America's Best Comics (DC)
Encyclopedia
America's Best Comics is a comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...

 publishing brand.

It was set up by Alan Moore
Alan Moore
Alan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...

 in 1999
1999 in comics
-February:* February 3: Pioneering editor Vin Sullivan dies at age 87.* February 26: John L. Goldwater, co-founder of Archie Comics, dies at age 82.-March:* Incredible Hulk is canceled by Marvel with issue #474.-May:...

 as an imprint
Imprint
In the publishing industry, an imprint can mean several different things:* As a piece of bibliographic information about a book, it refers to the name and address of the book's publisher and its date of publication as given at the foot or on the verso of its title page.* It can mean a trade name...

 of WildStorm, an idea proposed to Moore by Wildstorm founder Jim Lee
Jim Lee
Jim Lee is a Korean-American comic book artist, writer, editor and publisher. He first broke into the industry in 1987 as an artist for Marvel Comics, illustrating titles such as Alpha Flight and Punisher War Journal, before gaining a great deal of popularity on The Uncanny X-Men...

 when it was still under Image Comics
Image Comics
Image Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains...

.

History

America's Best Comics was a prominent Better/Nedor/Standard
Nedor Comics
Nedor Publishing was a comic book imprint of publisher Ned Pines, who also published pulp magazines under a variety of company names that he also used for the comics...

 title during the 1940s Golden Age of comic books
Golden Age of Comic Books
The Golden Age of Comic Books was a period in the history of American comic books, generally thought of as lasting from the late 1930s until the late 1940s or early 1950s...

, starring such heroes as the Black Terror
Black Terror
The Black Terror is a fictional comic book superhero who originally appeared in Exciting Comics #9, published by Nedor Comics in January 1941. Some Black Terror stories were written by Patricia Highsmith before she became an acclaimed novelist...

 and the Fighting Yank
Fighting Yank
-Publication history:The initial comic-book character called Fighting Yank first appeared in Nedor Comics' Startling Comics #10 , during the period fans and historians call the Golden Age of comic books. He was created by writer Richard E. Hughes and artist Jon L. Blummer...

. Those characters were integrated into the Moore version under the ABC imprint, where Moore has penned many well-regarded series; the most well-known being The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is a comic book series written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Kevin O'Neill, publication of which began in 1999. The series spans two six-issue limited series and a graphic novel from the America's Best Comics imprint of Wildstorm/DC, and a third miniseries...

, an intelligently written strip which merged several famous Victorian era fiction characters into one world. Other notable series include Tom Strong
Tom Strong
Tom Strong is a comic book created by writer Alan Moore and artist Chris Sprouse initially published bi-monthly by America's Best Comics, an imprint of DC Comics' Wildstorm division.-Background:Tom Strong, the title character, is a "science hero"...

, an homage to pulp fiction
Pulp magazine
Pulp magazines , also collectively known as pulp fiction, refers to inexpensive fiction magazines published from 1896 through the 1950s. The typical pulp magazine was seven inches wide by ten inches high, half an inch thick, and 128 pages long...

 heroes such as Tarzan
Tarzan
Tarzan is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungles by the Mangani "great apes"; he later experiences civilization only to largely reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer...

 and Doc Savage
Doc Savage
Doc Savage is a fictional character originally published in American pulp magazines during the 1930s and 1940s. He was created by publisher Henry W. Ralston and editor John L...

; Top 10, a drama set around a police precinct in a city where everyone has superpowers; and Promethea
Promethea
Promethea is a comic book series created by Alan Moore, J. H. Williams III and Mick Gray, published by America's Best Comics/WildStorm....

, one of Moore's most personal pieces which detailed Moore's view on magic
Magic (paranormal)
Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...

.

