Big Blast O’ Locke & Key News
Sorry for the prolonged period of radio silence. I’ve been neck-deep in a new project and the thing is a time hog; it hasn’t left a lot of room for blogging.
There’s a lot happening with LOCKE & KEY over the next month. Maybe a visual will help. This, from editor Chris Ryall:
You’re looking at the small avalanche of LOCKE & KEY stuff that will be arriving in comic shops and bookstores on August 11th. They are: the hardcover edition of LOCKE & KEY (Vol. 3): CROWN OF SHADOWS; the beginning of the new story arc, KEYS TO THE KINGDOM #1; and WELCOME TO LOVECRAFT #1: LEGACY EDITION, a $1 reprint of the very first LOCKE & KEY story.
For those who haven’t been following the comic, KEYS TO THE KINGDOM #1, and the $1 LEGACY EDITION are great places to jump in and give it a try. KEYS will be a series of standalone LOCKE & KEY stories (except for the final two issues, which work as a two-parter). You don’t need to be a devotee or a longtime follower to drop in and enjoy them. And LEGACY is more than just another edition of a story which has already been reprinted a few times. It also includes an 8-page “Story So Far” feature in the back – hosted by a damn fine looking hunk of manmeat – which covers everything else that’s happened since LOCKE & KEY began. It isn’t the same as reading the stories themselves, but it does catch you up on the highlights.
And for those of you looking to lay hands on signed copies, there are a few ways to get them:
Signing: July 29th (Thurs), 7PM — NYC. BARNES & NOBLE (82nd and Broadway). IDW has hooked the 82nd St Barnes & Noble up with advance copies of CROWN OF SHADOWS; I’ll be there this Thursday to sign CoS, other volumes of LOCKE & KEY, HORNS, HEART-SHAPED BOX, and 20th CENTURY GHOSTS. Don’t let me be lonely, guys… come see me!
Pre-Sign: August 12th — SALEM, MA. CORNERSTONE BOOKS. Between now and August 11th, you can preorder a signed, personalized copy of CROWN OF SHADOWS, and up to two other books, through Cornerstone Books in Salem, MA. They’re happy to ship wherever you live (although the shipping costs are on you). Note that this is not an in-store appearance. The only way to get your books is by contacting Cornerstone to preorder.
There are a few ground rules: I’ll only sign up to three books per household. One of them has to be CROWN OF SHADOWS, but the other two can be anything else I’ve written. All three books will be autographed, although I’ll only personalize and/or doodle one of them. Cornerstone Books will make every effort to deliver your books to you in mint, but they won’t accept returns. No one can promise there won’t be a scuff mark somewhere on one of your books. Here’s the info on Cornerstone Books:
CORNERSTONE BOOKS
45 Lafayette Street
Salem, MA 01970
978 744-1831
Signing: August 14th, 4-6 PM — PORTLAND, ME. CASABLANCA COMICS. I’ll be in Casablanca Comics on the afternoon of the 14th to sign KEYS TO THE KINGDOM #1, WTL: LEGACY, CROWN OF SHADOWS, and all the other volumes in the LOCKE & KEY series. This is a great comic store in the Old Port. If you’re in the area, come on down and say hello.
Stay tuned… if there are other signings to announce, I’ll post them as soon as they’re scheduled.
July 25th, 2010 at 4:15 pm
Joe, you’ll be busy as a bee. Cheers, good fellow.
July 25th, 2010 at 5:14 pm
Please come to Florida! South Beach is cool. Fort Lauderdale is better. I’ll settle for Orlando!
July 25th, 2010 at 5:45 pm
You should sign at the bookstore in Brockton. Oh, wait…we gots none.
July 25th, 2010 at 8:30 pm
This makes me sad because this will be the 2ND TIME that I will miss you in NYC. I can’t make it out on such short notice.
Booo!
Can you come back in August, or better yet, September for my birthday?
July 25th, 2010 at 9:09 pm
I was about to send a search party, but seeing that you’re okay I guess I’ll just have to put in another request for Arizona… I know it’s hotter than horns down here, but it’s well worth the trip
July 25th, 2010 at 9:57 pm
oh sure…a signing that I have to miss cause I will be busy that day…hopefully you will be scheduling more for the area!
