Button Man

For the past several years I've become more and more interested in crime fiction. My father always read these kinds of novels and stories while I was always reading superheroes but slowly, I found myself moving towards this genre as well.

So when I got my monthly review pack from 2000AD (the same folks that brought you Judge Dredd) I was thrilled to find a copy of Button Man: The Confession of Harry Exton, among the stack.

Written by John Wagner (creator of Judge Dredd and A History of Violence), it tells the story of Harry Exton who becomes a Button Man for the"Voices", powerful men who use hit men as sport, betting on the outcome and keeping score. When Harry almost dies, he's taken to America by a US Senator and placed into service for one year, after which time, he can walk away a rich man. Problem his, Harry likes his job too much and is playing for keeps.

A cool story and yet another concept or idea that could easily be translated into a quality movie or even a series on HBO or Showtime that would draw numbers if the right writers were involved.

Art is by Arthur Ranson. The back says he's drawn issues of some of the X books for Marvel Comics but this is my first exposure to him. He seems to use a mix of traditional pencils and ink work along with photos to create a very realistic feel to the book. The characters take on some wonky poses here and there but over all it's some solid work.

With books like Ed Brubaker's Criminal and Warren Ellis' Fell on the shelves, a book like Button Man should do well if you're a fan of either. Let's hope we keep seeing more of this around.

Till next time...