is looking for and tries to do in the rest of the family in his quest for the anywhere key. The anywhere key will allow the spirit to escape the well it's stuck in.
  

2. Who were the main characters?

• The main characters were Tyler, Kinsey, and Bode Locke. The three children find different ways of coping, or in Tyler's case not coping, with the loss of their father. Bode is the one who discovers the secrets of Keyhouse, the house they are staying in. He is the youngest, and is possibly the one who learns the most from their father's death, especially with the help of a door that turns him into a ghost. Kinsey turns to running and making a new her, while Tyler tries to exact revenge and blames himself for his father's death.

3.What was the main theme?

• I would probably say that the main theme of my graphic novel is that some secrets are better left uncovered. When Sam learned that he would need to obtain the anywhere key to help the person in the painting he had to attack others. If you would have decided not to listen the painting it wouldn't have left to Bode discovering secrets about Keyhouse, and the 'echo' wouldn't have been released to wreak its havoc. So those were all dangerous secrets for the people involved.
  

4.What was the main conflict?

• The main conflict was between the Lockes and Sam Lesser. Sam wanted the anywhere key because he was being comanded by the spirit in the well. The Lockes were just trying to preserve their family, but Sam kept attacking them and trying to kill them all off. It's a constant battle through out the novel.

5. What was your favorite part?

• My favorite part is when the spirit first shows itself to Bode. This is my favorite part because we get the first glimpse of the real evil behind everything. The spirit had been telling Bode that she was his echo, but then after a dream and some investigation he realizes she isn't really his echo. Then it's like he has the revelation but she turns on him, but she can't really get him because she can't leave the wellhouse without the anywhere key.
  

6.Who should read this book?

• I will tell you who shouldn't read this book, people who don't like gore. It's a pretty graphic novel, and not because it has pictures, but because it's very violent. So if you are into action interspersed with some mystery this is your kind of book. If you aren't into series though you shouldn't read it, which I didn't realize it was a series.
  

Synopsis: When Rendell Locke is murdered by a past student Sam Lesser, his family is left to pick up the pieces. They relocate to Keyhouse in Lovecraft, Rendell's childhood home. Bode, the youngest Locke child soon begins to discover numerous secrets of the house, which his older sibling ignore in their grief. However, Bode is develing closer into the reasons as to why Sam Lesser killed his father. By talking to an 'echo' the wellhouse he learns about the anywhere key. It is this key that Sam is after to free the 'echo' after it asked him for help through a painting in Mr. Locke's office. Sam escapes to prision with the help of the echo and goes to Keyhouse. Here the family is once again tormented by Sam. Does he get the anywhere key? How much more will the Lockes' have to lose?

Setting and Time

Current Read: Promethea by Alan Moore

1.It takes place in 1999, which by looking at the pictures you probably wouldn't be able to guess this because it has a more futuristic look to it then 1999 we know. There doesn't seem to be a large passage of time through the graphic novel because the main characters don't seem to change.

2. The main character I think represents the ideals of almost any age of time and that is to become something extraordinary. She goes from being a normal college student to this goddess who has to learn how to be a super hero type of figure. So also she doesn't represent the ideal side of this because she shows that sometimes it's not easy and that to reach your ultimate goals you have to learn certain things and work to get there.

3. The 1999 of this story is futuristic and without that element it wouldn't have the same drive. A lot of unusual things happen to the main character but in this strange version of New York strange things are happening every where. If it were to be set in the 1999 New York we know, the story wouldn't have the same feel to it because everyone would be freaking out about this Egyptian Goddess running around fighting things that no one else sees. Also setting it in a different time period would also change the story because there are past Prometheas that teach the present one, that would necessarily be able to exist if it wasn't set during the time that it is.

4. The setting of this novel is real fiction because even though it is set in the real New York, it's not the New York we know, and there are other places that are introduced that aren't accessible from the real New York. I think that if this story was set in a different place, like the country for example, it would have a completely different effect because cities are much busier so these strange events can be happening with a lower chance of being noticed and gives the plot a certain drive.

Characters!

• I'm currently reading Locke & Key : Welcome to Lovecraft by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez. In this graphic novel there are two main protagonists, Tyler and Bode Locke. Tyler is a teenage boy and Bode is his little brother, they both move to their father's childhood home, Lovecraft, after he is killed. Even though Bode is younger, the novel's target age range is teenagers and young adults, because of the graphic violence. Tyler draws readers in because he feels his father's death is his fault, so following his torment through the story allows readers to connect with him on a deeper emotional level. His weakness is that he takes the blame for everything without knowing all the facts, so he mopes around a lot. His strength is that he can overlook this in times when the rest of his family needs him. 
  
