SAN DIEGO, CA (August 20, 2020) – Following the smashing first season success of the Netflix Original Series Locke & Key produced by IDW Entertainment, new fans are flocking to join the already massive following for Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodríguez’s beloved horror/fantasy tale. To satisfy demand in the interim before Locke & Key’s second season debut, IDW Publishing is thrilled to announce the next wave of published offerings in the Locke & Key franchise. There’s no better time for fans to experience the full breadth of the comic series that The A.V. Club calls “a modern masterpiece!”

“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 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 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.”

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 hotly anticipated crossover with DC’s The Sandman Universe slated for late fall. 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 officially kicks off the crossover fans have been waiting for with a special reintroduction of storylines and characters who populate the fall’s landmark event series. In the reprinted tale “Open the Moon” (originally presented in 2011’s Locke & Key: Guide to the Known Keys), 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 issue peels back the curtain on Dream of The Endless with a classic tale reprinted from The Sandman.

Locke & Key: Keyhouse Compendium (isbn 978-1-68405-776-4), scheduled for release in October, collects the original, sprawling tale of magic and family, 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, the Keyhouse Compendium — much like the doors of Keyhouse itself — transforms all who open its pages. Witness the triumphs and tragedies of Tyler, Kinsey, and Bode Locke from their very first steps on the ancestral grounds of Massachusetts to the climactic final battle with the supernatural entity Dodge.

In November and January, the most talked-about crossover of 2020 will hit stores: Locke & Key – The Sandman Universe: Hell & Gone, a monumental two-part story that sees the destiny of the Locke family intertwine with the mythos of DC’s The Sandman Universe. 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,” the tagline promises, for a tale crafted by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodríguez, and overseen by Sandman writer and co-creator Neil Gaiman.

Finally, IDW welcomes 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 (isbn 978-1-68405-782-5) 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.

Be sure to follow IDW on social media for the latest information regarding IDW’s complete line of Locke & Key products!

For Further Reading

Locke & Key, Vol. 1: Welcome to Lovecraft
FC   •   $19.99 US / $25.99 CAN
ISBN 978-1-60010-384-1

Locke & Key, Vol. 2: Head Games
FC   •   $19.99 US / $25.99 CAN
ISBN 978-1-60010-761-0

Locke & Key, Vol. 3: Crown of Shadows
FC   •   $19.99 US / $25.99 CAN
ISBN 978-1-60010-953-9

Locke & Key, Vol. 4: Keys to the Kingdom
FC   •   $19.99 US / $25.99 CAN
ISBN 978-1-61377-207-2

Locke & Key, Vol. 5: Clockworks
FC   •   $19.99 US / $25.99 CAN
ISBN 978-1-61377-699-5

Locke & Key, Vol. 6: Alpha & Omega
FC   •   $24.99 US / $33.99 CAN
ISBN 978-1-63140-144-2

About the Creators

Joe Hill is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Full Throttle, The Fireman, Heart-Shaped Box, and NOS4A2, recently made into a TV series from AMC. His horror novella In the Tall Grass, co-written with Stephen King, was made into a feature film from Netflix. His book of short stories, 20th Century Ghosts, won the Bram Stoker Award and British Fantasy Award for Best Collection. He earned the Eisner Award for Best Writer for his long-running comic book series, Locke & Key, featuring the eye-popping art of Gabriel Rodríguez.

Born in Santiago, Chile, Gabriel Rodríguez began working as an illustrator in the late ’90s and in 2002 started drawing books for IDW Publishing, including CSI, George Romero’s Land of the Dead, and Beowulf, amongst others. In 2007, he co-created the award-winning series Locke & Key with Joe Hill. He continued developing other creator-owned projects: the Eisner-winning Little Nemo: Return to Slumberland, with Eric Shanower; Sword of Ages; and the gritty sci-fi adventure Onyx, with Chris Ryall.

About IDW Publishing

IDW Publishing (IDWP), a subsidiary of IDW Media Holdings Inc. (OTC PINK: IDWM), is an award-winning publisher of comic books, graphic novels, art books, trade paperbacks, and tabletop games. IDWP is one of the top four publishers of comic books and graphic novels in the U.S. with a library of world-renowned licensed content and original series. IDWP’s critically-acclaimed imprints include Top Shelf Productions, Artist’s Editions, EuroComics, The Library of American Comics, Sunday Press, and Yoe! Books.

About IDW Entertainment

IDW Entertainment “IDWE” is charged with developing, financing, producing and distributing creative, diversified and targeted entertainment content ranging from series and features to interactive experiences and digital content from sister company IDW Publishing’s extensive IP catalog of comic books and graphic novels, as well as from third party content.

Since launching in 2013, IDWE has successfully delivered 3.5 seasons of the critically-acclaimed “Wynonna Earp”, which debuted on SYFY in the U.S.; Spike TV in the UK and Australia; and Netflix Globally. IDWE also produced, in association with High Park Entertainment, the Netflix series, “October Faction”, the adaptation of IDW Publishing’s comic book series written by Steve Niles. The company also produced the Netflix series adaptation of the popular comic book “Locke & Key” by Joe Hill and show run by Carlton Cuse.

IDWE is a franchise studio division of IDW Media Holdings, Inc. (OTC PINK: IDWM), a fully integrated media company.

About DC

DC is one of the largest English-language publishers of comics and graphic novels in the world and home to some of the most iconic and recognizable characters ever created. As a creative unit of WarnerMedia, DC is charged with strategically integrating its stories and characters across film, television, consumer products, home entertainment, interactive games, and the DC Universe digital subscription service. For more information visit dccomics.com and dcuniverse.com.