Top Ten Season Two #1 (OF 4)

not terrible.

- i've read the first trade of top ten, and i enjoyed it plenty, and it motivated me to get this. which leads me to point one - if you haven't read any top ten before, you probably won't get this. there's  big cast of characters, and i was feeling like i needed to run back to my trade to remember exactly who was who. if you've never met them before, i could see this being a bit daunting. also, it spoils some of what is in the second top ten trade. whoops!

- the art ... it's not bad. and i shouldn't only look at it in comparison to the old top ten. but the thing is - this IS a top ten book, and the comparison is apt. gene ha has a more painted style here, which doesn't quite seem to fit with the world here - i found myself wanting things a little bit sharper and more dynamic, rather than subtly painted.

- also - a hallmark of top ten is the ridiculous detail in the panels - the amount of crazy superhero residents who happen to be wandering around in the backgrounds of the action. this is dialed down quite a bit, much to my dismay. the book looks a lot more, um, boring.

- even though alan moore isn't writing, i didn't have too many problems with the book - it felt like the many-theaded storylines i had expected. though the final page, where the new character basically said, "i'm new guy and i act like this because of this," seemed like it could have been handled more artfully.

a lot of complaining, but only because the earlier stuff was so strong. i'll keep reading, and i imagine if you really like top ten, you might too. but if you've never read it before, skip this mini and get the older stuff instead.