Top Cow Productions (TCP) is an American comics publisher, a partner studio of Image Comics founded by Marc Silvestri in 1992.
During early years of Image Comics, which was founded in 1992, co-founder, Marc Silvestri shared a studio with Jim Lee, where he created his first creator-owned comic book, Cyberforce, as part of Image's initial line-up. After setting up his own studio, Top Cow Productions, he expanded into other comics, launching Codename: Strykeforce, a new Cyberforce series and various spin-offs.
The company attracted several professionals including artist Brandon Peterson, writer Garth Ennis and former Marvel staffer David Wohl. It also helped launch the careers of various writers and artists, such as Christina Z., Joe Benitez, Michael Turner and David Finch. Benitez, Turner and Finch have since worked for DC and Marvel Comics.
In 1996, Top Cow briefly departed from Image during a power struggle with Image associate Rob Liefeld until Liefeld left the company shortly after. At the same time, Top Cow was moving more into the fantasy genre. New properties were Witchblade (where Turner had his first big success) and The Darkness (where Marc Silvestri returned to artist duties). Thanks to the success of Witchblade Top Cow was able to expand, adding to its line with titles that included The Darkness, Magdalena, Aphrodite IX, and others. Silvestri was heavily involved in training and developing new talent through the studio and Top Cow was known for a time for its "house style".
A top is a toy designed to be spun rapidly on the ground, the motion of which causes it to remain precisely balanced on its tip because of inertia. Such toys have existed since antiquity. Traditionally tops were constructed of wood, sometimes with an iron tip, and would be set in motion by aid of a string or rope coiled around its axis which, when pulled quickly, caused a rapid unwinding that would set the top in motion. Today they are often built of plastic, and modern materials and manufacturing processes allow tops to be constructed with such precise balance that they can be set in motion by a simple twist of the fingers and twirl of the wrist without need for string or rope.
The motion of a top is produced in the most simple forms by twirling the stem using the fingers. More sophisticated tops are spun by holding the axis firmly while pulling a string or twisting a stick or pushing an auger. In the kinds with an auger, an internal weight rotates, producing an overall circular motion. Some tops can be thrown, while firmly grasping a string that had been tightly wound around the stem, and the centrifugal force generated by the unwinding motion of the string will set them spinning upon touching ground.
In the context of a module M over a ring R, the top of M is the largest semisimple quotient module of M if it exists.
For finite-dimensional k-algebras (k a field), if rad(M) denotes the intersection of all proper maximal submodules of M (the radical of the module), then the top of M is M/rad(M). In the case of local rings with maximal ideal P, the top of M is M/PM. In general if R is a semilocal ring (=semi-artinian ring), that is, if R/Rad(R) is an Artinian ring, where Rad(R) is the Jacobson radical of R, then M/rad(M) is a semisimple module and is the top of M. This includes the cases of local rings and finite dimensional algebras over fields.
A top is clothing that covers at least the chest, but which usually covers most of the upper human body between the neck and the waistline. The bottom of tops can be as short as mid-torso, or as long as mid-thigh. Men's tops are generally paired with pants, and women's with pants or skirts. Common types of tops are t-shirts, blouses and shirts.
The neckline is the highest line of the top, and may be as high as a head-covering hood, or as low as the waistline or bottom hem of the top. A top may be worn loose or tight around the bust or waist, and may have sleeves or shoulder straps, spaghetti straps (noodle straps), or may be strapless. The back may be covered or bare. Tops may have straps around the waist or neck, or over the shoulders.
Trousers (pants in North America) are an item of clothing worn from the waist to the ankles, covering both legs separately (rather than with cloth extending across both legs as in robes, skirts, and dresses).
In the UK the word "pants" generally means underwear and not trousers.Shorts are similar to trousers, but with legs that come down only to around the area of the knee, higher or lower depending on the style of the garment. To distinguish them from shorts, trousers may be called "long trousers" in certain contexts such as school uniform, where tailored shorts may be called "short trousers", especially in the UK.
In most of the Western world, trousers have been worn since ancient times and throughout the Medieval period, becoming the most common form of lower-body clothing for adult males in the modern world, although shorts are also widely worn, and kilts and other garments may be worn in various regions and cultures. Breeches were worn instead of trousers in early modern Europe by some men in higher classes of society. Since the mid-20th century, trousers have increasingly been worn by women as well. Jeans, made of denim, are a form of trousers for casual wear, now widely worn all over the world by both sexes. Shorts are often preferred in hot weather or for some sports and also often by children and teenagers. Trousers are worn on the hips or waist and may be held up by their own fastenings, a belt or suspenders (braces). Leggings are form-fitting trousers, of a clingy material, often knitted cotton and spandex (elastane).
Wide Prairie is a posthumous compilation by Linda McCartney. The album was compiled and released in 1998 by Paul McCartney after his wife's death, after a fan wrote in enquiring about "Seaside Woman"; a reggae beat type song which Wings had recorded in 1972, under the name Suzy and the Red Stripes, featuring Linda on lead vocals. Her husband compiled all her recordings with the help of Parlophone Records and MPL Communications. Lead guitar on the song "The Light Comes from Within" is played by the McCartneys' son, musician/sculptor James McCartney. The album reached number 127 in the UK charts, while the title track made the top 75, at number 74. "The Light Comes from Within" also charted, at number 56 in the UK charts.
All songs by Linda McCartney, except where noted.
Nobody move, Nobody gets hurt for all it's worth
State of Emergency, red alert
I'm takin you for your currency,
service these stocks and bonds through off-shore
accounts
from Cuba to Taiwan (But It's already poppin)
Bout to flip the script on these poli-tricks (profit
for the hood)
So i can chisel the government (who's runnin this?)
SonDread from playa's callin shots (callin all blocks)
Come clap your hands off the timing (run these streets)
Money fallin down like rain (let's run these streets)
The hoods cashin in to a back pay (let's run these
streets)
It's time to come up with our fists, soul stealer from
the rock
and makin everybody rich
The Payback, it's The Payback
Come follow me and we can all get paid
The Payback, it's The Payback
We makin money fallin down like rain
The Payback, it's The Payback
Come follow me and we can all get paid
The Payback, it's The Payback
Top of the world and all The Payback
Nobody move, Nobody gets hurt for all it's worth
Payin back the streets all they deserve (poverty was
meant to keep the people oppressed)
That's why operation Mr. BG is now the progress (like a
fool said)
Take a dip to his mansion, and gate-nap this cat
and make the call for his ransom (what you askin?)
The plan is you will deliver every family in America
about six figures
(Your still richer) With more money than you can spend
(Your still richer) With more money than you can lend
(Your still richer) And just pretend all ya need
Give it all to the community, but hey that's just me
The Payback, it's The Payback
Come follow me and we can all get paid
The Payback, it's The Payback
We makin money fallin down like rain
The Payback, it's The Payback
Come follow me and we can all get paid
The Payback, it's The Payback
Top of the world and all The Payback
Nobody move, Nobody move
Nobody move, Nobody gets hurt
Nobody move, Nobody gets hurt
Nobody move, Nobody gets hurt
Nobody move, Nobody gets hurt
Nobody move, Nobody gets hurt!
Nobody move, Nobody gets hurt!
Nobody move, Nobody gets hurt!
Nobody move!
The Payback, it's The Payback
Come follow me and we can all get paid
The Payback, it's The Payback
We makin money fallin down like rain
The Payback, it's The Payback
Who'll know the face but you'll remember the name
The Payback, it's The Payback