• Bode on the other hand appeals to readers because of his innocence and his outlook on his situation. His strength is that he doesn't view death as a bad thing from an early age, which gives him the ability  to objectively look at what's going at Lovecraft during the story. His weakness is that he is too trusting at first, but he eventually overcomes this. There are also two antagonists Sam Lesser and the echo. Sam is working for the echo after seeing it in a picture in Tyler's dad's office. He antagonizes Tyler's family, killing Mr. Locke, and later attacking the rest of his family in search of the anywhere key for the echo. Sam's weakness is that he has completely given himself over to the echo and won't stop at anything to complete his task. His strength is that he never gives up, which is what is causing the Lockes so many problems. He appeals to the reader because from the start he is the evil force, and as we learn that he isn't working for his own motives necessarily the reader wants to find out where he is going and what will happen to him. 
  
• The echo is an interesting character because it appears to both Bode and Sam but acts differently towards both of them. For Sam she is the person who rescues him for jail and recruits him to help her escape the well she is stuck in. While with Bode she is someone to talk to when no one else will listen. Her weakness is that she can't leave the well house through the front door so she needs the anywhere key. Her strength is that she can get people to do things for her, even when they don't really want to. She appeals to the reader because she is mysterious, strange, and we don't know very much about her, so the reader wants to find out who she is and what she wants.
  
• The situation that these characters are in is familiar, but the reason is different with each character. With Tyler it's familiar because we have all suffered some sort of loss or felt like we were to blame for some sort of event in our life. Bode's situation is familiar because there have been times in everyone's life where no would listen to them, so when they found someone to talk to they tend to be extremely trusting and open. Sam is harder to relate to, but his situation is familiar in the fact that we've all wanted to please someone at any cost. The echo is familiar to people who manipulate others because that's what the echo does, is manipulate Bode and Sam both.
  

Analysis of Identity Crisis

I have read Identity Crisis by Brad Meltzer so far for the class.

• For the most part this graphic novel does follow the rule of thirds. When it doesn't follow this pattern it is for a specific purpose, like showing a series of events in a more appealling fashion. There doesn't seem to be a specific layout pattern that is followed, I think this is done to keep readers interested. I think that overall the layout of a graphic novel changes my reading in that it allows me to interpret pictures instead of words which gives a new meaning to everything.
  
• Throughout most of the novel bright colors are used and the drawings are fairly realistic. I found this interesting since it involves superheros, so I would normally expect them to be more cartoon-ish in nature. I also find the color scheme interesting, because the colors aren't necessarily vibrant, but they are deeper tones that allow me to be drawn more into the darker nature of the story. I feel that these techniques tie in well with the actual words, because the rich colors realistic characters allow me to connect to the story even though it involves superheros.

Eras of Comic book history.

Bronze Age: Bronze age describes the comics of the 1970s. The comics began to break the basic rules that had been followed up until this point by comic creators. They began to explore more controversial issues, such as the effects of drug use and death of characters. One such example would be The Amazing Spider Man. Also during this era anti-heroes were introduced. The Wolverine and The Punisher are prime examples of anti-heroes, who acted out what many people would do in situations, instead of what a super hero would do. Superhero crossovers also started to happen, like Superman v.s. Spider man. Characters from other comics and other novels were introduced into many comics.

Golden Age: The golden age introduced superheroes in the late 1930s. We saw the beginnings of both Superman and Batman during the Golden Age. The first comics of this era were collections of adventures of different characters in one book. In 1939 we Superman is the first hero to have an entire comic book to tell his adventures. Batman was the superhero who got the first sidekick in 1940, Robin the Boy Wonder. Later that same year, the first superhero team was seen, the Justice Society of America. During the age we also see the first female super heroine. After World War II, these golden age heroes, started to lose their appeal to many people.

Silver Age: Began with an improved version of The Flash, a golden age superhero. This comic was became quite popular, which led to the reintroduction of many other golden age heroes.

Modern Age: Comic books from the mid-1980s until present are considered modern age comics. Generally comic book characters started to be more complex and developed, often gaining a dark side. Many comic book writers became more independent, and wrote more personal stories. We see an up rise in horror and suspense in comics. This age and the bronze age, have a blurred line, so many things that occurred in the bronze age, continued to occur in the modern age. Batman: The Return of the Dark Knight is an example of a modern age comic book.

Platinum Age: The first comic books that were created from the late 1800s through the early 1900s. This were collections of comics that first appeared in newspapers. The Yellow Kid is the very first example of a comic book. The Funnies was the first comic book collection to have original comic strips in it, instead of reprints. The comic books during this era varied in size and format, while comics from later ages were mostly printed in an 8" by 11" format.



(used Wikipedia, this site http://www.psu.edu/dept/inart10_110/inart10/cmbk2fungold.html and this site http://www.collectortimes.com/~comichistory/Platinum.html)

It's Day One

tah-dah.