Writer: Alan Moore Artists: Gene Ha, Zander Cannon, Todd Klein
Publisher: Wildstorm/DC Comics
Plot: More than just Hill Street Blues meets Astro City.
"I don't want to hear a damn thing about Lee and Kirby re-inventing comics. This is Moore and Ha re-inventing comics. Got that? Book 'em, Kemlo."
A subway ride. A ghost listens to a woman of flesh converse about her relationship in hurried non content shorthand. A girl on her way to a new job rests the head of a pensioner who sleeps on her shoulder. A tall, loud man chats to his sweetheart via mobile phone as the train pulls to a stop. These conversations come and go, a mother dragging her daughter off to be replaced by others, gladly clad, asking for a new see-through prism cape. "All the other girls at school have one". Two superheroes discuss a football game. The pensioner replaced by a(nother) costumed sort takes up residence on Robyn Slinger's other shoulder. At the far end of the carriage, a staff is held by a mage-like figure who opens a book and begins reading.
This is the first page of Top Ten.
And with the turning of that first leaf, and each successive turn, the characters look more and more unusual and the pacing just gets faster and faster. Moore, Ha, Cannon and all put so much detail, into each of the players, whether they're there for one panel or for every issue.
Top Ten concerns itself with the employees of Pike Street's Precinct Ten, Neopolis. Neopolis, much like Millennium City, is a grand cluster of skyscrapers, bridges, teleporters, autorails and inner-city freeways, designed by nazi villains and mad scientists. "A four storey car park designed by a varied committee including Ray Bradbury, Fritz Lang and Zeus...(it) connects the city's different levels, in a tide of vehicles whose lurid colourings and fins and spines suggest a river seething with fantastic and primordial fish". "A fantastic place" according to Officer Slinger. "A toilet", according to Officer Jeff Smax.
The first twenty pages ot so are concerned with Robyn Slinger's first day on the job, and serves as an introduction to other officers in the precinct, a sampling of the criminal fraternity and those that get caught inbetween.
"I like her...she smells sorta like wind chimes", remarks a sensory adept. The captain also welcomes her warmly mentioning how he has worked with her father. In fact, it seems like everybody likes Robyn, a curious, enthusiastic and competent junior. And indeed, Moore and Ha communicate all the officers as a warm, likeable bunch. Everybody except Officer Smax, a bad-tempered moody behemoth. Probably the 'shoot first ask questions later' type. The type Robyn has the misfortune to get partnered with.
In the first story, the officers tackle a domestic, a homicide, prostitutes, an invisible pervert and an interrogation going horribly wrong. There are dead partners, ex-dates, quiet religious tension and family tradition. Hell, they even have the pain in the butt lawyer to contend with.
This is indicative of Top Ten, perhaps the title refers to the gear Big Al writes this book at.
The broad range of characters and the must-fast move construction of sets provide Ha, Cannon and Klein the opportunity to invent and invent, allowing so many angles. Sometimes on four panel pages, Ha and Cannon seem to struggle with the 'bigness' of it all. This is a project which thrives on visual detail so my guessed estimate is that they've taken the right track. The flaws are down to first issue jitters, the characters look sensibly different, yet at home. All are familiar yet appeal in their newness triggering reader-viewer's imagination potential. If you don't go bury your head in the popcorn or cyclopedia you could be acting your own Top Ten adventures in waiting for the next issue.
Wildstorm FX provide the colours: mostly a grim, monotone grey smell of corrugated iron, petrol fumes and damp cigarette butts. An occassional dazzle, flash of light exploding like a fracture in the copper pipes spectrum from the dimmer tinted background.
Sung-Li (aka Girl One) is one of the more optically sweet characters. With bio-engineered skin, the naked officer moves her pigments around at will to provide the reader with a jolly good show changing per panel from flourescents to metallics to Lichtenstein pop art.
'Blind Justice' is a slower show than the pilot, freeing up more space for Moore's ER style soap opera. God, 'soap opera', what a tacky phrase. Even 'domestic serial' doesn't exactly do justice to what is trying to be achieved here. Focusing on three, four character case studies means the pacing is rapid and the panels look a lot less crowded than before.
