Button Man
Encyclopedia
Button Man is a comic strip created for leading British comic 2000 AD
, written by John Wagner
and illustrated by Arthur Ranson
.
) ever published.
The series outings, all written by John Wagner
, are:
:
, which has co-opted the producers of Wagner's A History of Violence
. The film was initially rumoured to be planned for release in 2008
. The option has been renewed by Dreamworks most recently in July 2010 so the film may yet see the light of day.
2000 AD (comic)
2000 AD is a weekly British science fiction-oriented comic. As a comics anthology it serialises a number of separate stories each issue and was first published by IPC Magazines in 1977, the first issue dated 26 February. IPC then shifted the title to its Fleetway comics subsidiary which was sold...
, written by John Wagner
John Wagner
John Wagner is a comics writer who was born in Pennsylvania in 1949 and moved to Scotland as a boy. Alongside Pat Mills, Wagner was responsible for revitalising British boys' comics in the 1970s, and has continued to be a leading light in British comics ever since.He is best known for his work on...
and illustrated by Arthur Ranson
Arthur Ranson
Arthur James Ranson is an English illustrator, whose fine line penwork and attention to visual detail has led to the misapplied epithet 'photo-realistic'...
.
Plot
Harry Exton, ex-mercenary, is a "Button Man", a hired killer pitted against other killers in an underground sport. Each works for a mysterious "Voice", a rich man of unknown identity. The object of the game is to kill your opponent, or capture him and take his marker - the first two joints of a finger. Button Men who lose three fingers are shot anyway. The "voices" profit from the game by gambling on the outcome, and a ruthless killer like Harry Exton can make a modestly wealthy man extremely rich. Exton decides to quit, only to discover that leaving the Button Man game isn't so easy.Publication
Button Man ran for four series, and remains one of the best-selling collections of 2000 AD strips (other than Judge DreddJudge Dredd
Judge Joseph Dredd is a comics character whose strip in the British science fiction anthology 2000 AD is the magazine's longest running . Dredd is an American law enforcement officer in a violent city of the future where uniformed Judges combine the powers of police, judge, jury and executioner...
) ever published.
The series outings, all written by John Wagner
John Wagner
John Wagner is a comics writer who was born in Pennsylvania in 1949 and moved to Scotland as a boy. Alongside Pat Mills, Wagner was responsible for revitalising British boys' comics in the 1970s, and has continued to be a leading light in British comics ever since.He is best known for his work on...
, are:
- Button Man:
- "Book I: The Killing Game" (with Arthur RansonArthur RansonArthur James Ranson is an English illustrator, whose fine line penwork and attention to visual detail has led to the misapplied epithet 'photo-realistic'...
, in 2000 AD #780-791, 1992) - "Book II: The Confession of Harry Exton" (with Arthur RansonArthur RansonArthur James Ranson is an English illustrator, whose fine line penwork and attention to visual detail has led to the misapplied epithet 'photo-realistic'...
, in 2000 AD #904-919, 1994) - "Book III: Killer Killer" (with Arthur RansonArthur RansonArthur James Ranson is an English illustrator, whose fine line penwork and attention to visual detail has led to the misapplied epithet 'photo-realistic'...
, in 2000 AD prog 2001 & #1223-1233, 2001) - "Book IV: The Hitman's Daughter" (with Frazer IrvingFrazer IrvingFrazer Irving is a British comic book artist known for the 2000 AD series Necronauts. Irving studied art at the University of Portsmouth, England, after which he took various temporary jobs in London...
, in 2000 AD #1551-1566, 2007)
- "Book I: The Killing Game" (with Arthur Ranson
Collected editions
The stories are being collected into trade paperbacksTrade paperback (comics)
In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...
:
- The Killing Game (88 pages, Kitchen Sink PressKitchen Sink PressKitchen Sink Press was a comic book publishing company founded by Denis Kitchen in 1970. Kitchen owned and operated Kitchen Sink Press until 1999. Kitchen Sink Press was a pioneering publisher of underground comics, and was also responsible for numerous republications of classic comic strips in...
, May 1994, ISBN 0-87816-276-3, RebellionRebellion DevelopmentsRebellion is a British computer games company, based in Oxford, who are most famous for the first Aliens vs. Predator computer game. It has published comic books since 2000 and launched its own book imprint, Abaddon Books, in 2006.-History:...
, hardcover, August 2003, ISBN 1-904265-05-7, softcover, January 2007, ISBN 1-905437-19-6) - The Confession of Harry Exton (112 pages, Rebellion, August 2003, ISBN 1-905437-70-6)
- Killer Killer (96 pages, Rebellion, June 2009, ISBN 1-906735-09-3)
- The Hitman's Daughter (96 pages, Rebellion, forthcoming, ISBN 978-1-906735-42-5)
Awards
- 20002000 in comics-February:*Strange Adventures vol. 2, #4, final issue cover-dated February - January :* January 5: Goseki Kojima, co-creator of Lone Wolf and Cub, dies at age 71.* January 6: Mad magazine fixture Don Martin dies at age 68....
: Nominated for the Eagle Award for "Character Most Worthy of Own Ongoing Title"
Film
Movie rights are owned by DreamworksDreamWorks
DreamWorks Pictures, also known as DreamWorks, LLC, DreamWorks SKG, DreamWorks II Distribution Co., LLC, DreamWorks Studios or DW Studios, LLC, is an American film studio which develops, produces, and distributes films, video games and television programming...
, which has co-opted the producers of Wagner's A History of Violence
A History of Violence
A History of Violence is a graphic novel written by John Wagner and illustrated by Vince Locke, originally published in 1997 by Paradox Press and later by Vertigo, both imprints of DC Comics....
. The film was initially rumoured to be planned for release in 2008
2008 in film
This is a list of all major films made in 2008.-Highest-grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2008...
. The option has been renewed by Dreamworks most recently in July 2010 so the film may yet see the light of day.