Monday 24 January 2011

Books: Button Man

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Button Man
Vol 1: The Killing Game
Written by John Wagner
Art by Arthur Ranson

2003



Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/

Button Man
Vol 2: The Confession of Harry Exton
Written by John Wagner
Art by Arthur Ranson

2008



Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/

Button Man
Vol 3: Killer Killer
Written by John Wagner
Art by Arthur Ranson

2009



Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/

Button Man
Vol 4: The Hitman's Daughter
Written by John Wagner
Art by Frazer Irving

2010



Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/

"Have you ever head of... The Game? A game of murder... going on right now - right at this moment - under your nose. There are the players - Button Men... And the voices - the fixers. They control the game."

Coming on like a classic 60s British thriller Button Man is the story of Harry Exton - ex-solider - who gets dragged into a dark and dangerous world of a secret society where killers go up against each other in high stakes games to the death. Unpleasant, brutal and violent this is a comic book series steeped with regional dialects and plenty of "Wotcher, 'arry." and "gauny blow her heid aff, that's how we're gauny handle it" that gives it a nice (if that's the right word) feeling of authenticity and gritty realness. With highly detailed and beautifully pencilled (is it pencils?) artwork from Arthur Ranson (that is oh-so-very English in a way I can't quite articulate) that evokes a classy blend of James Bond, Micheal Caine and the Avengers: this is the E Type Jaguar of crime/thriller comic books. And even though Vol 4 replaces Arthur Ranson with Frazer Irving (whose slightly more cartoony style had me worried) - Wagner's tight scripting that minces no words and cuts to the point with every image keeps the whole thing intact.

Lovely jubbly.

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Links: Ninth Art Review, PopImage Review.

Further reading: MazeworldQueen & Country, Red, Richard Stark's Parker, Human Target: Chance Meetings, Back to Brooklyn, The Punisher: The Punisher MAX.

All comments welcome.

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