ktxx22's review against another edition
2.0
Like a 2.5. A hard boiled detective graphic novel. It’s pretty offensive in some parts. And far fetched in others. It’s just meh Story telling and the ending I didn’t like. That final twist was blah.
cmpfaff's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
laurenleyendolibros's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
slanderoid's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-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
4.25
wesleyrose's review
2.0
Syd Homes is a cop turned comedian in the first issue of Dying is Easy. His cop career ended when a mentally-ill woman killed herself, some say due to his convincing. His set goes poorly, and we see a young up and coming comedian deliver a great set while the other comedians discuss his joke stealing. Syd decides to teach Carl a lesson and beats him up, but unfortunately for Syd carl ends up dead the next morning and Syd is suspect #1.
I’m not crazy about this comic. I found the dialogue was a little dry, and it didn’t pick up plot-wise until the last few pages. I like the illustration, and the watercolour looks beautiful on the page. I’m going to read the second one when it is released and see if it’s any better.
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
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.