Peter Hogan and Rick Veitch
Rick Veitch
Richard "Rick" Veitch is an American comic book artist and writer who has worked in mainstream, underground, and alternative comics.-Early career:...

 had their own spin-off series, Terra Obscura
Terra Obscura
Terra Obscura is a 2003 comic book miniseries spun off from Alan Moore's Tom Strong series. The stories are written by Peter Hogan, and drawn by Yanick Paquette and Karl Story with additional flashback sequences drawn by Eric Theriault. Each story is co-plotted by Alan Moore and Peter Hogan...

and Greyshirt: Indigo Sunset respectively, and Steve Moore
Steve Moore (comics)
Steve Moore is a British comics writer.Moore is credited with showing acclaimed writer Alan Moore , then a struggling cartoonist, how to write comic scripts...

 (no relation) co-wrote Tom Strong's Terrific Tales with Moore.

Regular contributing artists include Kevin O'Neill
Kevin O'Neill (comics)
Kevin O'Neill is an English comic book illustrator best known as the co-creator of Nemesis the Warlock, Marshal Law , and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen .-Early career:...

, Chris Sprouse
Chris Sprouse
Chris Sprouse is an American comic book artist.-Biography:Chris Sprouse was born in Charlottesville, Virginia. At the age of 3 he moved with his family to New Delhi, India where he first discovered comics as he was unable to play outside due to the dangerous amount of snakes in the house yard...

, Rick Veitch
Rick Veitch
Richard "Rick" Veitch is an American comic book artist and writer who has worked in mainstream, underground, and alternative comics.-Early career:...

, J. H. Williams III
J. H. Williams III
James "Jim" H. Williams III, usually credited as J. H. Williams III, is a comic book artist and penciller. He is known for his work on titles such as Chase, Promethea, Desolation Jones and most recently Batwoman.-Career:...

, Gene Ha
Gene Ha
Gene Ha is an American comics artist and writer best known for his work on books such as Top 10 and Top 10: The Forty-Niners, with Alan Moore and Zander Cannon, for America's Best Comics, the Batman graphic novel Fortunate Son, with Gerard Jones, and The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix, among...

, Zander Cannon
Zander Cannon
Alexander "Zander" Cannon is an American comics writer and artist, known for his work on books such as Top 10 and Smax.-Early life:Cannon was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He graduated from Grinnell College in 1995 with a B.A...

, Kevin Nowlan
Kevin Nowlan
Kevin Nowlan is an American comic-book artist who works as penciler, inker, colorist and letterer.He has been called "one of the few artists who can be called 'artists's artist'", a master of the various disciplines of comic production, from "design to draftsmanship to dramatics".-Biography:Kevin...

, Hilary Barta
Hilary Barta
Hilary Barta is an American comic book writer and artist.-Biography:Barta was born on June 17, 1957. His first comics work came in June 1982, when he helped legendary Marvel inkers Al Milgrom, Joe Sinnott and Sal Trapani provide inks for the pencils of Don Perlin on The Defenders #108...

, Melinda Gebbie
Melinda Gebbie
Melinda Gebbie is an American comics artist and writer, probably best known for Lost Girls, the three-volume graphic novel she produced in collaboration with writer Alan Moore, published by Top Shelf.-Biography:...

, Jim Baikie
Jim Baikie
Jim Baikie is a British comics artist, who is best known for his work with Alan Moore on Skizz.-Biography:Baikie began his career illustrating Valentine for Fleetway. Over the next twenty years, he built a solid reputation working for TV comics such as Look-in, including adaptations of The Monkees...

, Yanick Paquette
Yanick Paquette
Yanick Paquette is a Canadian penciller in North American comics. He has worked for Antarctic Press, Topps, Marvel and DC Comics and since 1994.-Career:...

, and Art Adams
Art Adams
Arthur "Art" Adams is an American comic book artist and writer. He first broke into the American comic book industry with the 1985 Marvel Comics miniseries Longshot...

.

All the lettering for the ABC line is done by Todd Klein
Todd Klein
Todd Klein is an American comic book letterer, logo designer, and occasional writer, primarily for DC Comics.- Early career:Todd Klein broke into comics in the summer of 1977, hired by DC Comics as a staff production worker...

