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America's Best Comics

January 01, 1970

For the Marvel Comics one-shot, see America's Best TV Comics.

America's Best Comics (ABC) was a comic book publishing brand.[2] It was set up by Alan Moore in 1999 as an imprint of WildStorm, an idea proposed to Moore by WildStorm founder Jim Lee when it was still under Image Comics.

America's Best Comics
IndustryComics
Founded1999; 25 years ago (1999)
FounderAlan Moore
Defunct2010[1]
HeadquartersUnited States[1]
Key people
Alan Moore
ParentWildstorm (DC Comics)

History edit

 
Alex Ross' cover to America's Best Comics 64 Page Giant, featuring many of the characters created by Alan Moore for the imprint.

America's Best Comics was a prominent Standard/Better/Nedor title during the 1940s Golden Age of comic books, starring such heroes as the Black Terror and the Fighting Yank. Those characters were integrated into the Moore version under the ABC imprint, where Moore wrote series including The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, a strip which merged several famous Victorian era fiction characters into one world; Tom Strong, an homage to pulp fiction heroes such as Tarzan and Doc Savage; Top 10, a police procedural set in a police precinct in a city where everyone has superpowers or is a costumed adventurer; and Promethea, one of Moore's most personal pieces which detailed his view on magic.

Peter Hogan and Rick Veitch had their own spin-off series, Terra Obscura and Greyshirt: Indigo Sunset respectively, and Steve Moore (no relation) co-wrote Tom Strong's Terrific Tales with Moore.

Regular contributing artists include Kevin O'Neill, Chris Sprouse, Rick Veitch, J. H. Williams III, Gene Ha, Zander Cannon, Kevin Nowlan, Hilary Barta, Melinda Gebbie, Jim Baikie, Yanick Paquette, and Art Adams.

All the lettering for the ABC line was done by Todd Klein, with the exception of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen which was handled by Bill Oakley. The logo of ABC is mainly based on an idea from Alex Ross and was also done by Todd Klein.[3]

In August 1998, Jim Lee sold WildStorm to DC Comics, unaware that due to past conflicts over the Watchmen copyright in the 1980s, Moore had vowed never to work for the publisher again.

According to the interview Moore gave George Khoury in the book The Extraordinary Works of Alan Moore, when Lee first saw Alan Moore after the takeover, the tall figure of Moore holding his snake-headed walking stick impressed Lee so, he was sure Moore - who was then still ignorant of the sale - was going to beat him senseless. Moore was reluctant at first, but ultimately decided to accept his new situation as he had promised work to a number of his artist friends from Rob Liefeld's defunct Awesome Comics line. In the same interview, he said that it was better to go back against a principle for the greater good, than to have no principles in life at all. He also expressed interest in eventually ending the line with a little apocalypse. Deliberately and permanently ending an entire comic line was something he felt had never been done before in comics.[4]

Moore brought an end to the ABC Universe towards the conclusion of Promethea when she ushers in the apocalypse.[5][6] Moore wrote the last issue of Tom Strong and two 64-page Tomorrow Stories specials offering a final farewell to most of ABC's characters.

Before those final stories, the ABC line continued a little while longer under other writers. Tom Strong, for example, had been written entirely by guest authors since November 2003. These authors have included; Peter Hogan, Geoff Johns, Mark Schultz, Steve Aylett, Brian K. Vaughan, Ed Brubaker and Michael Moorcock. A sequel to Top 10 called Beyond The Farthest Precinct has been penned by novelist Paul Di Filippo and artist Jerry Ordway and another title, written by Peter Hogan and Steve Moore, was going to explore the remaining secrets of all of the major ABC characters. This mini-series America's Best Comics: A to Z, started in September 2005 but was canceled after four issues in July 2006.

WildStorm was shut down in 2010, its disestablishment spelled the end of ABC, and reprints of ABC titles were subsequently being published under DC's Vertigo imprint.[1]

Titles edit

Main article: List of Wildstorm titles § ABC

America's Best Comics: A to Z edit

America's Best Comics: A to Z was to be a six-part miniseries written by Peter Hogan and Steve Moore. It planned to reveal secrets and unknown facts about the characters that have appeared thus far in the ABC line. The miniseries was canceled after issue #4. Work had begun on issue #5, but its unclear how complete it was before the plug was pulled. There are no plans at present to publish a collection of the issues.

Each issue features artwork from character's original designer/co-creator and a cover by Terry Dodson. It was expected to signal the end of the ABC line, and was planned as a farewell to the characters.

