America's Best Comics (ABC) is a

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

publishing Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

brand. It was set up by

Alan Moore Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including ''Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', ''The Ballad of Halo Jones'', ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman:'' ''The Killing Joke'', and ''From Hell' ...

in 1999 as an

imprint Imprint or imprinting may refer to: Entertainment * ''Imprint'' (TV series), Canadian television series * "Imprint" (''Masters of Horror''), episode of TV show ''Masters of Horror'' * ''Imprint'' (film), a 2007 independent drama/thriller film ...

WildStorm Wildstorm Productions, (stylized as WildStorm), is an American comic book imprint. Originally founded as an independent company established by Jim Lee under the name "Aegis Entertainment" and expanded in subsequent years by other creators, Wilds ...

, an idea proposed to Moore by WildStorm founder

Jim Lee Jim Lee (Korean 이용철; born August 11, 1964) is a Korean American comic-book artist, writer, editor, and publisher. He is currently the Publisher and Chief Creative Officer of DC Comics. In recognition of his work, Lee has received a Harvey ...

when it was still under

Image Comics Image Comics is an American comic book publisher and is the third largest comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry in both unit and market share. It was founded in 1992 by several high-profile illustrators as a venue for creator-ow ...

History

''America's Best Comics'' was a prominent Standard/Better/Nedor title during the 1940s

Golden Age of comic books The Golden Age of Comic Books describes an era of American comic books from 1938 to 1956. During this time, modern comic books were first published and rapidly increased in popularity. The superhero archetype was created and many well-known char ...

, starring such heroes as the

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. The character was popular, and on the strength of the Black Terror's sales, Nedor made ''Exciting C ...

and the

Fighting Yank The Fighting Yank is the name of several superheroes, first appearing in ''Startling Comics'' #10 (Sept 1941). Fall 1941 was a boom period for patriotic superheroes as the country prepared to enter World War II; during this period, comic book p ...

. Those characters were integrated into the Moore version under the ABC imprint, where Moore wrote series including ''

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen ''The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen'' (''LoEG'') is a comic book series (inspired by the 1960 British film ''The League of Gentlemen'') co-created by writer Alan Moore and artist Kevin O'Neill which began in 1999. The series spans four volum ...

'', a strip which merged several famous Victorian era fiction characters into one world; ''

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. Tom Strong, the title character, is a "science hero", wi ...

'', an homage to

pulp fiction ''Pulp Fiction'' is a 1994 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, who conceived it with Roger Avary.See, e.g., King (2002), pp. 185–7; ; Starring John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Tim Roth, Vin ...

heroes such as

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adv ...

and

Doc Savage Doc Savage is a fictional character of the competent man hero type, who first appeared in American pulp magazines during the 1930s and 1940s. Real name Clark Savage Jr., he is a doctor, scientist, adventurer, detective, and polymath who "rights w ...

; '' Top 10'', a

police procedural The police show, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the protagonist(s), as contrasted with other genres that focus on eith ...

set in a police precinct in a city where everyone has superpowers or is a costumed adventurer; and ''

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. It tells the story of Sophie Bangs, a college student from an alternate futuristic New York City in 1999 ...

'', one of Moore's most personal pieces which detailed his view on

magic Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...

Peter Hogan Peter Hogan is an English writer and comics writer, best known for ''Resident Alien'', which he co-created with artist Steve Parkhouse. Hogan began his comics career as editor of cult British comic ''Revolver'' in 1990–1991, before workin ...

and

Rick Veitch Richard Veitch (born May 7, 1951) is an American comics artist and writer who has worked in mainstream, underground, and alternative comics. Early life Rick Veitch is a native of the small town of Bellows Falls, Vermont. One of six children, he ...

had their own spin-off series, ''

Terra Obscura ''Terra Obscura'' is a 2003 comic book miniseries spin-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 Theriau ...

'' 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 Chris Sprouse (born July 30, 1966) is an Americans, American comics artist. Sprouse has worked for multiple publishers and has won two Eisner Awards for his work on ''Tom Strong'', a series he created with writer Alan Moore. Early life Chris Spro ...

, J. H. Williams III,

Gene Ha In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a ba ...

Zander Cannon Alexander Cannon (born November 1, 1972) is an American cartoonist, known for his work on books such as '' Top 10'', ''Smax'' and ''Kaijumax''. Career Cannon's first professional comics work was '' The Chainsaw Vigilante'', a spin-off from ''The ...

Kevin Nowlan Kevin Nowlan (born 1958) is an American comics artist who works as a 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 producti ...

Hilary Barta Hilary Barta (born June 17, 1957) 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 Marvel inkers Al Milgrom, Joe Sinnott and Sal Trapani provide in ...

Melinda Gebbie Melinda Gebbie (born 1937) is an American comics artist and writer, known for her participation in the underground comix movement. She is also known for creating the controversial work ''Fresca Zizis'' and her contributions to ''Wimmen's Comix ...

Jim Baikie James George Baikie (28 February 1940 – 29 December 2017) was a Scottish comics artist best known for his work with Alan Moore on '' Skizz''. He was also a musician. Biography Baikie served as a Corporal with the Royal Air Force in 1956–1963 ...

Yanick Paquette Yanick Paquette is a Canadian comic book artist. He has worked for Antarctic Press, Topps, Marvel, and DC Comics and since 1994. Career In 1996 Paquette drew two miniseries adapted from the TV series '' Space: Above and Beyond'', written by Ro ...

