It starts with a deranged high school student murdering his guidance counselor and chasing the family across America. Then it gets dark. Joe Hill's serialized graphic novel "Locke and Key" shows the power of a story whose ending was conceived from the beginning rather than just spinning out for as many issues as readers will support. 

Gabriel Rodriguez' art excels at storytelling. He doesn't skimp on the backgrounds.



Or the expressive faces of dozens of distinct characters.



Or the action fantasy sequences.



Moments of whimsy along the way pay stylistic homage to Bronze Age war comics:



And Calvin and Hobbes:



And a certain famous scene from 1980s X-Men.



Tense and intense, Locke and Key made me glad that I had the whole thing in a slipcase before me rather than having to wait for each issue monthly. I wonder how well the Netflix series captures it.