Top 10: Beyond The Furthest Precinct #1 (of 5)

Writer: Paul Di Filippo
Artist: Jerry Ordway
Colorist: Wendy Broome
Letterer: Todd Klein

Top Ten is the story of the tenth precinct, a group of men and women who police Neopolis, a city where every citizen, from bum to millionaire, has superpowers. Beyond The Furthest Precinct is a sequel to the original 12-issue Top Ten series from ABC Comics. It’s five years after the dramatic and disastrous events of the first series (and the spin-off mini-series Smax) and though the crime-rate appears to be on the rise, things are relatively back to normal for everyone’s favorite super powered cops. That is, until a mysterious and huge apparition appears over the precincts’ annual picnic. Now the old cops, along with several rookies fresh out of the academy, must investigate the apparition and its connection to a new robot stimulant that has hit the streets. Meanwhile, the tenth precinct’s Captain Traynor has been summoned to an ominous meeting with the mayor of Neopolis. All this and the squad get brand new cars!

The original Top Ten series, written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Gene Ha, was a brilliant mixture of NYPD Blue and Justice League and my favorite of the original series to debut from Alan Moore’s ABC Comics line. With the departure of Alan Moore from DC Comics (who publish ABC) the comics line he founded, which includes books like Tom Strong, Promethea and Terra Obscura, continues to go strong with a whole slew of talented writers at the helm. Top Ten: Beyond The Furthest Precinct is the latest Moore creation to be tackled by a new writer, comics newcomer and science fiction author (Ribofunk, The Steampunk Trilogy) Paul Di Filippo. When I first heard that there would be a new Top Ten series I had mixed emotions. First was excitement. As I said, I loved the original Top Ten and all the individual characters that make its unique world. But also there was a little bit of dread at the thought of someone other than Alan Moore and Gene Ha taking on a book that they had made great.

I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the book is actually quite good. It’s obviously not going to measure up to the original series, but in terms of the handling of the characters and the atmosphere, Filippo is dead-on. It’s good to see that he has taken the book and, while he has stayed true to the spirit of the original, is not trying to create a carbon copy by reusing the same jokes and situations.

Another reason for my initial excitement was the addition of Jerry Ordway as the book’s artist. Ordway is a talented and strong storyteller who’s been around the comics biz for years and I’ve grown to love his stuff quite a bit. He has the same reverence towards the book as Filippo in regards to the visual look of the characters and the world that Gene Ha created. Sadly, while Ordway is a great talent, he doesn’t pack the same visual punch that Ha delivered with his insanely detailed pages, packed to the gills with easter eggs you could spend entire afternoons looking for. Though admittedly Ha’s attention to detail caused the original series to fall behind schedule on more than one occasion. At least with Ordway you know you’re going to get a great looking comic and you’re most likely going to get it on time.

So while this new series may not live up to the Eisner Award winning greatness of the original it’s still a fun, well-crafted comic that would be well worth your time checking out.
 

Special thanks go out to Jeremy Shorr, owner of Titan Comics for allowing us to use his advance preview books for review purposes.
 

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