I remember when Unbreakable came out, and people were saying there wasn't a super-hero comic you could point to that would appeal to people who liked that type of take on super-heroes. Thanks to 21 Down, now there is. The book wears its cinematic influences on its sleeve, sometimes veering almost into derivative territory, but it's incredibly well-executed, and it reads less like a super-hero comic and more like a drama/action with super-heroic elements. Taking a fantastic premise of a psychic with one year to live, Gray, Saiz and Palmiotti have crafted a good read with a strong central character.
21 Down starts in the middle, as we don't see where Preston gets his powers or his curse (although those who read Gen 13 #0 got a hint), and that works very well for the book. We are immediately immersed in Preston's life, and it's not the greatest thing in the world. His brother uses him to get promotions as a cop, the visions of death that he gets are beginning to wear on him, and he knows full well that he only has one year to live, which is screwing up his psyche something fierce. Gray and Palmiotti wisely make Preston likable and even heroic despite his beleaguered attitude, though; he's having a rough go of it, but he still has time to spend with an old man who doesn't have any other friends, and he still does the right thing when he knows a crime has been committed.
It wouldn't surprise me to learn that Palmiotti and Gray were Fincher fans, because the book has that dark, conspiracy feel that you can find in most Fincher movies. In fact, the support group scene feels a little uncomfortably close to the same type of scene in Fight Club. However, I'm a Fincher fan as well, and so I appreciated this tone, one we don't see in comics very much. As with almost everyone working at Wildstorm right now, the writers also seem influenced by Warren Ellis's style; Preston's last words to his attacker, and the way that whole scene plays out, has a wry and dark sense of humor that feels very much at home in the Ellis-tinged new Wildstorm universe.
Of course, this kind of tone can't work if you have an artist who would rather be doing the Avengers, and Jesus Saiz is important to the book because he knows how to keep things real. Saiz and Palmiotti give the book a look reminiscent of Danijel Zezelj, but with a less abstract style, a lot more detail in the backgrounds and in the facial expressions. Particularly strong are the scenes where there's little going on but interaction between two people, such as the dialogue between Preston and Clyde in the tattoo parlor. And Paul Mounts does a fantastic job on the color, doing that balancing act I have such respect for in keeping things dark without muddying up the artwork.
This one took me by surprise. I expected it to be an interesting read, but I thought the really great work for Wildstorm was going to be done on the mature readers books. Instead, 21 Down is probably the strongest launch from the new Wildstorm, a type of story that boasts cinematic influences other than Michael Bay or Bryan Singer, and opens up the super-hero genre further for those who aren't interested in the standard cape and tights.
