Dying Is Easy

Author Joe Hill
Illustrated by Martin Simmonds
Paperback
$17.99 US
On sale Nov 04, 2025 | 144 Pages | 9798887243511

Comedy is hard…but dying is easy! From the New York Times bestselling author of Locke & Key comes this graphic novel mystery!

Meet Syd “Sh*t-Talk” Homes, a disgraced ex-cop turned bitter stand-up comic turned…possible felon? Carl Dixon is on the verge of comedy superstardom, and he got there the dirty way: by stealing jokes. He’s got a killer act, an ugly past, and more enemies than punchlines. So when someone asks Syd Homes how much it would cost to have Dixon killed, Syd isn't surprised in the slightest. But, once he’s accused, he’s on the run and it’s going to take all of his investigative chops to suss out the real killer before he gets caught.

This crime thriller by writer Joe Hill and artist Martin Simmonds follows in the tradition of fair-play mysteries, inviting readers to solve the murder before Syd does!

This edition also includes “‘Rache’ is German for Revenge,” a new, 11-page Syd Homes mystery, in glorious black-and-white. Originally produced for In League with Sherlock Holmes, it appears here as part of the Dying is Easy collection for the first time. Last but not least comes an introduction from Mystery Writers of America’s 1994 Grand Master, Lawrence Block, reflecting on cops, comedy, and crime.
Joe Hill is the #1 New York Times best-selling author of Full Throttle, The Fireman, Heart-Shaped Box, and NOS4A2, recently made into a TV series from AMC. His horror novella In the Tall Grass, co-written with Stephen King, was made into a feature film from Netflix. His book of short stories, 20th Century Ghosts, won the Bram Stoker Award and British Fantasy Award for Best Collection. He earned the Eisner Award for Best Writer for his long-running comic book series, Locke & Key, featuring the eye-popping art of Gabriel Rodríguez.

Martin Simmonds is a British comic book artist, painter, and graphic designer best known for his work on Titan’s Death Sentence. Punks Not Dead Vol. 1: Teenage Kicks brought him to the attention of major U.S. comic book publishers, including Marvel and Image Comics. His dynamic layouts and arresting color combinations have earned him comparisons to industry legend Bill Sienkiewicz.

About

Comedy is hard…but dying is easy! From the New York Times bestselling author of Locke & Key comes this graphic novel mystery!

Meet Syd “Sh*t-Talk” Homes, a disgraced ex-cop turned bitter stand-up comic turned…possible felon? Carl Dixon is on the verge of comedy superstardom, and he got there the dirty way: by stealing jokes. He’s got a killer act, an ugly past, and more enemies than punchlines. So when someone asks Syd Homes how much it would cost to have Dixon killed, Syd isn't surprised in the slightest. But, once he’s accused, he’s on the run and it’s going to take all of his investigative chops to suss out the real killer before he gets caught.

This crime thriller by writer Joe Hill and artist Martin Simmonds follows in the tradition of fair-play mysteries, inviting readers to solve the murder before Syd does!

This edition also includes “‘Rache’ is German for Revenge,” a new, 11-page Syd Homes mystery, in glorious black-and-white. Originally produced for In League with Sherlock Holmes, it appears here as part of the Dying is Easy collection for the first time. Last but not least comes an introduction from Mystery Writers of America’s 1994 Grand Master, Lawrence Block, reflecting on cops, comedy, and crime.

Author

Joe Hill is the #1 New York Times best-selling author of Full Throttle, The Fireman, Heart-Shaped Box, and NOS4A2, recently made into a TV series from AMC. His horror novella In the Tall Grass, co-written with Stephen King, was made into a feature film from Netflix. His book of short stories, 20th Century Ghosts, won the Bram Stoker Award and British Fantasy Award for Best Collection. He earned the Eisner Award for Best Writer for his long-running comic book series, Locke & Key, featuring the eye-popping art of Gabriel Rodríguez.

Martin Simmonds is a British comic book artist, painter, and graphic designer best known for his work on Titan’s Death Sentence. Punks Not Dead Vol. 1: Teenage Kicks brought him to the attention of major U.S. comic book publishers, including Marvel and Image Comics. His dynamic layouts and arresting color combinations have earned him comparisons to industry legend Bill Sienkiewicz.

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