''Skeleton Key'' is the title of a

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

author

Andi Watson Andrew Watson (born 1969) is a British cartoonist and illustrator best known for the graphic novels ''Breakfast After Noon'', ''Slow News Day'' and his series ''Skeleton Key'' and ''Love Fights'', published by Oni Press and Slave Labor Graphics ...

. It was published beginning in

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

Slave Labor Graphics Slave Labor Graphics (SLG) is an independent American comic book publisher, well known for publishing darkly humorous, offbeat comics. Creators associated with SLG over the years include Evan Dorkin, Roman Dirge, Sarah Dyer, Woodrow Phoenix, Jhon ...

and was Watson's first monthly comic. ''Skeleton Key'' ran for 30 issues and a number of supplemental stories and was generally well received. The 30 issues were subsequently collected in five volumes.

Comic

''Skeleton Key'' featured detailed black and white art. Its plot centered on two young women. The first protagonist is Tamsin, a high-school student living in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, who discovers the magical skeleton key that lends the series its title. This key can fit any door, and it "unlocks" pathways to other dimensions. While exploring these alternate worlds, she encounters the second protagonist, Kitsune, a Japanese fox spirit. The earlier volumes in the series deal primarily with the adventures of the pair in these alternate worlds, while in the later volumes, the

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

elements become less prominent and the drama and romance of

coming-of-age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can ...

stories takes center stage. In 2011 Watson returned to Skeleton Key with a series of short stories for Dark Horse Presents, an anthology title. These were collected in the "Skeleton Key Color Special", published as a one shot in 2012 from Dark Horse Comics.

Cartoon

An animated series based on the comic book was ordered in 2001 by

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

. The animated series was to be produced by

Sunbow Entertainment Sunbow Entertainment (known as Sunbow Productions until 1995) was an American animation studio and distributor, founded on June 23, 1980, and owned until May 4, 1998, by Griffin-Bacal Advertising in New York City and in the United States. Griffin ...

for an initial run of 13 episodes. However, the series never materialized.

Collected editions

*''Skeleton Key, Vol. 1: Beyond the Threshold'' () *''Skeleton Key, Vol. 2: The Celestial Calendar'' () *''Skeleton Key, Vol. 3: Telling Tales'' () *''Skeleton Key, Vol. 4: Cats and Dogs'' () *''Skeleton Key, Vol. 5: Roots'' () *''Skeleton Key Special'' collected short stories and mini-comics *''Kitsune Tales'' one-shot, with writer

Woodrow Phoenix Woodrow Phoenix is a British comics artist, writer, editorial illustrator, graphic designer, font designer and author of children's books. Phoenix is best known for ''Rumble Strip'', published in 2008, a non-fiction look at the difficult social ...

() *''Skeleton Key/Sugar Kat Special'' crossover with

Ian Carney Ian Carney is a British comics animation writer. Born in Liverpool, Merseyside on 21 August 1962, Carney began writing comics in the 80s for Fleetway Editions in the UK and First Comics and Dark Horse Comics in the US. He is probably best kno ...

and Woodrow Phoenix's Where's It At, Sugar Kat? *''Skeleton Key Missive Device'' a book of mini-comics in

postcard A postcard or post card is a piece of thick paper or thin cardboard, typically rectangular, intended for writing and mailing without an envelope. Non-rectangular shapes may also be used but are rare. There are novelty exceptions, such as wood ...

form *''Skeleton Key Color Special'' one-shot, 32 pages, 2012 published by

Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops known ...

References

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External links

Comics Worth Reading review of Skeleton Key
1995 comics debuts Television series by Sunbow Entertainment Slave Labor Graphics titles