Top Ten - Book 01

Ah, Alan Moore, where would I be without you? What meaning would my life have without "Watchmen," "Swamp Thing," and "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen"? Time and time again, you've taken the graphic novel medium to new heights, and now you've brightened my existence with this gorgeous, hilarious, powerful work of storytelling. I think everyone who likes superheroes should be required to read "Top 10" for the insights it offers -- and everyone else should read it just because it's such a bloody good piece of work.At first glance, "Top 10" seems like "Watchmen Lite" -- it imagines an alternative world where a boom of costumed crime-fighters in the 1940s and 50s has left a large glut of out-of-work superpeople, most of whom inhabit the pseudo-futuristic city of Neopolis. It's tough work to police a city where each and every citizen has some kind of superpower, and the job falls upon the shoulders of Precinct Ten (named because this is number ten in the multitude of parallel universes). As the story starts, we meet the latest addition to the precinct team, Robyn "Toybox" Slinger, who carries around a crate full of intelligent supertoys who do her bidding. Her new partner is a hulking, sullen, blue dude named Smax who shoots energy beams out of his chest. Robyn soon learns that at Precinct Ten, lunacy is status quo.Half the fun of "Top 10" comes from the colorful, expansive cast of characters. Robyn's coworkers include Girl One (whose bioengineered skin constantly changes), Jack Phantom (a lesbian who can phase through solid matter, Hyperdog (a sentient Doberman in a cyborg skeleton), Irma Geddon (a middle-aged housewife with a nuclear battlesuit), King Peacock (worships Satan; punches through solid stone), Synaesthesia (listens to smells, feels colors, sees sounds -- believe it or not, this is a real condition), Janus (a switchboard operator with two faces and two personalities), Alexei (a Communist telepath with a chimanzee for a wife), and a number of others. Somehow, Moore takes this massive cast and makes each character into a fully-realized individual with his or her own motives, fears, desires, etc.And somehow, this happens at breakneck speed as the members of precinct Ten get themselves into one bizarre situation after another. The psychopathic, telekinetic Santa Claus; the fat, middle-aged Godzilla clone; the cosmic mice; the porn star from Venus, the Ghostly Goose (name refers to what he does, not what he is)...I simply can't bring myself to give away any of the plot's oddball twists any more than necessary. All is not comeday hijinks, however. I express my admiration that Moore can cause such laughter while at the same time dealing with such serious issues as STDs, drug abuse, teen prostitution and pedophilia, closet homosexuals, bigotry, and interspecies realationships (Hyperdog falls for a human woman, and vice versa). One minute you're laughing uproariously, the next minute you're struck into silence as a character is forced to make

Anyone with a love for the peculiarities of comics will enjoy Top Ten. Not only does it contain allegories for almost every major superhero, but handles the idea Kurt Busiek plays with in Astro City with a sillier and yet at the same time more engaging tone. The mysteries are also tightly-plotted and a joy to follow along with, all the way to the story's horrifying revelation about heroes.Perhaps the most fun to be had in this series are the constant in-jokes. While some people may stretch one idea over a four-issue miniseries, Alan Moore drops ideas into the background of page 4, panel 5, and quickly moves on.Ex 1: A traffic accident draws 'rubberneckers': in this case, Plastic Man, Mr. Fantastic, Shape, and other stretchable heroes in comics.Ex 2: A Neopolis hospital ER has attending physicians such as Dr. Fate, Dr. Strange, and Dr. Who.Ex 3: In Neopolis, even the mice are super. In fact, their superheroes have names like the Saturnian Scraphunter, who contend with cosmic cats like Galactipuss.The scripts for this series must be beyond typical Moore enormity, as picking apart the panels for all of the in-jokes and clues can take up many an enjoyable hour. Also, the final chapter is a sadly overlooked, very human tale about two beings in a 'car crash' waiting to die. Well worth the price of admission.

