Not my favorite of the Joe Hill derived graphic novels, maybe because the protagonist, Syd, is such a wearying type — a cynical, hard-bitten former detective turned not-very-good comedian who walks through life with a kind of cloud of resentment and failure around him, and turns too many of his interactions into bristling fights. There's certainly a kind of humor in the way he's drawn into trying to solve a murder where he's the most likely suspect, but the Fugitive-style "honest man on the run with no resources and every hand turned against him" plot has been done a lot, and in this case I found it hard to hook into, with both the victim and the protagonist being such seedy, unpleasant types, and their world being so one-note.

It feels like this all takes place in Noirworld, where everyone's on the take, there are no decent people, and it really does seem likely that everybody else in this graphic novel ganged up to kill the victim Orient Express style because no one could possibly like or support such an unrepentantly awful human being. I just had a hard time maintaining any interest in who left the guy dead when it was so obvious that anyone who interacted with him would want to kill him — given the Clue-style "Here's who did it — wait, no, here's who ACTUALLY did it" wrapup, it honestly seems like the eventual solution was just arbitrary, and could have been picked with a dartboard.

This was just an OK read for me. The artwork is good but I did not care for the story. The story did not flow and I did not find the characters likeable. I was not interested in solving the crime. The story and artwork were very dark. I normally enjoy Joe Hill books but this was a miss.

I will literally read anything by Joe Hill. I've reread his novels and short story collections a million times. I don't like his graphic novels as much simply because I'm not the biggest fan of graphic novels - it's just not my thing. However, I didn't like this and it wasn't the graphic novel format. It just wasn't good. Very sad.

Syd Homes. Former cop, now possibly a felon, and definitely a very bitter stand-up comic.
Carl Dixon. An up and coming comic ready to do whatever it takes to become a comic superstar, and known among the other comics for stealing jokes.

So it isn't a surprise when another comic asks Syd, off-handedly, how much it would cost to have Carl Dixon killed.

After the set, Syd is out back having a cigarette with Dixon and takes offense at the fact the Dixon stole some of Syd's jokes. "I wrote three months for fifteen minutes of good material. I wrote it for me, not you ...," says Syd and then proceeds to beat the crap out of him and leaves Dixon puking in the street.

But the next morning, Dixon is found dead where Syd beat him, and now Syd is the prime suspect. Syd will need to call up his former police skills to find the real killer to clear his name. Possible suspects? Only every comedian in the country.

I had just finished author Joe Hill's graphic novel Basketful of Heads when I saw this and since I really liked Basketful, I was looking forward to this.

Unfortunately, this one doesn't have the same magic.

This story is darker - which is a little strange to say since Basketful has multiple murders and a good bit of supernatural. It is darker because of the tone. Syd's attitude is dark and foul, and Martin Simmonds' art accentuates this mood.

I don't mind a dark story, but there needs to be something about the story that keeps the reader's interest, and unless you really enjoy cranky old guys with bitter jokes that don't feel much like jokes, then there's not much else here to dig in to. There is the mystery, but that's not really Joe hill's strong suit - telling mysteries. Hill's best at creating characters who navigate dark worlds. He's done that again here, but he's taken the easy road by making our main character a comic to explain his dry humor.

Simmons' art is equally moody and dark. It's not my favorite style - sort of a sketch quality rather than finished lines and clear pictures, but it works about as well with the story as any style would.

There are moments that remind me why I like Joe Hill's work:

"I thought you said I could get a 'Rican to kill him for forty. How the price go up just to punch him in his joke-stealing mouth?"
"It's hazard pay. You don't have to touch him to shoot him. ..."

But at the close of the book the feeling is still just, "Eh."

Looking for a good book? Dying is Easy by Joe Hill and Martin Simmonds is a dark graphic novel that doesn't have much going for it other than the fact that Joe Hill's name is attached to it.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

After reading Locke & Key by the same author, I was looking forward to reading this one as well. I guess it wasn't the greatest choice. I had a hard time finishing this and that rarely happens with graphic novels. I simply couldn't connect to the characters or care about this story. There isn't much I can comment on really. Best of luck with other works of Joe Hill I guess.

This was just not for me. I wasn't really invested in the story and I didn't care for the illustration style.

Syd is a cynical disgraced former cop who is now doing standup comedy. When a rival of his, who has stolen jokes and is on the verge of stardom, is found dead Syd is accused of the crime. Why not- Syd had beaten him up and publically threatened him, plus the police are more than happy to come after a man they hate. What follows in a noir-style crime thriller with a lot of black humor.

The art by Martin Simmonds was dark and sketchy with a neon overwash to symbolize the comedy stage lights. Some of the men were hard to differentiate with shadowy lined faces. I liked the chapter breaks that had covers by Gabriel Rodríguez.

This graphic novel was a rare miss for me from Joe Hill who I know better for his fantasy/horror stories such as Locke & Key and his new Hill House Comics label. I was not rooting for Syd and his humor was too crass for me to enjoy this story.

(I was approved for this book through NetGalley on the day it was archived, so I ended up having to read it on Hoopla)

I normally enjoy Joe Hill's comic work (Locke & Key was one of my favorite series) but I wasn't able to get into this title and unfortunately had to DNF about 40% through. I wasn't connecting with the story-line and the art style wasn't helping to keep my attention on the story either. A rare miss for me but I'll keep reading Joe Hill's comics.

I enjoyed the artwork in this graphic novel but I didn't enjoy the story. I had a hard time following the story and figuring out what was going on. It was not my favorite graphic novel.

