Locke & Key: Heaven And Earth Deluxe Hardcover Edition
Written by Joe Hill
Art by Gabriel Rodriguez
Colors by Jay Fotos
Letters by Robbie Robbins
IDW Publishing
Release Date: August 16, 2017
Price: $9.27

It has been a pleasure to watch Locke & Key blossom over the years. Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez have consistently astounded me and not once managed to disappoint me with this series. So when IDW Publishing decided to compile Locke & Key: Heaven And Earth Deluxe Hardcover Edition, I was understandably excited. There is more than just a few choice bits here, these are some hard to find stories being made available again.

Locke & Key: Small World Deluxe Hardcover
Written by Joe Hill
Art by Gabriel Rodriguez
Colors by Jay Fotos
Letters by Robbie Robbins
IDW Publishing
Release Date: February 15, 2017
Cover Price: $14.99

Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez are back to give us a short one-shot tale of the creepiest family in comicdom. In the Locke & Key: Small World Deluxe Hardcover we are given not just the twenty-four pages of story but also a lot of background information and setup from the creators. In fact it spans seventy-two pages altogether; that’s a lot of extras!

Douglas Adams’ Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency #1
Written by Chris Ryall
Pencils by Tony Akins
Inks by John Livesay
Colors by Leonard O’Grady
Letters by Robbie Robbins and Shawn Lee
Covers by Tony Akins and Paul Mounts (Regular), Rob Guillory (Subscription), Robert Hack and Stephen Downer (Retailer Incentive)
IDW Publishing
Release Date: May 20, 2015
Cover Price: $3.99

Everything is connected. That’s the long and short of how the title character in Douglas Adams’ Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency #1 sees the world in general and how he works through his mysteries in particular. If you haven’t read any Douglas Adams then immediately following this review, go do so. The man was not only amazing but he should have been sainted for the wonderful work he did in science fiction literature. I applaud anyone who revives or adapts his work for the newer generations. But we are here to talk about this individual issue, folks, so let’s do just that!

As it turns out, the concept of fundamental interconnectedness means that time, space, and reality can all be thrown to the wolves. If the entire makeup of everything is connected to everything else then it’s as if the universe is playing a game akin to the Six Degrees Of Kevin Bacon! In this comic, we see the eponymous Dirk Gently seeking those very same connections! Relying on his wits and wisdom, and a good deal of luck and fate, he somehow manages to find the thread that links it all together.

Zombies vs. Robots Omnibus
Written by Chris Ryall
Illustrated by Ashley Wood, Menton3, Paul McCaffrey
Lettered by Robbie Robbins
Cover by Ashley Wood
IDW Publishing
Release Date: February 11, 2015
Cover Price: $29.99

What’s the best weapon to thwart a zombie and the horde it’s roaming with? A knife? A bat? A sword? A gun? No! What about a cheeky, intelligent, battle robot? Yes! Oh, and sexy, Amazonian warriors wouldn’t hurt in the fight either. The zombie apocalypse has begun in Chris Ryall and Ashley Wood’s Zombies vs. Robots Omnibus, and it’s a fast-paced world of destruction and mayhem.

V Wars #3
Written by Jonathan Maberry
Illustrated by Alan Robinson
Colored by Jay Fotos
Lettered by Robbie Robbins
Covers by Ryan Brown and Kevin Eastman
IDW Publishing
Release Date: June 18, 2014
Cover Price: $3.99

Can one man change the ideals of two warring factions? In IDW’s V Wars #3, written by Jonathan Maberry with illustrations from Alan Robinson, the humans and the vampires continue their bloody onslaught against each other.

Taurus Harper, a soldier whose entire platoon is slaughtered by an anarchist V-Cell, is recruited to the V-8 squad – the elite military force known for taking out vampire threats quickly and efficiently. As Professor Swann gets to know Taurus, he is overwhelmed by the man’s genuine humanity and understanding that not everything about the V-War is black and white; however, Taurus himself may not be all that he seems.