Praising Alan Moore is a bit like taking shoes to Northampton but even knowing I have come late to this party I wanted to let someone know how much I enjoyed DC's newly published compilation of 'Top 10'. There is no comic book shop in the country town where I live. The Waterstones book shop has just a few collected editions but generally only the unsurprising commercial titles. The comics I do see are at the local library. Every visit to the library involves at least a glance at their two four-foot shelves that are the 'Graphic Novels' section. Whatever the rationale for their selection of 'graphic novels' it consists mostly of mainstream super-hero comics for which my taste has somewhat diminished over the years. The super-hero comics I do own date from simpler times from before the protagonists had complicated emotional problems and sex lives. Top 10 characters have both, but finding Top 10 was a joy because the plots are driven by events, and these, like the characters, have so much variety, invention and sheer good fun. The artwork is remarkable too, matching Alan Moore's imagination. The scope of what was asked for and the creativity, skill and discipline required to make it visually convincing and consistent put paid to my brief thought that I would have enjoyed drawing this. The whole thing is wonderful. ( 'graphic novels' in inverted commas because I am with Alan Moore in thinking it is a misleading piece of nomenclature.)