Customer Reviews

Top Ten, Book 1

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is what would happen if everyone had a power. This is the sort of "Law and Order" or "NYPD Blue" you'd get. Only funnier. It reminds me of the new online game "City of Heroes" in a way, except I doubt the game has anything as useless as swelling up like a balloon as a power, or producing lots of sand all over the place.

Ok, so it's not gonna win any "Most Dramatic New Comic of the Year" awards. It's not grim, depressing, real, or awe-inspiring. It's fun and funny and tough and cool, and I loved it. It's well written, and well drawn, and a little bit raunchy (there are lots of hookers so it kind of has to be).

It's also totally accessable to almost everyone, which some of Moore's other work isn't. It uses the sort of TV style we're all familiar with to make it seem closer to us. I like it a lot. So it won't stay with me and haunt me like some of Moore's other stuff... but not everything has to haunt you to be good.

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 a painful personal decision, or another tries to cope with the knowledge of his impending, inevitable doom. It's amazing that Moore can throw all this together and have it come out so well. And it would be unfair of me not to mention the exquisite artwork of Gene Ha, who fills each panel with a glorious swamp of detail.

So yeah, that's my rant. "Top 10" is now my favorite Alan Moore comic, and my second-favorite graphic novel of all time (despite everything, I still like "Sandman" best). If you happen to spot this treasure on the shelf of your local bookstore -- by all means, spend the $14.95. Buy Volume Two as well. It's worth it.

I was a little skeptical about this book when I first picked it up. Alan Moore is someone who is easily judged by his own standard, and with the absolute classics he's put out before (Watchmen, Swamp Thing, Batman Killing Joke, From Hell, etc.), I was afraid Top 10 would pale by comparison. Plus, Alan Moore was writing about 4 other comics at roughly the same time as he was doing Top 10, so he was probably getting a little burned out. Right?

Wrong. The only reason this book doesn't get 5 stars from me is that it doesn't quite measure up to the Alan Moore classics listed above. But Top 10 is not far behind. In the hands of virtually any other writer, this concept would have fallen flat on its face: the premise of having a whole city full of super heroes is easy to mishandle. But Moore treats everything so realistically, that you just can't help but find these stories believable. And the stories are filled not only with plot development, character development, and believable dialogue, but with humor as well. There are subtle parodies of Marvel and DC comics throughout, as well as some outright funny scenes that stand alone. After reading Top 10, I could understand why it won the Eisner award for Best New Series -- I can't wait for Top 10, Book 2 to come out!

Assuming you're somewhat familiar with what's good and bad, hot and not, in the comics world, you're already familiar with Alan Moore, his towering reputation (as author of groundbreaking works like "The Watchmen" and "From Hell" [soon to be coming to a movie theatre near you]) and--currently, anyway--prodigious output. Of all the Moore titles currently in production, Top Ten just barely makes the top of the heap.

What we've got here is a set of sly in-jokes blended into a fusion of Hill Street Blues and the JLA. In an imaginary city populated with all manners of superpowered individuals (right down to the cats and mice), who keeps the peace and enforces rule of law? The good officers of Precinct 10, of course.

Top Ten is a lot of fun and usually good for a few laughs--every issue is a winner, and this collection should appeal to anyone who enjoys police dramas, superhero ensembles, or farcical humor. Moore is at his best when he's playing with the structure of the superhero concept, and in Top 10 he's found an excellent vehicle for a few of his more offbeat ideas. Dedicated comic book fans will find lots to enjoy in his subtle jabs at superhero conceits of the past three decades.

(But don't just buy it because there's a nekkid superhero involved--there's really not much to see!)

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.

'Top 10' was a recommendation from a comic book store clerk. I really didn't know what I was getting into.

It's an addictive read with great, although quirky characters and heroes that fit convincingly into the universe that Alan Moore has created. There is a uniqueness about this work that you don't usually see unless you're reading stuff like 'Sin City'.


I don't like to spoil anything for anyone, so I'll spare the details of what happens. All I can really say is that you'll end up loving the characters so much that you'll be begging for more.

In a city where every single person has a superpower a rookie cop joins the Neocity 10 police force. From a talking dog in a mechanoid suit to a devil worshipper with peacock feathers each character has thier own pesonality.
They are all launched into many hilarious situations, such as arresting Santa.
This book is funny ... and well worth the money.

(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?

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.

Top Ten is perhaps one of the greatest graphic novels ever written. It takes place in the fascinating world of Neopolis, a city populated entirely by people with extraordinary superpowers. The characters are the police force that keeps the whole city from spinning out of control, and Top Ten is the story of how they convict the guilty, protect the innocent (or the mostly innocent anyway), and expose corruption up to the highest level. It's a great story. Alan Moore cleverly and insightfully portrays the city's social issues, such as an unfair prejudice against robots, and problems of disease and prostitution. He uses the medium of the graphic novel to its fullest extent in order to get his points across. The art perfectly complements the story.
He also creates a great deal of sympathy for his characters. Every character, no matter how briefly they appear, has a personality, makes choices, and experiences the repurcussions of his or her actions.
Also, the women in Top Ten are actually interesting and thoughtful characters, in contast to the plethoras of scantily-clad, one-dimensional, comic book superheroines in other comics. Characters like Toy Box, Girl 1, and Irma Geddon are complex, and they contribute to the story not just by being part of the plot, but also by simply having interesting personalities.
Alan Moore's superpower is obviously to write amazing comic books. Top Ten is something any reader can enjoy, not just hard core comic fans.