, and

Art Adams Arthur Adams (born April 5, 1963) is an American comics artist, comic book artist and writer. He first broke into the American comic book industry with the 1985 Marvel Comics miniseries ''Longshot (Marvel Comics), Longshot''. His subsequent inte ...

. All the lettering for the ABC line was done by

Todd Klein Todd Klein (born January 28, 1951) is an American comic book letterer, logo designer, and occasional writer, primarily for DC Comics. Biography Early career Todd Klein broke into comics in the summer of 1977, hired by DC Comics as a staff prod ...

, with the exception of ''

'' which was handled by Bill Oakley. The

logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wordma ...

of ABC is mainly based on an idea from

Alex Ross Nelson Alexander Ross (born January 22, 1970) is an American comic book writer and artist known primarily for his painted interiors, covers, and design work. He first became known with the 1994 miniseries ''Marvels'', on which he collaborated wi ...

and was also done by Todd Klein. In August 1998, Jim Lee sold WildStorm to

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

, unaware that due to past conflicts over the ''

Watchmen ''Watchmen'' is an American comic book Limited series (comics), maxiseries by the British creative team of writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons and colorist John Higgins (comics), John Higgins. It was published monthly by DC Comics in 1986 a ...

'' 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 Robert Liefeld (; born October 3, 1967) is an American comic book creator. A prominent writer and artist in the 1990s, he is known for co-creating the character Cable (comics), Cable with writer Louise Simonson and the character Deadpool with wri ...

's defunct

Awesome Comics Awesome Comics or Awesome Entertainment (also known as Awesome-Hyperwerks when briefly joined with Hyperwerks Entertainment) was an American comic book studio formed in 1997 by Rob Liefeld following his expulsion from Image Comics, a company he c ...

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 Apocalypse () is a literary genre in which a supernatural being reveals cosmic mysteries or the future to a human intermediary. The means of mediation include dreams, visions and heavenly journeys, and they typically feature symbolic imager ...

. Deliberately and permanently ending an entire comic line was something he felt had never been done before in comics. Moore brought an end to the ABC Universe towards the conclusion of ''

'' when she ushers in the apocalypse. 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;

Geoff Johns Geoffrey Johns (born January 25, 1973) is an American comic book writer, screenwriter, and film and television producer. Johns's work on the DC Comics characters Green Lantern, Aquaman, Flash and Superman, has drawn critical acclaim. He serve ...

, Mark Schultz, Steve Aylett,

Brian K. Vaughan Brian K. Vaughan (born July 17, 1976) is an American comic book and television writer, best known for the comic book series '' Y: The Last Man'', '' Ex Machina'', '' Runaways'', ''Pride of Baghdad'', ''Saga'', and '' Paper Girls''. Vaughan was a ...

Ed Brubaker Ed Brubaker (; born November 17, 1966) is an American comic book writer, cartoonist and screenwriter who works primarily in the crime fiction genre. He began his career with the semi-autobiographical series '' Lowlife'' and a number of serials i ...

and

Michael Moorcock Michael John Moorcock (born 18 December 1939) is an English writer, best-known for science fiction and fantasy, who has published a number of well-received literary novels as well as comic thrillers, graphic novels and non-fiction. He has work ...

. A sequel to ''Top 10'' called ''Beyond The Farthest Precinct'' has been penned by novelist

Paul Di Filippo Paul Di Filippo (born October 29, 1954) is an American science fiction writer. He is a regular reviewer for print magazines ''Asimov's Science Fiction'', ''The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction'', '' Science Fiction Eye'', ''The New York R ...

and artist

Jerry Ordway Jeremiah Ordway (born November 28, 1957) 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 ''Crisis on Infinite Earths' ...

and another title, written by

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 cancelled after four issues.

Titles

* ''America's Best Comics: A to Z'' (see below) * ''

'' * ''

'' * '' Tomorrow Stories'' ** '' Greyshirt: Indigo Sunset'' (a ''Tomorrow Stories'' mini-series spin-off, written and drawn by Rick Veitch) * ''

'' ** ''Tom Strong's Terrific Tales'' (a twelve-issue anthology spin-off) ** ''Tom Strong and the Robots of Doom'' (mini-series spin-off) ** ''

'' (a Tom Strong spin-off based on old

Nedor Comics Standard Comics was a comic book imprint (trade name), imprint of United States, American publisher Ned Pines, who also published pulp magazines (under a Thrilling Publications, variety of company names that he also used for the comics) and pape ...

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

''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

and

Jack B. Quick ''Tomorrow Stories'' was an American comic book series created by Alan Moore for his America's Best Comics (ABC) line, published by Wildstorm (now a subsidiary of DC Comics). Overview ''Tomorrow Stories'' started in August 1999 as a collection ...

, with art by

and

. # Featured Greyshirt and The Cobweb, with art by

and

. # Featured

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

and

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. The stories were written by ...

Other one-off titles have included

* ''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

and

Bruce Timm Bruce Walter Timm (born February 5, 1961) is an American artist, animator, writer, and producer. He has contributed to building the modern DC Comics animated franchise, most notably '' Batman: The Animated Series'' (1992–1995) and the subseque ...

)

Other collected editions

* ''America's Best Comics'' (graphic novel collection of the ''64 Page Giant'', ''Sketchbook'', and ''Many Worlds'', paperback: ) * ''Promethea Covers Collection'' (a collection of all 32 Promethea covers)

References

External links

ABC Fanpage
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