  1. Featured Tom Strong and Jack B. Quick, with art by Chris Sprouse and Kevin Nowlan.
  2. Featured Greyshirt and The Cobweb, with art by Rick Veitch and Melinda Gebbie.
  3. Featured Terra Obscura and Splash Brannigan.
  4. Featured Top 10 and Teams (America's Best and America's Worst).
  5. Would have focused on Smax (in the style of a holiday program) and First American.
  6. Was never solicited, but the remaining topics that had not been covered include Promethea and Jonni Future.

Other one-off titles edit

  • America's Best Comics Preview (Mar 1999) (a mini-comic preview, free with Wizard magazine #91)
  • America's Best Comics 64 Page Giant (Dec 2000) (a collection of short stories involving all of the ABC characters)
  • America's Best Comic's Sketchbook (Dec 2001) (a collection of sketches of main characters by ABC artists)
  • The Many Worlds of Tesla Strong (May 2003) (a 64-page, single issue, Tom Strong spin-off, released with two covers, by Art Adams and Bruce Timm)

Other collected editions edit

  • America's Best Comics (graphic novel collection of the 64 Page Giant, Sketchbook, and Many Worlds, paperback: ISBN 1-4012-0147-4)
  • Promethea Covers Collection (a collection of all 32 Promethea covers)

References edit

  1. ^ a b c "America's Best Comics". britannica.com.
  2. ^ "America's Best Comics". Comic Vine. Retrieved 2018-06-28.
  3. ^ "Logo Design: ABC Origins". Kleinletters.com. 2008-03-18. Retrieved 2011-02-03.
  4. ^ Khoury, George (2003). The Extraordinary Works of Alan Moore. TwoMorrows Pub. pp. 178–180. ISBN 978-1893905245.
  5. ^ Shawn C Baker (2015-02-22). "Thee Comic Column #120: Re-reading Alan Moore's Promethea". Joup. from the original on 2019-10-10.
  6. ^ Stewart, D.G. (February 22, 2018). ""Exhuming Promethea and The Authority – Dark Knights: The Wild Hunt #1 v Justice League # 24 (comparative review)"". World Comic Book Review. from the original on 2018-02-27.

