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 ManVol 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 ManVol 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.
...............................................................................................................................................
Links: Ninth Art Review, PopImage Review.
Further reading: Mazeworld, Queen & Country, Red, Richard Stark's Parker, Human Target: Chance Meetings, Back to Brooklyn, The Punisher: The Punisher MAX.
All comments welcome.
No comments:
Post a Comment