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crystalblu's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
crookedtreehouse's review against another edition
1.0
This comic is an embarrassingly bad misstep by a talented writer.
Set sort of kinda in the 90s, it's about a standup comic who maybe, but probably not, kills a comic for stealing jokes. The plot, itself, isn't awful, but Hill decided to go "edgy" by having all his characters spout problematic dialogue. It all lands flat. It's not creative. It's not funny. It's not interesting. And it doesn't ring true for how people talk. I'm going to assume, based on an offhand remark about being unpopular because of wearing "a Yankees cap", that it's supposed to take place in Boston.
As someone who grew up in MA during the 90s, and has lived in Boston for over 20 years, I can tell you that there are only six people in this state who talk like that, and five of them are Bill Burr.
Skip this trashfire, and go read his brilliant [b:Locke & Key|26225895|Locke & Key|Joe Hill|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1441385552l/26225895._SX50_.jpg|46920430] series. Despite it being a horror fantasy book, it's much more believable than this dreck.
Set sort of kinda in the 90s, it's about a standup comic who maybe, but probably not, kills a comic for stealing jokes. The plot, itself, isn't awful, but Hill decided to go "edgy" by having all his characters spout problematic dialogue. It all lands flat. It's not creative. It's not funny. It's not interesting. And it doesn't ring true for how people talk. I'm going to assume, based on an offhand remark about being unpopular because of wearing "a Yankees cap", that it's supposed to take place in Boston.
As someone who grew up in MA during the 90s, and has lived in Boston for over 20 years, I can tell you that there are only six people in this state who talk like that, and five of them are Bill Burr.
Skip this trashfire, and go read his brilliant [b:Locke & Key|26225895|Locke & Key|Joe Hill|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1441385552l/26225895._SX50_.jpg|46920430] series. Despite it being a horror fantasy book, it's much more believable than this dreck.
finnsnowbevi's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
david_agranoff's review against another edition
4.0
I have not read as much of the Joe Hill comics as I would like. This was an impulse grab at the library, based simply on Joe Hill and the promise of a good story. I assumed with the title and the kinda pointed surreal art that it was a horror story. Dying is Easy is not in fact a horror story but a hard-boiled crime story.
After reading it I kinda wish it had been a short Hard-case crime novel. That is the kinda story Dying is easy turned out to be. This will not be a long review I gotta be honest I am ass deep in a writing deadline and don't have a ton of mental bandwidth for reviews right now.
That said I enjoyed this graphic novel quite a bit, although a film or a pulp novel are two formats I felt better represented what I was looking for out of this story. Syd Homes is an ex-cop and a perfect hard-boiled character what makes him a little different is he is a wanna-be comedian.
He is not exactly super funny, most of his jokes draw on his shitty life as a cop to make the bulk of jokes which are not very PC, or really funny. I enjoyed this part and it provided an interesting set-up for the mystery. A comedian who has been stealing jokes ends up dead and Syd is framed for it.
The story is well crafted and the art is weird. I could see how the sharp surreal lines and edgy style might turn off some. Me, I enjoyed it quite a bit.
jo_in_bookland's review against another edition
4.0
This was a good story with a few twists. The main artwork wasn't my favourite although the individual issue covers by Gabriel Rodriguez were fantastic. Can't beat his artwork!
ericarobyn's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
3.0
Dying is Easy by Joe Hill & Martin Simmonds is a bawdy crime thriller packed with dark humor, action, and blood.
Dying is Easy was created by Joe Hill and Martin Simmonds, written by Joe Hill, art by Martin Simmonds, color assists by Dee Cunniffe, and lettering and design by Shawn Lee.
This opening page had such a fun design to show off the crew that worked on the graphic novel!
Now, about the story –
Ex-cop now stand up comedian, Syd Homes a.k.a. Shit-Talk, is fed up with his comedy adversary, a man named Carl Dixon. One night at the comedy club, Syd and his friends joke about killing Carl. It’s all fun and games until Syd and Carl get into it, and Syd walks away with bloodied hands, leaving Carl on the ground in a back alley.
The next day, Syd learns that the cops are after him, but not just for assault. Carl was killed. Luckily, he was tipped off in time to narrowly avoid his arrest. He then goes around town talking to various people, determined to find out who the killer was.
This graphic novel was a wild story! I will admit, at first, I thought the tone of the humor was going to be too much for me. But then I sank into it and ended up laughing far too hard at the dark jokes. I really enjoyed the snark from the main character, Syd, and how he didn’t hold back at all when talking to people.
I mean, this quote sums up the dark humor pretty nicely. The speech bubble in one panel read: “I’ve always wondered what was the last thing to go through your sister’s mind when she stepped in front of that truck. Probably the hood ornament, huh?”
When I got to the final pages, I kept being shocked by how clever this collection was! All the little bits and pieces that were right in front of us ALL ALONG! I won’t spoil it, but things like a scene of two people talking to one another coming back again later, giving us more context the second time was brilliant!
I couldn’t figure out the case at all on my own, but I would love to hear if other readers put the puzzle pieces together on their own before the big reveal!
I also cannot wait to see if we get a follow-up here! They left it off perfectly to either close out, or welcome in another case.
My Final Thoughts on Dying is Easy
If dark humor and gritty crime trillers are your jam, then this is some I would highly recommend to you!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Alcohol
atalinay's review against another edition
I actually thought it was decent. I thought the intro stand up act was not great, and then I realized this was set in the 90s and it very much lined up with it would sound like. It's a mystery and has action and is well paced imo. There was a point where I called the murderer, but the line was intentionally placed cause there was a call back to it later.
I can see why some people think its maybe an overplayed storyline, but I think it was executed well and the art was great.
I can see why some people think its maybe an overplayed storyline, but I think it was executed well and the art was great.
hidinginstacks's review against another edition
2.0
This wasn't even that long of a read & yet it still took me forever to finish it. Too much dialogue. Art was too gritty. Like I could barely tell the characters apart 'til the end. Story had potential but this one fell flat for me.