But wicked excited to hear more about the new project? Time frame of when you might start tellin us what it’s about?????
July 26th, 2010 at 12:28 am
You are the only one in the family I haven’t met! Please come to Virginia for a signing or at least DC and maybe I can make the trip like I did to meet mom, dad & Owen a couple years ago! I woulda tried for one of the above signings but – “I had to park the car you see”
July 26th, 2010 at 1:25 am
I’d love to come see you……if you came anywhere near Michigan! *please?*
July 26th, 2010 at 7:12 am
No River Run? I’m so used to ordering from them! I’ll have to give Cornerstone a try, I guess
July 26th, 2010 at 7:50 am
Thanks Joe! I’m determined to get all my L&K HCs signed.
And ditto to what Nerak asked.
July 26th, 2010 at 12:48 pm
Melissa
Let me know how you get on with Cornerstone!
I think like me your from the UK and would like to know their prices as like you, used to River Run!
July 26th, 2010 at 2:17 pm
Please tell me these aren’t the only dates you’ll be doing on this side of the country…..
July 26th, 2010 at 8:13 pm
My fiance and I spend a weekend in Portland every year. I always make sure to stop in to Casablanca Comics. It’s a great store. I wish I didn’t have obligations on the 14th. Getting some signed Locke and Key would have been a great excuse to make the trek.
July 26th, 2010 at 8:38 pm
I won’t be around on July 29, b/c I have this big meeting w/ the big brass.
I’m kind of concerned about it, b/c they’re going to talk about my work progress. They do this every year but, due to circumstances beyond my control-I had 3 operation within 18 months-I’ve never been reviewed as a Paramedic. Not formally, which means the Captain and my immediate supervisor will be at the meeting.
I don’t really like meetings. If you can avoid meetings, I think you’re lucky.
That ‘Welcome to Lovecraft’ gets intense right away, which is why I like it.
All my life, I’ve worked in Emergency Medicine. I understand intense better than any other situation. Such as things that happen gradually.
My former editor mentioned to me that some things happen gradually, and I know he’s right, but I don’t relate to them as well.
What I relate to best is that everything’s going along just fine, then suddenly someone needs emergency care. Whether through trauma or medical emergency, they go from being healthy-most of the time-to suddenly sick or injured.
BTW Captain B., one of the guys who will be at my review, never knew there were comics written for adults. I think he liked my book, and he’s going to buy one himself. ‘Welcome to Lovecraft’ that is.
His grandsons have all kinds of comics, but they’re the kind that young people read.
His grandsons are 6 and 9. The one who’s 6 likes to pull the rope that sounds the horn on the fire truck.
July 27th, 2010 at 7:58 am
THere are actually more places to pick your poison than there has been in the last couple of years. I may have to space out my order over a couple or maybe all of them. I would like to pick up a couple of L&Key issues that I dont already have signed. Mary and I may find out the sex of our little monster by august 14th…will have to add a extra copy of COS..lol,his/her first comic. ALRIGHT, THANKS JOE for the extra opportunites to pick up some goodies, appreciate it…
July 27th, 2010 at 11:58 am
M&M+1: Monster! It’s not even out yet (hehe)
My nephew’s one of those, but you can’t tell my sister that. She took it as an insult even thought I didn’t mean it that way.
But even SHE has to admit he likes getting a rise out of her. On Christmas, he snatched her new scarf and ran off w/ it.
When she got upset, he laughed. He was thoroughly enjoying getting a reaction from her.
I call him a pistol or rascal now. I think he just has a higher than average excitability level.
July 27th, 2010 at 6:34 pm
Hey Mighty Joe –
You may’ve heard this before…if it has been so…it still lives on.
…except this day, this time, the honor and pride are mine.
Every year, through many turns, I change my vanity visual.
Over here in Southwestern New Hampshire – the die has been set.
Soon, an older Black Blazer LT with mysteriously squealing brakes
will scream through the countryside…macadam and dirt.
Inside hidden household pockets, distant and clumped near, all
ages will crane, gasp, as a hulkering time-buster passes through.