Zander Cannon makes his presence known, his layouts providing point to point to create a good running film, flowing arrangement of successives. Gene Ha fills in the details and gives focus so effortlessly and playfully, figures draw with screaming ease and the players invested with just the right amount of attitude and emotion.
'Internal Affairs' extends that 'another status quo episode but damn, ain't it exquisite' feel. Ha and Cannon continue to play architectures of Neopolis, filling the skyline with all the vastness of EuroDisney's biggest rollercoaster, while Mr. Moore contents himself writing gripping whatsgoingons. Splendid social interaction and many a sneaky background gag. This integrated approach can be very much explained by Zander Cannon himself, "I try to keep the artwork from calling attention to itself, and make the reader focus on the characters and the story".
There are several running storylines (that's lines not arcs), and always an element of gentle plot-thread humour running through every episode. For example, one incident sees Officer Cathy Peregrine get caught between a wall and a rapidly inflating insurance salesman!
And that's probably what makes this such an enjoyable book to read and view. It's not much of a comic to dwell on from a student perspective, it's just the nature of the beast. You can take advert breaks, but this is compulsive viewing. It's tough to write about, because there is so much I want to tell you but can't, because there are surprises to be spoilt should I do so. It's not that you need to read every issue (although I reccommend it), 'tis more a case of you have to read two or three issues in a row, to gain satisfaction, or multiple satisfaction.
Many of the stories tie up quietly, so like other Moore yarns, it's the journey that counts. With 'Great Infestations', the bearded one ties up a major storyline, and writes about a lot of explosions, as well as starting new threads and speeding others along.
However there is still space for Moore to throw in some warming human interaction.
By now, the art team have settled in so well, they're all drawing while naked. Moore and Cannon have made the necessarry changes to the storyboard making the frames much more functional in purpose. Cannon is doing a splendid job, using space sensibly, wisely, thus delivering the goods in a well-wrapped 'Handle With Care' package. From #4, Ha handles the shedload of responsibilities, both pencilling and inking and not to dismiss Cannon's input at all, the book looks better for it. The decoration of an all-year round festival is still there, and in terms of evolution it is quite positively natural. Ha makes fertile balance-orientated spell, seasoned. Top Ten does looks aged, but only suggestive of the team's experience and maturity. Perhaps another of Mr. Moore's little jokes, a reference to bigger numbers? Damn that pesky punctuation symbol!! Subtly, attention to detail there is more than a hint of Chris Bachalo's work on SHADE.
Todd Klein, the letterer of this book works on many of Moore's background poster gags in addition to designing the look of the sounds. This series is immensely character-driven. Robots and ex-Godzilla foes get their own fonts, and Officer Jackie Kowalski, a phasing character much like the X-Men's Kitty Pryde, is also given this attention to detail. When the layouts are designed, Kowalski is roughed in, but it is only after the background and full art has been drawn that Kowalski is sketched. The production team then place the seperate image onto the finished page, to create a transparency so that both the character and her direct background can be viewed. Together with the ABC colourists (I would assume) her letters fade in and out of visual range. Much like the character whatever her backdrop. Superb.
#6 is among the more accessible issues of the series. Moore tells a complete tale, yet still manages enough space to include the five or six running subplots. So, Andrew, I appreciate your ability not to spoil the surprise for us but man, you've got to give us some detail! We need something to go on, okay? I hear your voice. In #6, five officers are on the case of arresting Santa, complete with reindeers, snow, flight and mind-reading ability. Moore's sense of humour is very much alive and well. And there are no second fiddles.
ABC's colouring support, Wildstorm FX who are more spot-on than usual (and bear in mind that their work on Top 10 singles them out as the martial artists of colourists). Zander Cannon too, with his keen technical mind proves again and again why he is one of the most spectacular layout artists in the business.
This ranks as one of my top nine titles in twenty-five years of reading comics.
