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21 Down
21 Down: The Conduit
Equal parts intriguing crime conspiracy and supernatural suspense thriller, 21 DOWN: THE CONDUIT tells the tragic tale of Preston Kills, a super-powered young man destined to die in the upcoming year. When a mysterious man known as Herod grants Preston the ability to sense how a person would die, the young boy also learned that he would die on his twenty-first birthday. Now entering the final year of his existence, the tattoo artist has resigned himself to his upcoming fate. But when a rogue female FBI agent offers him a shot at survival, Preston accepts and embarks on a mission to save his life and uncover the deadly secret behind Herod.
176 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2003
2 people are currently reading
44 people want to read
About the author
Jimmy Palmiotti
1,667 books174 followersJames "Jimmy" Palmiotti is an American writer and inker of comic books, who also does writing for games, television and film.
Photo by Luigi Novi.
Photo by Luigi Novi.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
June 29, 2020
"It's getting to be quite the problem, isn't it? The 'superpowers,' and the price you pay for having them." -- Sam Oslo, family friend
"I used to think so, Sam . . . I'm not sure anymore." -- Preston Kills, troubled young man
21 Down: The Conduit takes a not particularly original plot device about a person cursed with some special abilities - and he doesn't take a secret identity, costume, etc. - who experiences a fair amount of unhappiness because of it. Preston Kills knows he will pass away on his impending 21st birthday, but in the meantime he uses his 'super-powers' - if he lays his hands on the recently deceased he will have a vision of the person's last moments - to assist his NYPD homicide detective brother. (Yes, a homicide detective who is also named Kills - sounds like his career path was written in the stars.)
Things go awry for Preston when he inadvertently allies himself with a slightly older and enigmatic icy blonde federal agent Mickey Rinaldi. (This is a role Jennifer Lawrence, in uber-confident mode, was born to play.) It turns out there are a number of other young adults in the country in the same situation as Preston, although their abilities vary. The story then goes the unsettling route as this duo hits the road - they encounter an eighteen year-old gal who flippantly and disturbingly uses her mind control to cause innocent people to commit a number of felonies (murder, rape, assaults), and later there's a murderous demon disguised as a clergyman - and the story is soon revealed to have an unsurprising government conspiracy angle. It all ends on a cliff-hanger of sorts, but there were no subsequent volumes (!). That's too bad - it could've made for an interesting limited series.
"I used to think so, Sam . . . I'm not sure anymore." -- Preston Kills, troubled young man
21 Down: The Conduit takes a not particularly original plot device about a person cursed with some special abilities - and he doesn't take a secret identity, costume, etc. - who experiences a fair amount of unhappiness because of it. Preston Kills knows he will pass away on his impending 21st birthday, but in the meantime he uses his 'super-powers' - if he lays his hands on the recently deceased he will have a vision of the person's last moments - to assist his NYPD homicide detective brother. (Yes, a homicide detective who is also named Kills - sounds like his career path was written in the stars.)
Things go awry for Preston when he inadvertently allies himself with a slightly older and enigmatic icy blonde federal agent Mickey Rinaldi. (This is a role Jennifer Lawrence, in uber-confident mode, was born to play.) It turns out there are a number of other young adults in the country in the same situation as Preston, although their abilities vary. The story then goes the unsettling route as this duo hits the road - they encounter an eighteen year-old gal who flippantly and disturbingly uses her mind control to cause innocent people to commit a number of felonies (murder, rape, assaults), and later there's a murderous demon disguised as a clergyman - and the story is soon revealed to have an unsurprising government conspiracy angle. It all ends on a cliff-hanger of sorts, but there were no subsequent volumes (!). That's too bad - it could've made for an interesting limited series.
August 16, 2024
I loved those 12 issues, the art is amazing the story is well told and there’s just the right amount of mistery and romance to the sci-fi plot, for that reason i am extremely sad that the next season was never writen, i really wish it was, this is a good comic and is worth the read even without the closure is still very fun
August 19, 2018
Preston Kills is an inker, working in a tattoo parlor. His brother, Robert, is a detective. Their parents died in a house fire and they're all each other has. Preston also has a weird ability, given to him by a man named Herod - if he touches a person's skin, he can see things - all of them related to death. How a person died, notably, so Rob uses Preston's ability to help solve murders.
Preston visits a website for these types of 'not really superheroes' but the site shuts down when he tries to access it. And then an older woman, impeccably dressed, shows up and saves his life - Mickey Rinaldi, FBI. Except she may not be all that she says she is and Preston isn't at all sure he should trust her.
Seven chapters of a comic I've never heard of, with incredible art and an intense story line - and there may not be any more if it anywhere. But this was a great ride while it lasted.
Preston visits a website for these types of 'not really superheroes' but the site shuts down when he tries to access it. And then an older woman, impeccably dressed, shows up and saves his life - Mickey Rinaldi, FBI. Except she may not be all that she says she is and Preston isn't at all sure he should trust her.
Seven chapters of a comic I've never heard of, with incredible art and an intense story line - and there may not be any more if it anywhere. But this was a great ride while it lasted.
January 23, 2019
interesting enough that I would read the follow ups, but probably not actively look for them.
February 2, 2009
This graphic novel was interesting and makes me want to continue reading the series. I would like to know more about how the super powers develop, learn more about Harod, and see how the story develops.
Unfortunately, this book was published in 2003 and I don't think any sequels to the original run of comic books was ever published.
Unfortunately, this book was published in 2003 and I don't think any sequels to the original run of comic books was ever published.
December 9, 2009
Intelligent, spandex-free "superhero" comic about a young man who can see how people died when he touches their bodies and an untrustworthy FBI agent who wants to use him in a dangerous investigation.
March 6, 2014
talk about cliffhangers
May 21, 2016
Lástima que este cómic se haya cancelado.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews