Review by Ian Keogh

Where we stood as The Fix began was that crooked cops Roy and Mac owe a mob boss Josh a lot of money, which they’ve been unable to repay. Fortunately for them, their official trade puts them in a position to do some favours for Josh, making them more useful to him alive than dead. That’s still the case. Roy remains a murder detective, working the case of an actress who was killed when he was moonlighting as her protection, and Mac is with the drug squad accompanied by a new partner. There’s really no question, all things considered, that Pretzels the drug sniffing beagle is more competent than Roy.

The fear with each new Fix graphic novel is that something has happened and it won’t be as funny any more. Nick Spencer discovering religion and needing to repent his scatological past would be one disaster, or it’s optioned for TV where an executive decides it should be family viewing, or worst of all, the joke will just wear irredeemably thin. Well, we haven’t reached that point by a long shot.

What’s now a funny running joke is how Roy only ever sees each successive monumental screw-up as ideal Hollywood material. It’s not the only running joke, another being how proper police business is a thorough nuisance, so often intruding when Roy just wants to get on with his life. Only this time there’s tragedy. Yeah, there’s been tragedy before, but nothing Roy cared about. This time he cares.

Spencer trots out the jokes and fiascos, and Steve Lieber draws everything with a clarity and poise, and shows an amazing restraint considering some of what he’s asked to draw. This time the line has been hit, and peckers are a no-no. Otherwise it’s the same underselling of farce that ensures The Fix remains funny. It’s like Brooklyn Nine Nine with swearing and nudity.