Wednesday, May 13, 2009

The Fate of Top Ten, continued...



Hey Top Ten fans, I just want to thank you for the outpouring of support I hear we've gotten about wanting to see the story continue.  It's gratifying to know that people care so much about these characters and this world that they will take the time to write in and make their preferences known.  Now, I should also say that my editor's getting a lot of mail that is less than constructive about the fate of Top Ten and what's to be done about it, so let's take this opportunity to go over a few thoughts, shall we?

1.  You get more flies with honey than with vinegar.  That is to say, you improve the chances of Top Ten continuing by sending positive emails that focus on your deep love of the series and your honor-bound promise to buy every issue that comes out than by insulting DC, Wildstorm, the editors, and the accountants and accusing them of playing bait-and-switch.

2.  Speaking of which, there are many factors that have led to the current situation, and things are not always as black-and-white as they may seem.  It's always tempting to find a villain in a difficult situation, but I can tell you that everyone involved acted with good intentions and everyone wants to put out a comic that people love and will read.

3.  This is a follow-up to this post, in which I posted a summary of events, calling it "the semi-official statement from Wildstorm through me".  While I typed that in good faith, feeling that it was an accurate representation of what I had heard, it was not in any way an official statement, and I retract that label.  I don't speak for Wildstorm, and I am not privy to their decision-making process.  

Top Ten is perhaps the most fun series I've ever worked on; I would love to have it continue and pay off the storylines which have been established.  Stay positive, and send your proclamations of love to:

AskWS [at] dccomics [dot] com

Thanks again!

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posted by Zander Cannon @ 4:20 PM   2 comments

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Top 10 Season 2 continuing?

UPDATE:  I've just written about the situation in another post;  you can find it here.

UPDATE:  I've been given an email address that fans wanting to make themselves heard about Top Ten continuing can use to contact Wildstorm:

AskWS (at) dccomics (dot) com

Let's let them know Top Ten has some fans out there!  But ask nicely, won't you?  For me? 



This week saw the release of Top 10 Season 2 #4, the supposed end of the 4-issue series.  As people read it and wonder why all the plot lines are not resolved, here is a semi-official statement from Wildstorm through me my take on the situation:
The series was originally conceived as an 8-issue story with 2 standalone specials.  The first special, focusing on the courtroom dramas in a superhero city, is coming out next month with art by Da Xiong.  Wildstorm and DC are looking at the sales and response on these 5 comics and using that to determine how to continue the series. 
We're hoping that the responses to the special will be good so that we can continue this series, which seems to be relatively well received, critically.  Here is a new review of #4, from Comic Book Resources:


EDIT:  Wildstorm has not made any official statements on this matter, and to my mind the decisions that they made have been understandable.  I apologize if I portrayed them to be unreasonable or unresponsive.

EDIT:  Rich Johnston has put out a call to save Top 10 on his Lying in the Gutters column on Comic Book Resources.  Thanks, Rich!

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posted by Zander Cannon @ 11:30 AM   12 comments

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Top Ten Season Two Gets an All-Too-Generous Review

Rich Johnston of Comic Book Resources' column "Lying in the Gutters" has a very short review of Top Ten Season Two:

Zander Cannon and Gene Ha’s “Top Ten Season Two" is as good as Alan Moore, Gene Ha and Zander Cannon’s “Top Ten Season One." Just thought you should know.

Well, I'm flabbergasted.

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posted by Zander Cannon @ 2:08 PM   5 comments

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

Top 10 Season 2 #1 out today!



From the Previews listing:


Written by Zander Cannon; Art and Cover by Gene Ha 

AMERICA'S BEST COMICS. A new season dawns in the science-city of Neopolis! A new commissioner, along with some new rules, comes to Precinct 10, as Slipstream Phoenix, a rookie cop with an ugly secret, fights for respect among his new peers. Meanwhile, Shock-Headed Peter and the Dust Devil investigate a mysterious, ancient drug dealer, and a very public multiple homicide sets Captain Jetman and Lieutenant Peregrine scrambling for answers. 

The police procedural crime and intrigue continue in this new series based on concepts and characters created by legendary writer Alan Moore (WATCHMEN, V FOR VENDETTA). 

---------------


This series picks up where the original 12 issue left off, with Smax and Toybox off on the adventure chronicled in Smax, and the rest of the precinct without an interim commissioner. Fans of the original Alan Moore-penned series will hopefully find this to be similar in tone, and reference-hunters will not be let down.

First off, I have to give monumental thanks to Kevin and Shad, who came up with a good portion of the plotlines and gags (due to a clerical error, Shad was not credited in this issue; I am told he will be in future issues), and were extremely helpful in getting this series going.

I probably needn't say how fantastic Gene Ha's art is on this series, but I will anyway-- he delivered pages that took my humdrum ol' layouts and turned them into the fantastic science-city of Neopolis-- again. Thanks, Gene. I've seen what he's done for the next couple issues, too, and it's amazing.

So go on down to the comic store (or, if you're in the Twin Cities, come to FallCon this weekend) and get yourself a copy. Gene will be in town for the show this weekend and we'll both sign it!

UPDATE:  Some reviews have cropped up on iFanboy:

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posted by Zander Cannon @ 2:28 PM   4 comments