Top Ten Season Two #4

Written by Zander Cannon
Art by Gene Ha

Okay, so Season Two of this series ends, but without resolving about six or seven plot-lines. We have no idea what's going on with Peregrine's husband, the murder of the people in the fountain in the first issue is barely mentioned, and many other things are just left out completely.

Much of this issue centres on Pete, who is apparently having all sorts of problems, but we don't really get a sense of what those problems are, or where he's going from here. The commissioner from another parallel gets taken out of the picture mostly off-panel. Something's up with Slipstream, but we don't know what.

In short, as an issue of an on-going series, this is a very good one. As the end of a mini-series, this issue is very frustrating. I know there is a Special coming out in a couple of weeks, which according to the solicitation text, looks to resolve the Girl Two storyline, but I don't think it can possibly conclude the multitude of new plot-lines that Cannon has begun with this series. I feel like he should have been given six or eight issues to play with. But then, this is Wildstorm, and the one thing they are very good at is bungling the endings of their better comics (Stormwatch: Team Achilles, Wildcats 3.0, Winter Men, etc.). I hope this comic is going to continue as a series of specials or small mini-series.

Cannon has done a great job of playing in Alan Moore's backyard. He shows an affinity for these characters and the weirdness of the Top Ten universe (I love the department shrink in this issue), and clearly has a lot of story ideas in his head. Ha's artwork is beautiful as always, and this is over-all a great book. I just wish it would be allowed to finish properly.