Clutching the wheel at ten and two, I’ll proudly move about my
business as guardian of the seven letters. On a never-ending
multy-level thrash against (fill in the word)…this humped over, gray
haired, wizzle smile visitor will coax this vessel from beyond Pluto.
Fore’ and aft’, every snap-eyed citizen will be enlightened as they
read…
JOEHILL
…solid stamped on the Granite State license plate.
A newer race has invaded.
Just thought you’d like to know…
July 29th, 2010 at 4:46 am
Damn, found out that Aug 17th is the day we find out(hopefully) the sex of our little monster.
July 29th, 2010 at 10:03 am
I’m going to have all the time in the world to catch up on Locke & Keye.
They took my damn job away from me. That’s what their dumb meeting was about. Making more cuts and I’m one of them.
The guy I was working w/ set me up for a fall, and I was dumb enough to think he was truly being a “decent” person. When all along he was setting me up so he could give me a negative report.
Lovely person there. He graduated from Princeton, and he uses the fact to be as mean as he wants while knowing he’ll be forgiven for his “small transgressions.”
Yes, he told us he uses his alma mater to his benefit.
The only good thing I’ve gotten out of what I just heard of being cut completely is I’ll get to catch up on Locke & Keye.
BTW is there a larger-print version of it? My eyes can’t see tiny print, and the print in WTL is really tiny.
I was born w/ an eye deficiency that was corrected as much as could be expected through 3 operations, but I’ve never been able to read really small print.
If there isn’t a larger-print version, I’ll just use a reader’s magnifying glass.
July 29th, 2010 at 5:31 pm
AHH!!!… I don’t check your site for a couple of days and suddenly there is all this?!?!
I wanna come meet you… but it’s 6:30… and I don’t think I can get to NYC in time 
and if you were actually gonna be in MA I would have driven to see you… I hope you come back soon 
July 30th, 2010 at 9:11 am
Vicki:
Sorry ’bout the loss of your job! Hope you find something that is
good feeling and appreciative. Not to sound funny. but what about
the zoo’s out there? Animals are great and they dont rat on you
for reading comic books!! (not a one of ‘em went to Princeton)
July 31st, 2010 at 12:52 pm
I think you need a Veterinary license to help animals. My daughter was being trained to do that by a Wildlife Veterinarian. She helps both wildlife and domestic pets, but her main training is with Class I big cats; lions, tigers, ligers and jaguars.
While my daughter was learning to be a Veterinary Technician, she clipped cats’ and bunny rabbits’ nails. She said the common house cat was the most difficult patient to work with.
She has videos of cats howling or hissing or mewling over having their nails trimmed. That one cat had a mighty set of lungs on her all right. I know she was a girl, b/c my daughter said so. But I also know most calico cats are girls.
They’re really pretty kitties.
A day after I was let go, somebody called the station hoping to sue the guy for something he did while treating a patient w/ suspected spinal injury. I can imagine him doing most of those things, especially the part about calling the patient a wimp. He told another patient his 7-year old son takes pain better than she does, just b/c he didn’t like putting up w/ her constant crying.
She fell down a narrow flight of stairs after missing a step, and we thought she broke her ankle.
We were all subordinates of the guy who told her his son takes pain better than she does and couldn’t say anything in front of him. But we found a way to let her know we’re nothing like him w/out his finding out.
I don’t even know what the hell this guy wants to be a paramedic for if he can’t stand screaming patients. The only ones he’s ever liked are those who come back and tell him what a god he is for saving their lives.
August 1st, 2010 at 1:18 pm
This web site, along w/ John Cusack’s Facebook page, are still the most intelligent, abuse-free places on the entire Internet.
I really wish those other places would do more to curb the wildly out of control verbal abuse going on, b/c I’m having trouble believing it’s out of their control to do so.
That’s what they tell me every time I mention it, but I’ve never told them I can go to 2 different places and it’s never out of the site owner’s control.
I’m exhausted from all the things that I’m carrying right now in my personal and professional life.
The comic books are really helping, b/c I like going into someone else’s problem to get away from my own for a while.
I’m also reading another Robin Cook book, and that’s helping b/c it means my friend was right. Just b/c I’m not a working paramedic doesn’t mean I’m not a paramedic.
