(San Diego, CA; September 11, 2008) – When novelist Joe Hill created his first-ever comic book series, Locke & Key, it took fans by surprise. The New York Times best-selling novelist had never created a new series expressly for comics before. But the book arrived to critical acclaim and to sold-out numbers. Further, it was optioned by Dimension Films. Now fans have a chance to experience the first storyline, Locke & Key: Welcome to Lovecraft, in a deluxe hardcover edition.

Locke & Key: Welcome to Lovecraft, featuring the stunning art of Gabriel Rodriguez (Clive Barker’s The Great and Secret Show), is being released on October 1 in a hardback edition that features the first six-issue storyline, a complete cover gallery, conceptual sketches by Rodriguez, and an all-new introduction from best-selling mystery novelist Robert Crais (Chasing Darkness)

Locke & Key: Welcome to Lovecraft tells of the Locke family, who relocate after an unspeakable tragedy to Keyhouse, an unlikely New England mansion, with fantastic doors that transform all who dare to walk through them... and home to a hate-filled and relentless creature that will not rest until it forces open the most terrible door of them all...

The Locke & Key story continues next year as well. Hill and Rodriguez pick up where this story leaves off with the next story in the ongoing saga, January’s Locke & Key: Head Games #1.

About creator Joe Hill, who has received the Bram Stoker Award for Best Fiction Collection and Best First Novel, the British Fantasy Award for Best Collection and Best Short Story, and the Sydney J. Bounds Best Newcomer Award, critics were unanimous in the praise:

“In a year of auspicious comics debuts, Joe Hill turned in one of the few comics that truly came from a different place. Written with skill that makes me jealous, courage that makes me smile, and honesty and brutality that makes me want to see what comes next. Okay, I'm officially a fan." – Eisner-winning writer Ed Brubaker

"Locke & Key is a breath of fresh air in the comic book industry. A modern suspense thriller meets something more wondrous and magical.” -- IGN.com

"Hill seems a natural at visual storytelling, not just managing a fabulous flow but also using the very tricks allowed by comics to enhance his overall plot." -- BrokenFrontier.com

"Solid pacing and plot twists, combined with Rodriguez’s clean lines and detail pencils make Locke & Key a lock for best horror book of the week.” -- Wizard Magazine

"Stands apart from the rest of the cookie-cutter comics on display these days." -- Detroit Metro Times

"The team of Hill and Rodriguez is top-notch." -- G4-TV

Locke & Key: Welcome to Lovecraft
, a 152-page, $24.99 hardcover, will be available on October 1. Diamond order code JUL08 4052.