External links edit

  • ABC Fanpage

January 01, 1970
america, best, comics, marvel, comics, shot, america, best, comics, this, article, includes, list, general, references, lacks, sufficient, corresponding, inline, citations, please, help, improve, this, article, introducing, more, precise, citations, september,. For the Marvel Comics one shot see America s Best TV Comics This article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations September 2009 Learn how and when to remove this template message America s Best Comics ABC was a comic book publishing brand 2 It was set up by Alan Moore in 1999 as an imprint of WildStorm an idea proposed to Moore by WildStorm founder Jim Lee when it was still under Image Comics America s Best ComicsIndustryComicsFounded1999 25 years ago 1999 FounderAlan MooreDefunct2010 1 HeadquartersUnited States 1 Key peopleAlan MooreParentWildstorm DC Comics Contents 1 History 2 Titles 2 1 America s Best Comics A to Z 2 2 Other one off titles 2 2 1 Other collected editions 3 References 4 External linksHistory edit nbsp Alex Ross cover to America s Best Comics 64 Page Giant featuring many of the characters created by Alan Moore for the imprint America s Best Comics was a prominent Standard Better Nedor title during the 1940s Golden Age of comic books starring such heroes as the Black Terror and the Fighting Yank Those characters were integrated into the Moore version under the ABC imprint where Moore wrote series including The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen a strip which merged several famous Victorian era fiction characters into one world Tom Strong an homage to pulp fiction heroes such as Tarzan and Doc Savage Top 10 a police procedural set in a police precinct in a city where everyone has superpowers or is a costumed adventurer and Promethea one of Moore s most personal pieces which detailed his view on magic Peter Hogan and Rick Veitch had their own spin off series Terra Obscura and Greyshirt Indigo Sunset respectively and Steve Moore no relation co wrote Tom Strong s Terrific Tales with Moore Regular contributing artists include Kevin O Neill Chris Sprouse Rick Veitch J H Williams III Gene Ha Zander Cannon Kevin Nowlan Hilary Barta Melinda Gebbie Jim Baikie Yanick Paquette and Art Adams All the lettering for the ABC line was done by Todd Klein with the exception of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen which was handled by Bill Oakley The logo of ABC is mainly based on an idea from Alex Ross and was also done by Todd Klein 3 In August 1998 Jim Lee sold WildStorm to DC Comics unaware that due to past conflicts over the Watchmen copyright in the 1980s Moore had vowed never to work for the publisher again According to the interview Moore gave George Khoury in the book The Extraordinary Works of Alan Moore when Lee first saw Alan Moore after the takeover the tall figure of Moore holding his snake headed walking stick impressed Lee so he was sure Moore who was then still ignorant of the sale was going to beat him senseless Moore was reluctant at first but ultimately decided to accept his new situation as he had promised work to a number of his artist friends from Rob Liefeld s defunct Awesome Comics line In the same interview he said that it was better to go back against a principle for the greater good than to have no principles in life at all He also expressed interest in eventually ending the line with a little apocalypse Deliberately and permanently ending an entire comic line was something he felt had never been done before in comics 4 Moore brought an end to the ABC Universe towards the conclusion of Promethea when she ushers in the apocalypse 5 6 Moore wrote the last issue of Tom Strong and two 64 page Tomorrow Stories specials offering a final farewell to most of ABC s characters Before those final stories the ABC line continued a little while longer under other writers Tom Strong for example had been written entirely by guest authors since November 2003 These authors have included Peter Hogan Geoff Johns Mark Schultz Steve Aylett Brian K Vaughan Ed Brubaker and Michael Moorcock A sequel to Top 10 called Beyond The Farthest Precinct has been penned by novelist Paul Di Filippo and artist Jerry Ordway and another title written by Peter Hogan and Steve Moore was going to explore the remaining secrets of all of the major ABC characters This mini series America s Best Comics A to Z started in September 2005 but was canceled after four issues in July 2006 WildStorm was shut down in 2010 its disestablishment spelled the end of ABC and reprints of ABC titles were subsequently being published under DC s Vertigo imprint 1 Titles editMain article List of Wildstorm titles ABC America s Best Comics A to Z see below The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Promethea Tomorrow Stories Greyshirt Indigo Sunset a Tomorrow Stories mini series spin off written and drawn by Rick Veitch Tom Strong Tom Strong s Terrific Tales a twelve issue anthology spin off Tom Strong and the Robots of Doom mini series spin off Terra Obscura a Tom Strong spin off based on old Nedor Comics characters written by Peter Hogan Top 10 Smax a Top 10 mini series spin off Top 10 The Forty Niners a Top 10 graphic novel spin off Top 10 Beyond the Farthest Precinct a Top 10 mini series America s Best Comics A to Z edit America s Best Comics A to Z was to be a six part miniseries written by Peter Hogan and Steve Moore It planned to reveal secrets and unknown facts about the characters that have appeared thus far in the ABC line The miniseries was canceled after issue 4 Work had begun on issue 5 but its unclear how complete it was before the plug was pulled There are no plans at present to publish a collection of the issues Each issue features artwork from character s original designer co creator and a cover by Terry Dodson It was expected to signal the end of the ABC line and was planned as a farewell to the characters Featured Tom Strong and Jack B Quick with art by Chris Sprouse and Kevin Nowlan Featured Greyshirt and The Cobweb with art by Rick Veitch and Melinda Gebbie Featured Terra Obscura and Splash Brannigan Featured Top 10 and Teams America s Best and America s Worst Would have focused on Smax in the style of a holiday program and First American Was never solicited but the remaining topics that had not been covered include Promethea and Jonni Future Other one off titles edit America s Best Comics Preview Mar 1999 a mini comic preview free with Wizard magazine 91 America s Best Comics 64 Page Giant Dec 2000 a collection of short stories involving all of the ABC characters America s Best Comic s Sketchbook Dec 2001 a collection of sketches of main characters by ABC artists The Many Worlds of Tesla Strong May 2003 a 64 page single issue Tom Strong spin off released with two covers by Art Adams and Bruce Timm Other collected editions edit America s Best Comics graphic novel collection of the 64 Page Giant Sketchbook and Many Worlds paperback ISBN 1 4012 0147 4 Promethea Covers Collection a collection of all 32 Promethea covers References edit a b c America s Best Comics britannica com America s Best Comics Comic Vine Retrieved 2018 06 28 Logo Design ABC Origins Kleinletters com 2008 03 18 Retrieved 2011 02 03 Khoury George 2003 The Extraordinary Works of Alan Moore TwoMorrows Pub pp 178 180 ISBN 978 1893905245 Shawn C Baker 2015 02 22 Thee Comic Column 120 Re reading Alan Moore s Promethea Joup Archived from the original on 2019 10 10 Stewart D G February 22 2018 Exhuming Promethea and The Authority Dark Knights The Wild Hunt 1 v Justice League 24 comparative review World Comic Book Review Archived from the original on 2018 02 27 External links editABC Fanpage Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title America 27s Best Comics amp oldid 1209062256, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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