(Excuse the pun.) Alan Moore, author of the excellent "Watchmen", "Miracleman", "Swamp Thing", and (arguably the best graphic novel I ever read), "V for Vendetta"; scores high marks with "Top Ten", part of his "American Best Comics Line" published by Wildstorm Productions, a division of DC Comics.In terms of plot structure, "Top Ten" has a lot in commmon with television writer/producer Steve Bocho's "ensemble" police dramas, like "Hill Street Blues" and "NYPD Blue", except that it's set in a city populated by superpowered beings, where everyone, from the Mayor on down to the lowliest street bum, has some kind of superpower, special ability, or exceptional skill. A premise that leads to dozens of fun and interesting visual ideas, gags, and subplots, that enrich the storylines while being presented in a rather offhand and humorous fashion; but what really impresses me about this series is the interplay between the characters, the cynical humor of the "cop banter" and the way Moore uses situations and incidents to reveal each character's personality, pecadillos, strengths and weaknesses. Each character is distinct and multi-layered, gradually revealed through the course of the narrative. Given what usually passes for character in most comic books, Moore's writing really is remarkable, and like the same author's "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen", signals a welcome change of pace from the dense, dark psychological drama one usually associates with Alan Moore. (But then, one could say the same about most of the title's the prolific Moore writes under the DC/WS/ABC imprint.)In a recent interview, Moore referred (rightly) how DC Comics Vertigo Line of Comics was built on "a mood" that infected his writing back in eighties and nineties, a set of ideas and general tone that along with Frank Miller's (Sin City, Batman: Dark Knight Returns) storytelling style and Howard Chaykin's satirical bent, has had a great impact on (read: been widely copied in) American Comics. May this newer turn, toward more light hearted by equally interesting and dramatic work, have an equal and lasting impact.Gene Ha and Zander Cannon's art is a revelation: the best work I've seen by either artist. By choosing to avoid the visual hyperbole common to the superhero genre, and playing it "straight", their work actually serves to highlight the exceptional, irrational and wonderful while humanizing the superhuman. Their contribution to the success of this enterprise shouldn't underestimated, nor go unmentioned.I can't believe I didn't pick this title up when it first came out in comic book form: what was I thinking?

It's funny, when I saw Top Ten in the store, I really wasn't too interested but for two facts: it was recommended by the store I was in, and it was written by Alan Moore. Those being two notable exceptions, I took a chance and bought it. And I guess, given my five star review, you can guess that I didn't regret it. (The only thing I do regret is getting the particular copy I got; I just noticed that the binding is coming loose in the back. But I would guess, unless there are further complaints, that this is just this particular copy, as the book doesn't seem to be cheaply made at all.) Top Ten takes place in an alternate universe city called Neopolis, which is best described as a futuristic version of Fritz Lang's Metropolis. This city, built shortly after World War II, is charged with housing the world's superheroes keeping the rest of the population safe. By 1999, the year the events here take place, Neopolis is quite overcrowded, as you might expect. The story follows Robyn "Toybox" Slinger, who is a rookie at the 10th precinct police station, casually referred to as Top Ten. (Her "power," incidentally, is her box of robotic toys she carries around, which can search and destroy upon command)What impressed me most about this comic is the character interaction. Each of the characters, and there are quite a few, are well-designed and genuinely interesting. It's very nice that while they all have definite personalities, no one can really be pigeon-holed in a one-word adjective. A lot of characters in other books (and not just comic books) can be described accurately as "the grouchy one" or "the stupid one." Not so here. (The only exception is Smax, Slinger's partner, who is the grouchy one. But it's easy to forgive this, because there are many other qualities to him) One particular standout is the boss, Sergeant Caesar, who is a dog in a robotic suit, sort of a quadripedal version of Earthworm Jim. The credit for this book really is equally divided between it's artists, Gene Ha and Zander Cannon, and it's writer, Alan Moore. Moore, who at least I had only known to write downbeat stories like V for Vendetta, Watchmen and Swamp Thing, here shows that he can write upbeat, funny stories as well. Of those books, I would say this is sort of comparable to Watchmen. It has a lot of similar observations about superheroes, although using a far less dark storyline to make them. And Ha and Cannon's artwork is simply incredible, showing amazing amount of detail in every panel.Basically, if you have any interest in comics, you really should read Top Ten. It's probably the most well-drawn, funny and fun comics for adults I've yet read.

Think Hill Street Blues and NYPD Blue combined, except in a world where superpowers are the norm. The writing is as good as any found on those Emmy winning shows.The fact that everyone possesses superpowered abilities may be misleading to someone who has not read Top Ten. The characters are as blase about this fact as they can be, because it's the normal order of things. No slugfests here. The series is downright funny--One female officer spends all of her time nude, because she "clothes" herself by using her ability to pigment her skin any color and in any place she wants. This makes her nudity unrecognizable to anybody except her lieutenant, a canine with human intelligence who only sees in black and white as canines are wont to do. Her reaction when she realizes this is hilarious as shes been working with him for years. He gets out of it by telling her he is only attracted to other canines (wink!). The art is so detailed you could spend large amounts of time on every page to absorb all of the hidden surprises.This is commonly seen as one of if not the best book in the comic field. Really, if you are not a comic reader you will enjoy this nonetheless.