Button Man, the creation of writer John Wagner and artist Arthur Ranson, is an action-packed thriller, deservedly regarded as one of the greatest strips ever to be published in 2000AD.
Now, Rebellion is bringing us a Button Man Apex Edition later this year, available in a hardback and webshop slipcase exclusive editions.
This Apex Edition reprints nearly 200 pages from the first three Button Man stories, newly scanned from the original art, printed at the size the pages were drawn, and without the inclusion of the dialogue balloons, to give you a real insight into Arthur Ranson’s meticulous, photo realistic work.
“Button Man” first appeared in 2000AD, written by John Wagner and illustrated by Arthur Ranson. It centred on Harry Exton, an ex-soldier, is a “Button Man”, a hired killer pitted against others in an underground sport.
It ran for four series, all written by John Wagner, the first three previously collected by Rebellion in Button Man – Get Harry Ex in 2018: Button Man: Book I: The Killing Game” (2000AD Progs 780-791, 1992); “Book II: The Confession of Harry Exton” (Progs 904-919, 1994); “Book III: Killer Killer” (Prog 2001 & Progs 1223-1233, 2001); and “Book IV: The Hitman’s Daughter” (the latter drawn by Frazer Irving, in 2000AD Progs 1551-1566, 2007).
There have been several attempts to bring the strip to the big screen or TV. In 2019, Netflix announced they had hired Brian Helgeland to write and direct an adaptation of Button Man as a feature-length film, but Arthur Ranson confirmed the project had again been shelved in 2021.
Fifth Season, the company behind The Night Manager, announced a television adaptation in development in May 2024. Deadline reported were in the making, but company boss David Leitch is set to direct, and he and his 87North producing partner Kelly McCormick will be executive producers alongside Alex Jackson, Roger Kass, Dan Seligmann, Wagner and Ranson.
• Preorder the Button Man Apex Edition webshop exclusive slipcase edition here from the 2000AD webshop – scheduled for Wednesday 11th December 2024 release
• Buy Button Man – Get Harry Ex from AmazonUK (Affiliate Link) | 304 Pages | ISBN: 978-1781081389
The world didn’t seem to need a man like Harry Exton anymore. An ex-soldier and mercenary, Harry was a human-killing machine without a vocation, until an old colleague told him about ‘The Game’. The players, known as ‘Button Men’, are paid to fight to the death in a modern-day gladiatorial contest.
Organised by mysterious backers known as ‘Voices’, the killing game offers bountiful financial rewards… if you live. Harry decides to participate, but soon discovers that death offers the only way out!
Written by John Wagner (Judge Dredd, A History of Violence) with art by Arthur Ranson (Anderson: Psi Division, Mazeworld).
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John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: 2000AD, British Comics, British Comics - Collections, Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News
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