Review by Ian Keogh

Central to the idea of Top 10 as written by Alan Moore was it being a police precinct in a city of super-powered beings and Neopolis as a nexus with connections to multiple realities. That being the case, it’s possibly best to consider Beyond the Furthest Precinct a look at the Top 10 cast from alternate universe where the characters, sometimes down to bit roles, play out a different series of events. This is despite SF writer Paul Di Filippo tying up some of the loose ends from the original series.

Di Filippo picks up on the character traits Moore introduced, but pares them back to a minimum to generate story moments, with only occasional hints of the depth they previously possessed. He sets events five years after the original series, but so little has changed, and instead of new characters already interacting with the cast a whole bunch are introduced as newcomers as the story begins. They’re bland and unimaginative, with just one having a definitive impact on how things progress. While the police going about their day to day business is handled competently, neither of the two over-riding plots play out well. A threat to the precinct just fades away, so much so that an artistic highlight is needed on the penultimate page to show what happened, and once revealed there’s little credibility about the source of the major problem. It additionally has too great a narrative convenience when it comes to Robyn being part of the solution. Overall De Filippo supplies a homage lacking soul.

On the other hand, artist Jerry Ordway is a very safe pair of hands. He applies the same depth to the art as the original creators, and takes their occasional homages infinitely further. His art is an absolute joy for comic fans with a wide breadth of knowledge. The Beagle Boys are stopped by dinosaur cops, Herbie is among the children up for adoption and Lloyd Llewelyn strides through Neopolis. There are dozens of similar cameos. They’d be distractions if the drawing wasn’t up to scratch, but Ordway provides a timeless polish.

Beyond the Furthest Precinct is okay in isolation, but surely won’t satisfy readers of the original series. You can make the comparison for yourself as they’re both part of the Top Ten Compendium, gathering all material featuring the cast, and the Absolute edition, which misses some material.