Dying is Easy
Joe Hill, writer; Martin Simmonds, artist
IDW Publishing, 2020
A crime thriller starring an ex-homicide cop turned standup comic. The title (from the show business adage "Dying is easy, comedy is hard") has multiple meanings. As the story opens we see Syd Holmes dying on stage at a comedy club--then enduring taunts by the up and coming comic Carl Dixon. He and the other comics joke about having Dixon killed. Turns out he's sleeping his way to a spot on Jay Leno's TV show. Worse than that, he is the most hated criminal that standup comedy knows: a joke thief.
Holmes confronts him about it back behind the club (just after using a pay phone, another period device so ubiquitous in classic noir), punches him out, and leaves him on the ground (also leaving his coat behind, because Dixon puked on it). Next thing he knows it's morning, and he is being awoken by a phone call informing him he's wanted for murdering Dixon. The rest of the story is a classic breathless chase: Holmes desperately trying to stay one step ahead of the cops while also trying to solve the murder. With all the enemies he left behind, he has no faith in the cops. They would be only too happy to pin it on him.
There turns out to be several players involved, and since this is a fair-play mystery the reader gets all of the clues when Syd does, giving us all a shot at solving the murder. He leaves a pawn shop in pursuit of a pair of heavies he saw at the club--wearing roller skates. This makes for a marvelous visual sequence, but it's not the last, as there is also a motorcycle chase. In the end it is the unexpected plot twists that steal the show. Syd was surprised by most of them, and so was I. Simmonds' hallucinogenic art keeps things interesting, along with creative panel layouts that recall the legendary Bill Sienkiewicz. Hill is best known for horror, but he clearly demonstrates range here.
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