When he first said it, I thought he was being facetious. But reading the medical thriller book made me really happy. And I was glad I read Horns first, b/c I wouldn’t have remembered what the marker for BRCA1 is.
He gave additional, hopeful, information about it. If you find you have the marker before you get the cancer, you can get a mastectomy before the cancer grows, and give a 50% possibility of not getting the cancer.
That’s the reason I like him so much. He knows so much more than I do about it, and he gives you hope.
To me, half a chance is better than no chance.
The book is called ‘Marker.’ Part of it is about genetic markers, which has nothing to do with emergency medicine and explains why I know only a little about breast cancer.
I really only know to give a cancer patient oxygen and an I.V when they’re having a bad day with their disease.
August 1st, 2010 at 4:01 pm
I just ordered the first 3 comics. I think they’re the first three. WTL, Head Games and Crown of Shadows. I was reading WTL from a book someone else owns, but he didn’t want to part with it. At least now I’ll have my own.
Gabriel. Those pictures in the art gallery are awesome. I hope you’ve won an award or been nominated for one. They’re really gr8 pictures.
I love gr8 art, b/c I have no talent in that area. My daughter does, and she can do pictures for cels. They have those in the funny papers. She also drew a picture of her dad in black and white with shading that looks super awesome.
It was so good, it made me remember how attractive he was in a physical way, as well as others.
Anyway, those prices were reasonable. It’s amazing how reasonably priced something becomes when you have money. I still have a salary waiting for me, b/c they haven’t paid me my last one.
He tried to make a problem of that too, but I kept a copy of my birth certificate and sent in another copy.
I have a hard time believing it was lost in the system by coincidence. But it doesn’t matter, b/c I sent in another copy and will get my last paycheck.
August 1st, 2010 at 11:40 pm
I guess im going to ahve to order from 2 diffy places. Cornerstone for COS and STORIES….and Casablanca for my other copy of COS and some back issues.
August 2nd, 2010 at 2:24 am
Will the mother find the rehab key in the next story? She needs help. Poor woman beating her kids when drunk, my brother says she should put herself in the box because SHE’S broken but I don’t know. Interesting.
August 2nd, 2010 at 7:49 am
does KODIAK-IDW come out in sept.?
August 2nd, 2010 at 12:47 pm
Might I ask, possibly very stupidly what KODIAK-IDW is M&M
Joe, just want to say got L&K Crown of Shadows & The New Dead both ordered from Cornerstone bookshop, very efficient staff, making my overseas transaction pain and hassle free!
Missed out on the limited edition The New Dead so am made up that getting a Signed copy in the long run!!!
Can I ask one question Joe, when’s the next Gunpowder book coming out, is it Slave Girls of Gunpowder? I know PS Publishing are putting it together but is there a set date for release or pre-order
August 2nd, 2010 at 8:32 pm
Kodiak from IDW is a stand alone comic: this is what OVERLOOK connection( they have it on sale now) had on it:
Written by Joe Hill & Jason Ciaramella, artwork by Nat Jones.
OVERVIEW: A young man is betrayed, and finds himself in a desperate battle of man versus beast. Is the love of a maiden enough to keep him alive? Co-writers Joe Hill and Jason Ciaramella, along with artist Nat Jones, weave a special tale filled with flame, fur, and ferocity in this exclusive one shot release.
August 2nd, 2010 at 8:32 pm
Herbie, thanks for your post..it fired some wires in my head, and I may have to get some other books from Cornerstone.
August 2nd, 2010 at 11:43 pm
Kodiak… Thanks M&M.
August 3rd, 2010 at 10:01 pm
Now why didn’t you mention this Joe? You’re falling down on the “shameless self-promotion” part of your job!
August 4th, 2010 at 9:20 am
I wished that i was in maine…there is a chance for people to see the “northern lights” tonight..if its not tooooo cloudy.
August 5th, 2010 at 2:41 am
I just saw this, and I am so excited and pumped I HAD to jump up and kick the table.
Now excuse me as I limp my way to the Emergency Room.
August 5th, 2010 at 7:03 am
I’m starting to get concerned about when I’m going to get my comic books I ordered 4 days ago.
I’m impatient. That’s why I did such good work in Emergency Medicine. The only place where you get rewarded for being impatient.
