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Top Ten (Book 2)

Top Ten (Book 2)

List Price: $14.95
Your Price: $10.17
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Alan Moore delivers once again!
Review: 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!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Readable but Average Comic By Someone Who Is Usually Better
Review: If you didn't tell me that Alan Moore wrote this, I'd never guess. Compared with almost everything I've read by him - even with its cousin Promethea - it's shallow and simple. Many of the characters really didn't grab me, especially the obstensible main character, Toybox. Some of the characters are almost stick figures. The occasional parodistic reference to older characters, such as the Fantastic Four or the JLA, seemed just silly instead of funny. The mysteries that the cops of Neopolis solve, however, are generally engaging, and two or three of the cops did come across as intriguing. Still, as Moore works go, this is slight.

The saving grace of this comic is the art by Ha and Cannon. The heroes might not be much to read about, but they are something to see, as is the city of Neopolis.

If you want to read top-notch recent Alan Moore, though, try early issues of his Promethea series. And for a trip to a city that is similar to Neopolis in its one-foot-in-the-future look but with a lot more in the way of great characters and story, lok for Dean Motter's Terminal City TPB.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Moore strays away from dark stories and still hits gold.
Review: 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.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: An entertaining, fun adult comic
Review: 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.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: deiciding superman
Review: like most children ,i liked superman when i was a kid,untouchable ,invincible and faster than a speeding bullet.but when i grew up,i relized how bogus and unreal he was,him and the rest of the flashy glittery and holier than thou superheros-except for some, like tim burton's batman and azrael-so you can imagine the sweet revenge feeling i had reading this book.
you have superheros who are bums,politicians,pizza delivery boys,prostitutes,pornqueens,policemen and sex offenders.and that's their real identity.
the story follows neopolis-the superhero city-daily life,nypd blue with superhero cops.
too bad their is a book 2,i wish if they could release it in one book ,like watchmen.
alan moore rules!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Legion of Hill Street Justice League Blues
Review: People have experimented with prime-time police soap operas like HILL STREET BLUES before. There was that Steven Bocho cop-drama-musical show that didn't last very long (I forget its name). Now we have TOP TEN.

This series gives Alan Moore the opportunity to make fun of both cop dramas and superhero comics. However, it is definitely good-spirited fun, not savage parody: people who like cop dramas or superheroes (or both) can still enjoy these stories, I think. Somewhere I read Moore say that one of the pleasures of comic books is that you can create stories about worlds where readers take for granted that entities as unrelated as Superman and the Swamp Thing coexist and may occasionally meet each other. We have a lot of that here, where gritty, ugly street crimes and tragedies exist alongside an entire population of costumed, super-powered citizens.

I should also point out that the Gene Ha pencil work is very nice on the eyeballs. His fine, meticulous drawing style is essential in portraying the dozens of bizarre characters as well as the realistic, detailed backgrounds.

Of the three ABC collections I've read (the others being PROMETHEA and TOM STRONG, both also by Moore), this is by far the best.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: I can warmly recommend this one.
Review: The 'trouble' with picking up an Alan Moore comic is that the expectations are so incredibly high. After all, he is the one who penned Watchmen and V for Vendetta, not to mention how he reinvented the Swamp Thing!! But it wouldn't be fair to expect Alan Moore to always reach such heights.

With Top Ten (Book 1) he didn't manage to create a story that is on par with Watchmen or V for Vendetta, but he still managed to write a story that rises far above what comics on average has to offer these days. It still is a story that is captivating, populated with fascinating characters that one by one come to life, and which each can hold your interest with ease. A story whose originality is refreshing, as virtually always is the case with an Alan Moore project.

So, when you pick this one up, and I can warmly recommend you doing so, don't expect another Watchmen or V for Vendetta, stories that have you thinking for days on end after having read and re-read them, but do so with the confidence that you are in for a treat nonetheless. After all, this is Alan Moore we're dealing with here. A master storyteller if ever there was one.

Why four stars and not five? Because I know Alan Moore can do better. He certainly has proven so.




Rating: 5 stars
Summary: GOOD TIME STUFF
Review: This is a fun book. With his ABC COMICS titles Alan Moore seems to create tons of characters but leaves them a little shallow. But it kinda works because the audience he writes for knows by heart the origins and types of heroes he's parodying.
This trade paperback works for me due to it's insanely funny moments (I normally don't find Moore's work this funny). Also, I love the pacing of the plots and sub-plots. There are some great characters in this series, but I don't really enjoy Toy Box that much. SMAX is great.
SIDE NOTE: Gene Ha just doesn't do it for me and his art. While it's very detailed, I find the artwork difficult to get a grasp on character facial features. When the series first started, it was the artwork the decided I would wait on buying it straight from the comic shop shelf. I know Zander Cannon's artwork from the REPLACEMENT GOD, but i don't see his influence at all in this series.

Overall, a really great book. Much better than some of the other comics that are out there!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Lovely
Review: 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.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Hysterical!
Review: 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.


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