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TOP 10 #12
"Court On The Street"
Highly Recommended (9/10)
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DC Comics/America's Best Comics imprint
Writer: Alan Moore
Pencils/Inks: Gene Ha
Layouts: Zander Cannon
Colors: Alex Sinclair
Letters: Todd Klein
Editor: Scott Dunbier
Price: $3.50 US/$5.75 CAN |
So Top 10 ends, and with it a lot of my interest in America's Best Comics. I enjoyed this final issue, which was a nice way to show off all the various members of Top 10 and close off the plots that began back in issue one, but I'm still more than a little annoyed that this book is ending. It doesn't feel like the end of a television show's season, because it won't be back in three months... some of the characters will be back in spinoffs in about a year or so. This is the most interesting of the America's Best Comics, more focused than Promethea, funnier than Tomorrow Stories and less nostalgia-based than Tom Strong, and while this issue was a reminder of why I
enjoyed it so much, it was also a reminder of how much I'm going to miss it.
It's a shame to see the book go, because one of the most interesting characters, Joe Pi, has just been introduced. The best moments of the issue actually come from the rapport he has formed with his new partner and his wry sense of humor, and while Robyn started off as the narrator/main character of Top 10, in the last two
issues, Joe has usurped that role, and I actually think that was for the better.
A lot of the reason that Top 10 works is the same reason that something like Astro City or Supreme worked, and that's a basic familiarity with the
archetypes at work. Whether it's small things, like the Ex-Verminator's van, or
more important echoes, such as knowing the references to Justice League, Teen
Titans and other members in the Seven Sentinels and Young Sentinels, this book
resonates more for the long-time super-hero fan. Being a cop forced to take down
the world's greatest heroes, or discovering that Captain America had been
improperly touching Bucky, is creepy. Of course, even if you don't know the
references, the story stands strong on its own, with the truth about the
Sentinels and their basic personalities and powers made clear in the issue.
What impresses me about Top 10 is how Moore has really pulled off the ensemble
cast. He's got a lot of characters here, and not just guest stars and supporting
cast, but a huge regular cast, and they're all interesting and fairly
well-defined. There's room for more explanation of all of them, of course, but
we get moments with Wolfspider, Duane, Joe, Irma, Colby, Peter, Smax, Traynor
and more in the issue. While also telling a cohesive story that relates back to
older issues but stands on its own as well, Moore continues to flesh out all of
the characters with little moments or bits of dialogue.
Of course, Top 10
is also one of the more stunning America's Best Comics books from a visual
standpoint. There's more design work in this series than in years of most
comics, and Cannon and Ha have turned in phenomenal work for twelve issues.
Their designs for the characters are effective and individual, and they really
give a feel for the scope and majesty of Neopolis. In addition, there are always
fun gags to be had from looking at the background, like "the Blues Beetles"
early on this issue or the background elements in Lomax's cave.
Top 10 has been
the most consistently excellent of the America's Best Comics series, and while
I'm sad to see it go, I'm glad it went out on the same high note it came in
on.
Email Randy Lander comments about this review. |
