🎯 Where Should I Start?
ⓘ About Joe Hill
Joseph Hillstrom King, better known by Joe Hill, is the American author of many popular novels and the comic book series, Locke & Key. It is no surprise that Hill became a writer, as both of his parents are authors. His father, Stephen King, is the quintessential horror author. His mother, Tabitha, has penned a many novels and non-fiction book as wells. Growing up in the limelight of his famous father, Joe tried to make a name for himself at an early age. After being born in Hermon, Maine in 1972 the King family moved to Bangor, ME where Joe and his younger brother Owen were raised. Joseph Hillstrom King was named after the famed Swedish-American labor activist Joe Hill. Ultimately, Hill’s fight for the rights of common men was rewarded with an execution in November, 1915.
All Book Series by Joe Hill
Locke & Key/Sandman: Hell & Gone #0
Series opener · book 1 of 3 · published 2020 Co-authored · Gabriel Rodríguez
Locke & Key/Sandman: Hell & Gone #1
Book 2 of 3 · published 2020 Co-authored · Gabriel Rodríguez
Locke & Key/Sandman: Hell & Gone #2
Latest in the series · book 3 of 3 · published 2021 Co-authored · Gabriel Rodríguez
Locke & Key: ...In Pale Battalions Go… #1
Series opener · book 1 of 3 · published 2020 Co-authored · Gabriel Rodríguez
Locke & Key: ...In Pale Battalions Go… #2
Book 2 of 3 · published 2020 Co-authored · Gabriel Rodríguez
Locke & Key: ...In Pale Battalions Go… #3
Latest in the series · book 3 of 3 · published 2020
Road Rage
Book 3 of 7 · published 2012 Co-authored · Stephen King,Richard Matheson,Chris Ryall
The Black Phone and Other Stories
Latest in the series · book 7 of 7 · published 2022
Dying is Easy
Book 2 of 3 · published 2020 Co-authored · Gabriel Rodríguez,Martin Simmonds
Big Bad
Latest in the series · book 5 of 5 · published 2023 Anthology · Chandler Baker
The Indigo Room
Series opener · book 1 of 5 · published 2025 Anthology · Stephen Graham Jones
The Blanks
Latest in the series · book 5 of 5 · published 2025 Anthology · Grady Hendrix
Locke & Key: Welcome To Lovecraft and Head Games
Series opener · book 1 of 6 · published 2026
Thrills, Spills, and Chills
Book 2 of 6 · published 2026 Anthology · Roger Langridge,Darwyn Cooke,John Cassaday,Dave Stevens
Star Trek: The Next Generation--The Mirror War
Book 4 of 6 · published 2026 Anthology · Scott Tipton,David Tipton
Aliens
Book 5 of 6 · published 2026 Anthology · John Byrne,Scott Tipton,Jackson Lanzing,Collin Kelly
Star Trek: The Edges of the Final Frontier
Latest in the series · book 6 of 6 · published 2026 Anthology · John Byrne
The Best Horror of the Year: Volume One
Series opener · book 1 of 19 · published 2009
The Best of the Best Horror of the Year: 10 Years of Essential Short Horror Fiction
Book 11 of 19 · published 2018
Best Horror of the Year, Volume Eighteen
Latest in the series · book 19 of 19 · published 2026
The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 14
Series opener · book 1 of 27 · published 2003
Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Nineteenth Annual Collection
Book 3 of 27 · published 2006
Demons: Encounters with the Devil and His Minions, Fallen Angels, and the Possessed
Book 11 of 27 · published 2011
Shadow Show: All-New Stories in Celebration of Ray Bradbury
Book 12 of 27 · published 2012
Flotsam Fantastique: The Souvenir Book of World Fantasy Convention 2013
Book 15 of 27 · published 2013
Shadow Show: Stories In Celebration of Ray Bradbury
Book 16 of 27 · published 2015
The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2015
Book 17 of 27 · published 2015
Tales from the Darkside: Scripts by Joe Hill
Single-title series · published 2016
? Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Joe Hill?
Joseph Hillstrom King, better known by Joe Hill, is the American author of many popular novels and the comic book series, Locke & Key. It is no surprise that Hill became a writer, as both of his parents are authors. His father, Stephen King, is the quintessential horror author.
Which Joe Hill series should I start with?
The best place to start is the Joe Hill's Thumbprint series, the earliest of Joe Hill's multi-book series: it opens with Joe Hill's Thumbprint (2007) and runs to 3 books across 2007–2013, ending with Joe Hill's Thumbprint #3 (2013). Joe Hill's other series stand alone, so they can be read in any order.
How many books has Joe Hill written?
Joe Hill has 133 books catalogued in this guide, published between 2003 and 2026. 67 of them belong to 15 named series — the largest being the Locke & Key Graphic Novels series with 9 books — and 66 are standalone titles, collections or anthologies.
In what order should Joe Hill's series be read?
Read each series in publication order — the numbered entries in each series follow the year each book first appeared. Joe Hill's series do not depend on one another, so they can be started in any order; by start date they are Joe Hill's Thumbprint (2007–2013, 3 books), The Cape (2007–2013, 2 books) and Locke & Key Graphic Novels (2008–2022, 9 books), plus 11 more.
How are Joe Hill's books organised into series?
This guide splits Joe Hill's 133 books into 15 named series and 66 titles that stand alone or appear only in collections: Locke & Key Graphic Novels (9 books, 2008–2022); IDW Classics (6 books, 2026); Creature Feature Collection (5 books, 2023); The Shivers Collection (5 books, 2025); Tales from the Darkside Comic (4 books, 2016), plus 10 further series.