21 DOWN #1

DEAD AT 21 it's not - thank goodness

By Tony Whitt     October 03, 2002

Preston Kills has one of the suckiest superpowers imaginable (and let's not get started on that name...) - he can see the final moments of the life of anyone he comes in contact with, before or after their death. The other thing that makes this power such a drag is that it's also shortened his lifespan - he'll be dead by the age of 21, and he's just turned 20. Of course, he may not even make it to 21, now that a woman looking for those with unusual abilities is looking for him. Is she friend or foe?

If you're thinking (as I did) that the description of this book sounds a lot like MTV's old series DEAD AT 21, don't; they're nothing alike. MTV's series was a vapid X-FILES wannabe (even though it still had more artistic merit than, say, UNDRESSED). If 21 DOWN were ever to be made into a television series, it would rank right up there with THE SOPRANOS and SIX FEET UNDER - it's simply that good. For one thing, co-writers Palmiotti and Gray create a realistic and yet sympathetic lead character in Preston. He sees his abilities as a curse more than a gift - quite rightly so, since they're going to kill him and since they don't exactly show him the best of times - and his "superhero" career consists mainly of helping his brother, a police detective, solve otherwise unsolvable murders by getting into the heads of the recently deceased. It's no wonder he's more than a little peeved at telling him what a "gift" it is - any of us would be hard-pressed to be graceful under this sort of fire.

The plot unfolds beautifully, with nary a stray strand to ruin it. Preston's attendance at a support group for the terminally ill and his visits to an old man in a nursing home to learn something from the dying add more to the character than they detract from the action, and when the action does start rolling, in the form of a killer that Preston's done a tattoo for, it really rolls. It's truly surprising that a book as heavy on dialogue as this one can move at such a pace, but 21 DOWN manages it.

There are a few problems - the artwork is not quite what it could be, and you'll find yourself wondering exactly how Preston knows about his shortened lifespan and its connection to his powers, for instance - but even this early on, 21 DOWN looks like the POWERS of 2002. With the relative dearth of good books out there right now, it's a welcome addition to the ol' comics folder, and one which you won't be able to do without.

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