, with the exception of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is a comic book series written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Kevin O'Neill, publication of which began in 1999. The series spans two six-issue limited series and a graphic novel from the America's Best Comics imprint of Wildstorm/DC, and a third miniseries...

which was handled by Bill Oakley
Bill Oakley (artist)
William Douglas Oakley was a letterer for numerous comic books from Marvel, DC, and other companies. His most prominent works include the first two volumes of Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and Batman: Gotham Knights #1-11, #15-37.-Biography:Oakley attended...

. The logo
Logo
A logo is a graphic mark or emblem commonly used by commercial enterprises, organizations and even individuals to aid and promote instant public recognition...

 of ABC is mainly based on an idea from Alex Ross
Alex Ross
Nelson Alexander "Alex" Ross is an American comic book painter, illustrator, and plotter. He is praised for his realistic, human depictions of classic comic book characters. Since the 1990s he has done work for Marvel Comics and DC Comics Nelson Alexander "Alex" Ross (born January 22, 1970) is an...

 and was also done by Todd Klein.

Wildstorm was later sold to DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...

 without Moore's knowledge, although the Internet was buzzing with the news of what Moore would do to Lee upon discovering the truth. This was because Moore had sworn years earlier that he would never work for DC 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
Rob Liefeld
Rob Liefeld is an American comic book writer, illustrator, and publisher. A prominent artist in the 1990s, he has since become a controversial figure in the medium....

's defunct Awesome Comics
Awesome Comics
Awesome Comics or Awesome Entertainment was an American comic book studio formed in 1997 by Image Comics co-founder Rob Liefeld...

 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.

Moore announced that the imprint's 'universe' would end with the 32nd issue of Promethea
Promethea
Promethea is a comic book series created by Alan Moore, J. H. Williams III and Mick Gray, published by America's Best Comics/WildStorm....

, where the ABC Universe would be met with the Apocalypse
Apocalypse
An Apocalypse is a disclosure of something hidden from the majority of mankind in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception, i.e. the veil to be lifted. The Apocalypse of John is the Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament...

. Moore wrote the last issue of Tom Strong and two 64-page Tomorrow Stories
Tomorrow Stories
Tomorrow Stories was an American comic book series created by Alan Moore for his America's Best Comics line, published by Wildstorm .-Overview:...

 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
2003 in comics
-January:* January 2: Kid Colt artist Jack Keller dies at age 80.- April :* Action Comics #800: Double-sized anniversary issue, "A Hero's Journey," by Joe Kelly, Pascual Ferry, and Duncan Rouleau...

. These authors have included; Peter Hogan, Geoff Johns
Geoff Johns
Geoff Johns is an American comic book writer, best known for his work for DC Comics, where he has been Chief Creative Officer since February 2010, in particular for characters such as Green Lantern, The Flash and Superman...

, Mark Schultz
Mark Schultz (comics)
Mark Schultz is an American writer and illustrator of books and comics. His most widely-recognized work is his self-created and owned comic book series, Xenozoic Tales, about a post-apocalyptic world where dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures coexist with humans...

, Steve Aylett
Steve Aylett
Steve Aylett is a satirical science fiction and slipstream author of several bizarro books. He is renowned for his colorful satire attacking the manipulations of authority, and for having reams of amusing epigrams and non-sequiturs only tangentially related to what little linear plot the books...

, Brian K. Vaughan
Brian K. Vaughan
Brian Keller Vaughan is an American comic book and television writer. He is best known for the comic book series Y: The Last Man, Ex Machina, Runaways, and Pride of Baghdad, and was one of the principal writers of the television series Lost, during seasons three through five...

, Ed Brubaker
Ed Brubaker
Ed Brubaker is an Eisner Award-winning comic book writer and cartoonist. Brubaker first early comics work was primarily in the crime fiction genre with works such as Lowlife, The Fall, Sandman Presents: Dead Boy Detectives and Scene of the Crime...

 and Michael Moorcock
Michael Moorcock
Michael John Moorcock is an English writer, primarily of science fiction and fantasy, who has also published a number of literary novels....

