Alan Moore earned his reputation in the 1980s by writing the darkly anarchic V for Vendetta, and then the best superhero comic series ever, Watchmen.
For the past few years, Moore has been writing ABC Comics, a sub-imprint of Wildstorm comics which is in turn an imprint of DC Comics.
Moore’s titles published under this imprint are:
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. This comic has been made into a movie, starring Sean Connery. It is about the adventures of the Invisible Man, Dr Jekyll/Mr Hyde, Dracula’s Mina, Jules Verne’s Nemo, and Allen Quatermain of the Haggard books. Thus far the team have fought Fu-Manchu, Professor Moriarty, and are now battling HG Well’s Martians. Its a brilliantly thought out comic, with a novel idea.
Promethea. This is a symbologist’s wet dream: the story of a living story, filled with astronomy, tarot, and mythology. Someone could write a thesis on this. Sophie Bangs, college student, becomes an avatar for an ancient myth, and must cope with her altered state, and the demons out for her head.
Tom Strong. This is apparently loosely based on Doc Savage, Man of Bronze, and the only one in the series which I haven’t read.
Top Ten. This is a superhero comic, about a city where everyone is a superhero. The main focus is on a group of police officers. Its funny, and probably the lightweight of the group.
I enjoy Tomorrow Stories, although I don’t get it regularly (that is, even were it to come out regularly), LOEG was also enjoyable, but I think it’s overrated; I haven’t read any of LOEG II yet.
Rumor has it that ABC will be shuttering soon – look at Rich Johnston’s most recent Lying in the Gutters colum at www.cbr.cc which has the info.
Cliffy, the second volume of LOEG has more action and less literature, and is about to introduce Dr Moreau. A number of people found LOEG a bit inaccessible, without knowledge of turn of the century literature (I confess I’d not heard of Quartermain nor Mina prior to the series).
As for the Lying in the Gutter column, I’d be unhappy if the line shut down prematurely.
Top Ten is the superhero equivalent of NYPD Blue. It quickly became my favorite with the arcing story that was in no small sense a slight on the Justice League and the discovery by the Top Ten Detectives.
Plus I loved how the cops functioned so well as super powered cops, each with a specialized power that help benefit them as a whole (like the negotiations specialist who could will people to do something by using his speaking power…often to hilarious results -the part where he arrested the Santa Claus guy had me laughing.)
I hope Alan and the bunch continue the series. It was one of my favorites out of the ABC lineup.
I just finished the second Top 10 TPB. Took me about a week because I had to inspect EVERY frame for background characters and in-jokes! My fave possibly being Leela, Fry, and Bender, whom I wouldn’t have noticed if I hadn’t seen Nibbler a coule of panels before.
Also love all the doctors in the hospital…Fate, Strange, Who, Doolittle (both Rex Harrison and Eddie Murphy versions)
I know I’m missing half of the references. Is there any place online that attempts to point out all the easter eggs in Top 10?