Top Ten - Book 02

Moore/Cannon/Ha's Top Ten series is one of my top three favorites of all time. The writing is fantastic; I cared about the characters from the beginning and when I finished the series, I wanted more (sequel Smax is awesome, though radically different in style, prequel The Forty-Niners is a masterpiece in itself though there's only one Top Ten character in it, Beyond the Farthest Precinct is an inferior work, though it was so good to revisit this world again). What makes Top Ten such a great comic is how every issue, no matter how fantastically treated, is a human issue that most of us can relate to, whether it's Smax' despair and inability to reach out to his friends, Kemlo's forbidden (or not) love, or Duane's annoyance at his partner's racism. Moore especially is at the top of his game with Top Ten, mixing dead-on humor, comic references that span all genres, action, and drama into what would be an insufferable mess in anyone else's hands.

Connecting more on the human level than any other comic series I have seen, Moore's Top 10 book two shows that even though the future may create new groups of people to stereotype, the stereotypes are no truer in the future than they have been in the past.

I'd read an article in Wizard, the comics magazine, about Top 10 #8 (the first issue in this trade paperback). It said that this issue was one of the best single stories in comic book history. Well, I've read thousands of comics and I couldn't agree more. I thoroughly enjoyed the first Top 10 TPB, which I bought thinking it contained issue #8; I don't regret that purchase at all, by the way, as it made me laugh out loud several times. Anyway, the first story in the second TPB tells of a trio of space-jumping characters who are fused together in a horrible accident and die by the end of the issue. Strange as it sounds, these 25 pages present a deep, moving account of how easily life can end and what living really means. Alan Moore is a genius and any true fiction fan should own this book.

"Top 10" (Book 2) is the second graphic novel in this unique and interesting series by Alan Moore. The premise is a fictional city where all the world's super beings live, work and play. Simply put, their super hero identities are who these people really are. Some stand out as truly special, but most of the population have regular jobs, enjoy, abuse, or ignore their families just like the normal residents of our own real world cities. This series is fun, the characters believeable and the adventures are crafted with a golden age content but manage to incorporate issues of today such as prostitution, drug addiction, alternative lifestyles and child abuse. Most of the stories follow what the Top 10 police force personally experience day to day. Think of the story lines as "Law and Order" for superheroes. It's great fun. Also make sure you review each individual art panel as you read along. You'll discover all kinds of super heroes you know and love from the golden, silver and current ages of comics. They're not really involved in the story, but only function as backdrops. You'll see Batman, Wolverine, the gray Hulk advertising expandable Gamma pants and even Popeye hanging out with other comic sailors in a local bar. There are two other books in the series, the first "Top 10" (Book One) and an earlier version of the city called the "Fortyniners", which is set in the time just after World War II. Look for your favorite comic stars from the 20's, 30's and 40's. They actually relocated the Yokums from "Lil Abner"and the 1940's Sub Mariner, though he still has amnesia.

This is probably my favorite comic book series of all time. Alan Moore did it again. While this book is not as overtly profound as V for Vendetta, it makes some points, but in a very light way.Gene Ha's art is a delight, and the level of detail is insane. Anyone who has had a passing interest in comics will find cameos by their favorite characters somewhere in here.This book is a sequel and you should have either Book One or the first six books of the series before reading this.