I just can’t wait to jump in and start reading where I left off in Welcome to Lovecraft.
So far, I haven’t seen any keys. I hope I’m going to see some keys soon.
I’m only on the fifth page of the first book.
That book I’m reading by Robin Cook has almost 525 pages and I’m only on page 230, but I’m learning all kinds of stuff about the BRCA1 mutated gene.
Genetics is definitely a part of medicine they don’t teach you much about when you’re going to work in Emergency Medicine. But they taught us Microbiology for the Allied Health Professional. That’s where I learned how a virus is different from a bacterium.
I knew a guy who had a Ph.D in Microbiology. He’s that dude who went to Cornell for undergraduate and Northwestern University for graduate school. He used to watch Northwestern play football.
I didn’t know anything about football, but I still knew Northwestern wasn’t that good. He admitted it, so I’m not really saying anything bad. Besides, I don’t care if my own school’s team is good or bad. I don’t actually know if they’re good, but I know they have a team. I went to NKU.
Robin Cook went to Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons. IDK which he went to first, Columbia or Wesleyan University.
He’s another awfully modest person for someone who went to an Ivy League School.
August 5th, 2010 at 7:20 am
Joe
Am not sure if I’ve made this up in my head (which is extremely possible) or that I read it somewhere. Concerning the Keys that we see in the Locke & Key series, are there going to be more of them produced and sold, perhaps even signed by your good self??
August 5th, 2010 at 2:27 pm
Genetics sounds wicked interesting Vicki. Glad they’re retraining you! I expect “keys” in the mail about mid-Aug.
This is how today went for me. 8 a.m. no coffee but I’m at Dr.’s office to have them reveal the findings of last week’s nerve test.
Foof, another large book flanked onto rhe desk in front of me. Just the scariest non-fiction I ever need to see.
Its your choice Dr. says:” Book One, (foof) daily injections. The next 2, weekly and bi-weelky injections.” No chewable tabs I guess.
Thump,thump.. my heart. “What if I dont take them? If theres no cure then what good is this?”
To keep you in remission, You have till Sept. 2 to decide.
(-I swear they smell my insurance.)
They say a bee’s sting has proven most helpful. So I was on my porch othr day with all my sorrows and I spied a wasp flipping and dragging off with a dead moth. It started ripping the moth fuzz off
of mothy’s chest and then chewed a hole there and buried its head in the moth! I got real close to see if it was tucking wasp eggs into the moth carcass but I think it was just eating. Huh..they’re both gone. For some kooky reason (boredom 101) I started saving
bee bodies in a terra pot. Dunno why. My ex (good friends, still monog. ) asked me what the hell I want those for.
IDK, thought I might chew them up..eat ‘em! I doubt that I ever will
cripes …Time will tell.
August 5th, 2010 at 9:54 pm
A wasp flying away with a moth should probably be avoided. A bee sting could be a problem unless you are not allergic to them. Christopher Hitchens has written a piece for Vanity Fair entitled Topic Cancer. I have always enjoyed good writing and am personally mystified by it for I guess strange reason I can’t find a synonym for now. Check it out if you want to read from somebody who can flat out write!
August 6th, 2010 at 9:08 am
Phil17,
Sounds good to me! I saw a sign in somebody’s dooryard today that cracks me up.(bad spelling) You might like this.
Big wooden board, spraypaint message reads : CLEAN PHIL WANTED!!! ( Somehow I doubt it was purposely misspelled.)
Adding to the oddness, there was a barbie doll lashed around the stick supporting the sign. In true Mainer humor I’d luv to know if any guy ever knocked on the door to say “Hi, I’m clean Phil”..
August 7th, 2010 at 10:05 am
I ordered my first three books from Amazon.com. It said they should get there within 3 to 5 days. It’s still WNL (within normal limits), I was just really enjoying reading the first book, Welcome to Lovecraft.
I’m liking it better than Elfquest, which my friend liked when she was 13.
I started reading some of it, b/c I wanted to know what made it so popular. But I guess you have to be a young reader to know.
I like the idea of having two moons though, and riding on wolves.
I hate to sound uninitiated, but what’s a ‘dooryard?’
The only book I ever saw that word in was Stephen King stories, back when I still read them.
