Top 10 Volume 1
04/24/25 • 73 min
"Listen, I got a call for you and Slinger. Irma and Li are at Seventh and Macaroni handling some kind of psychokinetic Santa."
Welcome to a new season of Storied Arcs, and Mike and Alex are here to dive into Alan Moore, Gene Ha, and Zander Cannon's Top 10 Volume 1 (issues #1-7) from America's Best Comics/DC Comics. The guys jump right in, discussing the denseness of Alan Moore's writing and the way he, Ha, and Cannon build their world so it feels both new and recognizable at the same time. They talk about the dissonance the comic creates in the reader's mind, playing off the preconceived notions of both police procedural and superhero stories, and how that dichotomy can be a little confusing at first. They guys also discuss what this book would have been had it be published 15-20 years later (and had Alan Moore not been the writer) and how the bones of Top 10 make it a perfect candidate for the current comic trend of micro-universes. There are, of course, sequels and spin-off (which we won't be covering), but a more modern-thinking approach to the publishing could have really expanded the world.
Next week, we're diving into Volume 2 (issues #8-12), which includes one of the more celebrated single-issue stories of recent memory, so go find the remaining issues of Top 10 by Alan Moore, Gene Ha, and Zander Cannon and join us here again to break it all down!
Thanks for listening to Storied Arcs
- Find us on your favorite podcast platform and leave a 5-star review!
- Find all links here: https://linktr.ee/storiedarcs
- Or specifically, find us on BlueSky, Instagram, Facebook, Threads, Twitter/X.
- Learn more about our hosts, the show, or where to find us at www.storiedarcs.com
Subscribe on Spotify, iTunes, Pocket Casts, Overcast, Google Podcast, or anywhere else fine podcasts are found!
"Listen, I got a call for you and Slinger. Irma and Li are at Seventh and Macaroni handling some kind of psychokinetic Santa."
Welcome to a new season of Storied Arcs, and Mike and Alex are here to dive into Alan Moore, Gene Ha, and Zander Cannon's Top 10 Volume 1 (issues #1-7) from America's Best Comics/DC Comics. The guys jump right in, discussing the denseness of Alan Moore's writing and the way he, Ha, and Cannon build their world so it feels both new and recognizable at the same time. They talk about the dissonance the comic creates in the reader's mind, playing off the preconceived notions of both police procedural and superhero stories, and how that dichotomy can be a little confusing at first. They guys also discuss what this book would have been had it be published 15-20 years later (and had Alan Moore not been the writer) and how the bones of Top 10 make it a perfect candidate for the current comic trend of micro-universes. There are, of course, sequels and spin-off (which we won't be covering), but a more modern-thinking approach to the publishing could have really expanded the world.
Next week, we're diving into Volume 2 (issues #8-12), which includes one of the more celebrated single-issue stories of recent memory, so go find the remaining issues of Top 10 by Alan Moore, Gene Ha, and Zander Cannon and join us here again to break it all down!
Thanks for listening to Storied Arcs
- Find us on your favorite podcast platform and leave a 5-star review!
- Find all links here: https://linktr.ee/storiedarcs
- Or specifically, find us on BlueSky, Instagram, Facebook, Threads, Twitter/X.
- Learn more about our hosts, the show, or where to find us at www.storiedarcs.com
Subscribe on Spotify, iTunes, Pocket Casts, Overcast, Google Podcast, or anywhere else fine podcasts are found!
Previous Episode
Intro to Top 10 & Creator Spotlight: Alan Moore, Gene Ha, Zander Cannon, and Todd Klein
For this season of Storied Arcs, Mike and Alex will be tackling the critically-acclaimed, multi-dimensional police procedural comic Top 10 (issues #1-12 of the original series only) from America's Best Comics (aka Wildstorm aka DC) by Alan Moore, Gene Ha, and Zander Cannon. They start with some background on America's Best Comics and use that to track the publication history of Top 10 and its subsequent spinoffs and sequels through the years. Then the guys attempt to (briefly) cover the comics history of writer Alan Moore (he's Alan Moore, folks), along with the works of artists Gene Ha and Zander Cannon, and letterer Todd Klein. To close, they give a short, spoiler-free synopsis for the book and talk a little bit on why they picked it for the show.
For our purposes, we'll just be focusing on the original Top 10 comic from 1999 to 2001 (issues #1-12) and breaking our discussion across two trade collections as they were originally published- issues #1-7 first and then issues #8-12 to close. We understand that the most likely way of reading Top 10 at the moment is either the 2015 single-trade collection published under the Vertigo banner or the 2023 compendium containing all of the Top 10 series, spinoffs, and specials, but the single issues are out there to be discovered as well. However you find it, go read Top 10 Volume 1 (issues #1-7) and join us back here next week to jump right into the discussion!
Thanks for listening to Storied Arcs
- Find us on your favorite podcast platform and leave a 5-star review!
- Find all links here: https://linktr.ee/storiedarcs
- Or specifically, find us on BlueSky, Instagram, Facebook, Threads, Twitter/X.
- Learn more about our hosts, the show, or where to find us at www.storiedarcs.com
Subscribe on Spotify, iTunes, Pocket Casts, Overcast, Google Podcast, or anywhere else fine podcasts are found!
Next Episode
Top 10 Volume 2
“Just look above you. Do you see? That is called the Immense Board of Lights. And there is the Great Black. And, strewn across it, small and surrounded and vulnerable and brave... there is the Great White.”
This week, Mike and Alex wrap up their discussion of Top 10 by Alan Moore, Gene Ha, and Zander Cannon with Volume 2 (issues #8-12) of the initial run. They guys jump right into issue #8, The Overview, and discuss the major themes it presents. They also delve into why the issue so highly regarded and the effect it has over how the entire series is remembered. From there, the move into the remainder of the issues, touching on how the book shifts into a more conventional, everything-is-connected superhero-type story construction and diving into how that meshes with the more procedural storytelling presented into the first volume. The guys wrap things up with some legacy talk about Top 10 and its influence on the cop comic genre going forward.
We hoped you enjoyed this look at a critically beloved comic from one of the masters of the craft, and while we aren't covering them on the show here, we definitely recommend checking out the Top 10 sequel and spin-off stories (Smax, The Forty-Niners, Beyond the Furthest Precinct, and Season 2) because what is being a comic reader if not being a completionist.
We'll be back next week to kick off a new discussion into another great comic. See you then!
Thanks for listening to Storied Arcs
- Find us on your favorite podcast platform and leave a 5-star review!
- Find all links here: https://linktr.ee/storiedarcs
- Or specifically, find us on BlueSky, Instagram, Facebook, Threads, Twitter/X.
- Learn more about our hosts, the show, or where to find us at www.storiedarcs.com
Subscribe on Spotify, iTunes, Pocket Casts, Overcast, Google Podcast, or anywhere else fine podcasts are found!
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