Top 10: Compendium
I first read Top 10 on the recommendation of my brother and as with almost anything that Alan Moore writes, it is a wonderful mix of strong character driven stories, a ton of callbacks that are highly relevant (not obvious until you’ve read it all), and a setting that is highly unique.
In a way, Top 10 is the super hero version of “The league of extraordinary Gentlemen”, where pastiches of different characters make it into the story, none of which you recognize in and of themselves, but you certainly recognize the archetype they are meant to represent. The setting is that there is a multi-verse of sorts, and everyone has some sort of power, whether its small (like immunity to diseases) or big, like being invulnerable and have immense strength. The story focuses on what sort of police department would be needed for such a society, and the answer is of course, their own super heroes with their own special talents. They have bruisers, a bloodhound with its own cybernetic suit, a gadget girl, and a woman with her own nuclear powered armored suit among many others.
The compendium is a compendium of all Top 10 stories, and even though 60% of it is Alan Moore, the other 40% isn’t, and the drop off in writing shows. They try to keep the spirit of the stories alive, but realistically, if even Neil Gaiman can’t keep up the standards of Alan Moore, then the other 2 authors never stood a chance of meeting that quality.
The artwork is also suitably retro, and the other bonus is all the crazy call outs you will see within the books without meaning to.
As with anything Alan Moore produces, this is highly recommended and I thoroughly enjoyed re-reading it. The stories never go quite where you expect, and even if you were expecting that, you are still utterly surprised by the twists and turns that Moore’s genius takes you.