Once, he explained what it was, but I already forgot.
August 7th, 2010 at 10:10 am
I never heard of bee sting therapy for cancer, but I’m not always up on the latest techniques.
During the Iraq war, emergency medical procedures changed so fast you couldn’t keep up w/ it even when you were getting daily information about it. It started to get annoying, that everything we do is based on what the military does.
I’ve heard of bee sting therapy for pain, but it would kill me. I’m so allergic to bee stings, I get a systemic reaction from one.
August 7th, 2010 at 4:35 pm
hey joe…
speaking of previews.. maybe a decade ago you told us about a second gunpowder novel, slave girls of gunpowder. what the hell happened with this one?
and i saw the covers of chapter 2&3 of keys to the kingdom, and my opinion is that this is gonna be an awsome arc because we gonna see a bunch of new keys, and that those are the best, most ingenious covers gabe has ever created!
August 7th, 2010 at 6:01 pm
Just ordered my L&K from Cornerstone. Thanks again Joe for making this possible!
Just want to throw this out there since we don’t have an MB anymore. My college daughter turned me on to a “new” band…The Gaslight Anthem. Wow…very impressive! I recommend them to anyone who likes Springsteen…don’t get me wrong, they don’t copy him, but they will, on occasion, make you think of the early Springsteen days. Take a listen to their “American Slang” CD. You’ll love it!
August 9th, 2010 at 6:48 am
Betsy Boo, if you haven’t listened to The Hold Steady, check them out. If Springsteen was a drug addict this is what he might have sounded like.
August 9th, 2010 at 7:24 am
Hey Mighty Joe –
If you’re following this…news flash – Granite State sighting.
Vehicle vanity tags came in last week…the one of a kind set are attached, front and back, on the older Black Blazer LT – good for a year.
Have already seen a few stares around Southwestern New Hampshire – good looks, envy, curiosity and wonder.
Nothing glows brighter then bold lettered license plates shouting:
JOEHILL
Perhaps, in time, you’ll autograph them for me.
August 9th, 2010 at 7:34 am
Now THAT’S a fan!
And thanks g…I’ll check them out. (PS…I miss you!)
August 9th, 2010 at 11:46 am
Call me El Cheapo, but I think regular license plates and all the stuff you have to get with them-tags, stickers and whatnot-are too expensive. And those aren’t even vanities. Heck, I didn’t even like that you had to pay to have a temporary permit. I don’t remember paying the first time I got one, and it wasn’t my fault I had to relearn to drive.
I tried to get my husband, who was made of money, to get us vanity plates and he said ‘No way. The cops remember vanity plates, so that you have no chance of sneaking into the background and becoming forgotten.’
Like he really needed to worry about cops. He barely even got speeding tickets.
He said he was talking about me, who would get stopped for things like ‘driving in the wrong area.’ I was at a park where they didn’t allow you to drive certain types of cars. It was dumb; it was Philadelphia.
They have dumb rules there. In 2003 war protesters were lying down in the street, stopping the natural traffic flow to make whatever point they think that makes, and the mayor didn’t even want to do anything to stop them. He told the police they weren’t allowed to arrest the protesters for that.
I thought ‘Well, some people have to work for a living. And if any of them gets run over, I’m not going to be keen about giving them medical assistance.’
I don’t understand how it’s protesting a war to stop traffic. It seems more like doing something to draw attention to themselves if you ask me.
There are all kinds of other ways to protest a war w/out stopping regular traffic.
August 9th, 2010 at 4:30 pm
One more thing. I’ve been trying to promote your book, Horns, on Facebook, to raise awareness that an awesome story exists. It’s not easy to find them these days.
I’m probably going to have to embolden myself though, b/c people aren’t getting the hint of the book title and your name.
Facebook has a strange community if you ask me. To have to write in all capitals just to get someone to hear you is silly IMO. It feels too ‘in-your-face’ direct. I’m not the most subtle person but, after living w/ the king of subtlety, I’ve become more so than I was before I met him.
It’s really true about taking on characteristics of your spouse or lover-or anyone you live w/ for a long time.
My daughter lived w/ her dad for years, and she has some of his mannerisms. I positively love that she has his characteristics. She couldn’t have gotten them from a better person.