. A sequel to Top 10 called Beyond The Farthest Precinct has been penned by novelist Paul Di Filippo
Paul Di Filippo
Paul Di Filippo is an American science fiction writer. He has been published in Postscripts...

 and artist Jerry Ordway
Jerry Ordway
Jeremiah "Jerry" Ordway is an American writer, penciller, inker and painter of comic books.He is known for his inking work on a wide variety of DC Comics titles, including the continuity-redefining classic Crisis on Infinite Earths , his long run working on the Superman titles from 1986–1993, and...

 and another title, written by Peter Hogan and Steve Moore
Steve Moore
Steven Dean Moore is a former Canadian professional ice hockey center, best known for receiving what turned out to be a career-ending injury as a result of an illegal hit by then Vancouver Canucks forward Todd Bertuzzi....

, 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 cancelled after four issues.

Titles

  • America's Best Comics: A to Z (see below)
  • The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
    The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
    The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is a comic book series written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Kevin O'Neill, publication of which began in 1999. The series spans two six-issue limited series and a graphic novel from the America's Best Comics imprint of Wildstorm/DC, and a third miniseries...

  • Promethea
    Promethea
    Promethea is a comic book series created by Alan Moore, J. H. Williams III and Mick Gray, published by America's Best Comics/WildStorm....

  • Tomorrow Stories
    Tomorrow Stories
    Tomorrow Stories was an American comic book series created by Alan Moore for his America's Best Comics line, published by Wildstorm .-Overview:...

    • Greyshirt: Indigo Sunset (a Tomorrow Stories mini-series spin-off, written and drawn by Rick Veitch)
  • Tom Strong
    Tom Strong
    Tom Strong is a comic book created by writer Alan Moore and artist Chris Sprouse initially published bi-monthly by America's Best Comics, an imprint of DC Comics' Wildstorm division.-Background:Tom Strong, the title character, is a "science hero"...

    • Tom Strong's Terrific Tales (a short-lived anthology spin-off)
    • Tom Strong and the Robots of Doom (mini-series spin-off)
    • Terra Obscura
      Terra Obscura
      Terra Obscura is a 2003 comic book miniseries spun off from Alan Moore's Tom Strong series. The stories are written by Peter Hogan, and drawn by Yanick Paquette and Karl Story with additional flashback sequences drawn by Eric Theriault. Each story is co-plotted by Alan Moore and Peter Hogan...

      (a Tom Strong spin-off based on old Nedor Comics
      Nedor Comics
      Nedor Publishing was a comic book imprint of publisher Ned Pines, who also published pulp magazines under a variety of company names that he also used for the comics...

       characters, written by Peter Hogan)
  • Top 10
    • Smax
      Smax
      Smax is a fictional character from the comic book series Top 10 written by Alan Moore, illustrated by Gene Ha, and published by the America's Best Comics imprint of DC Comics / Wildstorm. A Top-10 spin-off mini-series also called Smax focused on the character and provided him with more of a backstory...

      (a Top 10 mini-series spin-off)
    • Top 10: The Forty-Niners
      Top 10: The Forty-Niners
      Top 10: The Forty-Niners, a graphic novel published by America's Best Comics in 2005, is a prequel to the ABC series Top 10, a police procedural set in the city of Neopolis, where superpowers, robots, monsters, and other comic fodder are the norm for all citizens...

      (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

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
    Tom Strong
    Tom Strong is a comic book created by writer Alan Moore and artist Chris Sprouse initially published bi-monthly by America's Best Comics, an imprint of DC Comics' Wildstorm division.-Background:Tom Strong, the title character, is a "science hero"...

     and Jack B. Quick
    Jack B. Quick
    Jack B. Quick is a fictional character, a superhero from Alan Moore's America's Best Comics imprint. He appeared primarily in humorous stories in the anthology series Tomorrow Stories.-Character history:...