I loved Nos4A2 and Locke and Key, so was curious to read Dying is Easy. The main character, Syd, has a shady past as an ex cop and is now trying to make a living as a stand up comedian. When accused of murder, he goes on the run and tries to solve the case before his own arrest. I enjoyed this graphic novel, I was eager to find out who did it but even more to learn about Syd and his past. I hope there will be more installments, so we can find out more!

2.5 rounded up to 3
I can't wait for a Joe Hill book or comic. I was thrilled to receive this ARC from NetGalley and was saving it for the end of my work week. Well, I was disappointed, maybe I should have taken into account that it wasn't his usual genre. It was all right but I've read better; it was a bit predictable and didn't flow well. The graphics were all right.

I wasn't expecting a dark humorous noir-ish tale from Joe Hill's imprint, but that's exactly what this graphic novel is. The colours are beautiful, lush and neon-night, washing over the characters with an almost impresionistic technique, and the dialogue is full of snappy one-liners and zingers... and as this is a story about an ex-cop turned stand-up comedian who is monologuing directly to his audience, a hard-boiled humorist. The framing works really well.

Without spoiling anything, the tale is very concerned with police brutality against Black people, mentioning it from the get-go and developing that part of the plot with an even hand. It is incredible to see the themes of recent months emerge in such an elaborate comic.

So why the three stars, instead of five?

The ending, if you are familiar with the noir genre AND with recent news, is extremely predictable -- so much so that I kept looking at the last page, hoping for a last-minute twist; after such a beautiful set-up and intriguing exploration of very different characters, it was a bit of a letdown. It might not be for you, and it is defintely worth a read for the gorgeous art and smart dialogue.

The manga/ comic book medium draws a different group of readers than a typical book. It introduces a new audience to the wonder of Joe Hill's library of titles. I've had more enjoyable experiences with his books but I'm not the target audience so.....I had a group of teens and teens review this title and they gave it a unanimous 5.

Oh dear, this needed to be better. It's a reasonably interesting story, of an ex-cop turned failed comic, who gets through another deadly unfunny five minutes at a basement bar, duffs someone up outside who nobody seemingly likes, and then gets accused of the kid's murder. It rankled from the off scriptwise, as when the comics are supposed to be unstoppably humorous in their banter with each other, they're not. And it more than rankled by the end when it comes to the artwork, for it's really poor. The facial design is weak, and so much of the plot, if we're supposed to be able to solve it at all ourselves (the jury must be out on that), involves us scouring the full frame for pages of set-up to see all the minutiae and work everything out with a brilliant bit of foresight. With quality like this, it just ain't gonna happen, and the ungainly mix of King of Comedy vs Innumerable Bent Cop Still Must Be Liked When He Gets Framed Film plots does not work either. And why it's set when it is, when the comics are having wet dreams about being a guest of Jay Leno and cameoing on Friends, makes even less sense. One and a half stars.

Dying is Easy is a murder mystery that is action packed and gory. A down and out cop gets accused of murder and tries to get to the bottom of it in order to clear his name.
I wasn't a fan of the gore and ended up skimming through it due to lack of interest.

I usually love Joe HIll. I had a hard time getting through this one... not good. Slow. I didn't care about any of the characters. Unfortunate.

I’m a Locke and Key fan so I had to read this. The Gabriel Rodriguez covers were beautiful of course. Martin Summons’s’ art took some getting used to but it was appropriate for a crime book. Reminded me of Maleev. I liked the story. Very twisty murder mystery with a lot of suspects. Typical downtrodden PI. It’s not usually a genre I read. Joe Hill did a good job.

Syd is an ex-cop turned comedian who tries to cope with his everyday life while everything's wrong around him. One night, after discovering that another comedian from the same club, Carl, is stealing part of his show, he beats him senseless and goes home for the night. The next day, he is accused of murder.

I'm really fond of Joe Hill's writing. I think he always uses the description that best fits the action and that is something that helps both the rythm and the story.
But. Big, big, but: That's a great asset when writing prose, BUT sadly, it can become too much when writing a comic book
I found that Dying is Easy is the perfect example of what I'm explaining. Even if there's movement in some of the panels, the general feeling is of an static voice telling you a story. More, there are moments when the dialogue is the only thing you can see in the whole page.

The art, a kind of Sienkiewicz-esque shadowy style, gets suffocated by all the talking bubbles. It does not help either that the color palette makes it difficult to distinguish what's the character doing all the talking. It's a shame, because I think the art shows a lot of potential. It just does not click as I think it should.

The story itself is pretty straight-forward, and leaves room for the reader to "investigate" along the way.. It is uncomfortable from the very beginning, crude, and it can very well make people turn away without even trying to understand the story or even taking the time to actually let it unfold.

In general, I think it's not a bad noir, but it could have been so much better with a couple of changes. Like being a full-on short story, for instance. Or realizing it is a comic and letting the art breathe a little bit more.

"How long have you been closing your eyes and pretending that I’m Alan Rickman when we have sex? Baby. Honey. You know I get turned on by evil masterminds."

Umm. Okay. This was... how do I put this nicely? It put me to sleep... bored me to tears...not what I was thinking at all. Okay, I guess there was no nice way to say that.

I was excited to see Joe Hill take on old noir and transfer it into a masterful graphic novel but I was pretty bummed reading this. It didn’t hit its mark like it should have. The story wasn’t up to Joe Hill standards and the art wasn’t all that thrilling.

Maybe he just needs to stick to what he’s good at and that’s scaring the pants off of his readers.

I think this may be my first Joe Hill read that I'm this disappointed by, but I couldn't get into this at all.

Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with this review copy in exchange for an honest review!