Broken Frontier

An undercover cop is sent into the belly of the beast in an attempt to undermine a crime cartel from the inside.

Detective Deanna Ransome has been tracking the drug runners of the Sakura mob for two years. One fateful night, she finally has them where she wants them but the abuse of a drugged-up prostitute hits a nerve for Deanna, sending her into a violent rampage. Though she gets the job done, her behavior makes even her superiors nervous and she is put on suspension. But one lieutenant has a new use for the brash detective, an off-the-books undercover assignment that will send her deep down into the criminal underworld.

Warren Ellis’ latest project seems primed to plumb the depths of the crime noir genre with an unflinching approach to its violence and corruption. I found this to be both a strength of and a detriment to the first issue of Down. Ellis pulls no punches in Ransome’s bloody shoot-out with the Sakuras, giving readers plenty of excitement and gory action sequences. Ransome is clearly not someone to be trifled with and the story establishes her as a formidable force. This makes for a fast-paced and thrilling read. However, I felt that as the bloodbath takes up a sizeable chunk of the issue, we are given little opportunity to get to know Ransome as anything more than a ball of anger. It is only towards the end when a shocking chapter of her past comes to light that we have any reason to care about her as a character. When it comes to it, of course, this is only a first issue and further development will surely be given in future stories. This issue’s primary job is setting up the premise of the series and in this at least, it succeeds.

Anyone who has seen Tony Harris’ work knows that the man is an impressive artistic talent. Creating a pulse-pounding action sequence is challenge enough and Harris does this with style and grace. Once again, Down does not shy from gratuitous violence and the brutality of Ransome’s attack is rendered in incredible detail. But it is in the quieter moments where Harris truly shines, the facial contortions and the posing of the figures that give us a hint of their internal thoughts. As odd as this may sound, I was completely captivated by a series of panels that do little more than show Ransome’s changing expressions and jets of cigarette smoke leaving her nostrils in annoyance. It’s a little throwaway moment certainly but Harris quite skillfully depicts the character’s emotional beats. Inkers Snyder and Vines give the pencils an appropriately dark edge and Harris’ Ex Machina collaborator, J.D. Mettler, adds many fine textures and rich shades to the art.

While I have my reservations, Down #1 is a fairly promising opening shot for the series.