    , with art by Chris Sprouse
    Chris Sprouse
    Chris Sprouse is an American comic book artist.-Biography:Chris Sprouse was born in Charlottesville, Virginia. At the age of 3 he moved with his family to New Delhi, India where he first discovered comics as he was unable to play outside due to the dangerous amount of snakes in the house yard...

     and Kevin Nowlan
    Kevin Nowlan
    Kevin Nowlan is an American comic-book artist who works as penciler, inker, colorist and letterer.He has been called "one of the few artists who can be called 'artists's artist'", a master of the various disciplines of comic production, from "design to draftsmanship to dramatics".-Biography:Kevin...

    .
  2. Featured Greyshirt
    Greyshirt
    Greyshirt is a comic book character in Alan Moore's Tomorrow Stories, published by Wildstorm , under the America's Best Comics imprint. The character was co-created by Moore and Rick Veitch. The character is a pastiche of Will Eisner's The Spirit...

     and The Cobweb
    Cobweb (comics)
    The Cobweb is a comic book heroine co-created by famed writer Alan Moore and veteran underground artist Melinda Gebbie. Cobweb's only apparent powers were allure and the ability to make an entrance...

    , with art by Rick Veitch
    Rick Veitch
    Richard "Rick" Veitch is an American comic book artist and writer who has worked in mainstream, underground, and alternative comics.-Early career:...

     and Melinda Gebbie
    Melinda Gebbie
    Melinda Gebbie is an American comics artist and writer, probably best known for Lost Girls, the three-volume graphic novel she produced in collaboration with writer Alan Moore, published by Top Shelf.-Biography:...

    .
  3. Featured Terra Obscura
    Terra Obscura
    Terra Obscura is a 2003 comic book miniseries spun off from Alan Moore's Tom Strong series. The stories are written by Peter Hogan, and drawn by Yanick Paquette and Karl Story with additional flashback sequences drawn by Eric Theriault. Each story is co-plotted by Alan Moore and Peter Hogan...

     and Splash Brannigan
    Splash Brannigan
    Splash Brannigan is a fictional humorous superhero. He was created by Alan Moore and Hilary Barta. His first appearance was Issue #6 of the anthology series Tomorrow Stories from America's Best Comics, a title he would continue to appear in on a semi-regular basis.He also appeared in the...

    .
  4. Featured Top 10 and Teams (America's Best and America's Worst).
  5. Would have focused on Smax
    Smax
    Smax is a fictional character from the comic book series Top 10 written by Alan Moore, illustrated by Gene Ha, and published by the America's Best Comics imprint of DC Comics / Wildstorm. A Top-10 spin-off mini-series also called Smax focused on the character and provided him with more of a backstory...

     (in the style of a holiday program) and First American
    First American (comics)
    First American is a fictional character, a satirical superhero created by Alan Moore with Jim Baikie for his Wildstorm imprint America's Best Comics, appearing in the anthology series Tomorrow Stories...

    .
  6. Was never solicited, but the remaining topics that had not been covered include Promethea
    Promethea
    Promethea is a comic book series created by Alan Moore, J. H. Williams III and Mick Gray, published by America's Best Comics/WildStorm....

     and Jonni Future
    Jonni Future
    Jonni Future is a fictional comic book heroine, who appeared in the pages of Tom Strong's Terrific Tales, a series published under writer Alan Moore's America's Best Comics line of comic books for Wildstorm Comics...

    .

Other one-off titles have included

  • America's Best Comics Preview (Mar 1999) (a mini-comic preview, free with Wizard
    Wizard (magazine)
    Wizard or Wizard: The Magazine of Comics, Entertainment and Pop Culture was a magazine about comic books, published monthly in the United States by Wizard Entertainment from July 1991 to January 2011...

     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
    Art Adams
    Arthur "Art" Adams is an American comic book artist and writer. He first broke into the American comic book industry with the 1985 Marvel Comics miniseries Longshot...

     and Bruce Timm
    Bruce Timm
    Bruce Walter Timm is an American character designer, animator and producer. He is also a writer and artist working in comics, and is known for his contributions building the modern DC Comics animated franchise, the DC animated universe.-Animation:Timm's early career in animation was varied; he...

    )

Other collected editions

  • 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)

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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