Hello, Skkawliens and keepers of the keys! Did you know that very soon here we are going to have a brand new Locke & Key comic to read? In fact, the first issue in a three-part miniseries comes out on August 26th, 2020. The series is titled “In Pale Battalions Go,” and will be set in WW1. This appears to be a connector that will wrap up all of the “Golden Age” one-shots they have released over the years with stories like “Open The Moon” and “Small World.” 1 The coolest part of all this is that it will fork in two very huge directions, one of which appears to be a 6-volume series!
The first of the two stories will be a Locke & Key Sandman crossover that will no doubt feature the hell key that is fought over in The Sandman: Season of Mists. In fact, we know the title of this crossover is titled, “Hell & Gone” and will begin with a zero issue that will contain a reprint of the Locke & Key one-shot, “Open The Moon” and Sandman issue number 22, which begins the Season of Mists arc. 2 At the moment, it is unclear whether this crossover will be more than just a single issue.
But, fear not, the story does not end there! “In Pale Battalions Go” is also the beginning of a whole new Locke & Key six-volume series called World War Key. If you happened to read my coverage of the SDCC 2019 Locke & Key panel, Joe Hill teased this storyline, though he did not let on that it would be so large.
According to a recent IGN interview Hill and Rodriguez, “In Pale Battalions Go” and the Golden Age series will act as a bridge to World War Key. The World War Key series will begin in the revolutionary war and then zoom forward to return to many of the beloved characters in the original series to see how they are doing in the present day. 3 It sounds like the mantra here is the past is never dead but always in the present, and I’m really excited to see what these two geniuses bringing back to the future.
I quickly want to share what I’ve been seeing on the comics covers front. The first really popular release was a preorder for the In Pale Battalions Go #1 Peach Momoko variant cover set (pictured above). The virgin and trade dress set runs a little over $100 on eBay now but I believe it was originally $60. Because in the world of variant covers, Peach Momoko is a highly sought after artist, and the fact that this is limited, makes this cover super hot. I’m going to be honest and say that this isn’t my favorite of the covers though.
The cover that has caught my eye is Jetpack Comics’ glow-in-the-dark exclusive cover (limited to 1000 copies). It’s a glow-in-the-dark cover with the anywhere key on it. Being that the anywhere key is one of the most popular keys due to the Netflix show, I predict that this is going to pick up steam in the aftermarket. Right now it feels like it is under the radar. And, at this moment, it appears Jetpack still has a sweet bundle of 4 different covers for $50. That is an absolute steal for all those covers. The dudes over at Simpleman’s Comics think the 1:10 and 1:25 variant covers might be sleepers too. 4
Oh, wait, you were here for news about the Netflix show. Well, there hasn’t been much news since it was announced that season two was given the green light. Writing is underway and it sounds like there will be some new stories coming to Keyhouse. 5 But, if you’re only a fan of the TV show, you really need to check out the comics!
To get you pumped for “In Pale Battalions Go,” I’ll include the PREVIEWSworld links for each issue below.
Locke & Key Sandman Hell & Gone #0
I am so ready to open the door on some more Locke & Key comics and I hope you are too. What would you like to see in new Locke & Key stories? Let us know in the comments!
- Escape Hatch -37: Ride On
- Sandman Crossover With Locke & Key Has An Early #0 in October
- Locke and Key Creators Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez Reveal More Comics on the Way
- Simpleman’s Comics – Best Comic Books for Final Order Cut Off 8/3/20
- Locke and Key season 2: release date prediction, cast, and what we know
- Locke & Key Wiki – World War Key
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