Button Man: Get Harry Ex
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- Create Date：2021-07-03 09:53:45
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：John Wagner
- ISBN：1781081387
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Summary
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！
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） Button Man is an action-packed thriller， deservedly regarded as one of the greatest strips ever to be published in 2000 AD。
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） Button Man is an action-packed thriller， deservedly regarded as one of the greatest strips ever to be published in 2000 AD。
Reviews
Zare
，
This book contains Button Man I， II and III。Harry Ex is a former soldier and mercenary who unexpectedly ends up as a player （so called Button Man） in the Killing Game， game where assassins are pitted against each other by their handlers （aka Voices）。 Lots of money is circulating on the bets and Button Men are trying very hard to survive and make the other guy（s） pay。Only thing is they do not count on Harry Ex。 They treat him as an ordinary killer while he is much much more （I like when he says t This book contains Button Man I， II and III。Harry Ex is a former soldier and mercenary who unexpectedly ends up as a player （so called Button Man） in the Killing Game， game where assassins are pitted against each other by their handlers （aka Voices）。 Lots of money is circulating on the bets and Button Men are trying very hard to survive and make the other guy（s） pay。Only thing is they do not count on Harry Ex。 They treat him as an ordinary killer while he is much much more （I like when he says to his Voice controller "Do you know what kind of a man I am？"， it reminds me of Dorsai short story in which one of the brothers Graeme tells to man who tried scheming against him something in line of "You think I am soldier， I am not。 I am man of war"）。Harry Ex does not like to have his actions controlled by others so he rebels and tries to leave the game which puts him into whole bunch of problems and he becomes target of choice for all other assassins。Art is photo-realistic， grainy-like which seems to the thing in the 90's and might take some time to get accustomed to it。 Nevertheless composition and the way story is presented to the reader is very movie-like。 Very interesting book， highly recommended to all action and thriller fans。 。。。more
Joe Kraus
，
At its core， noir is an ethical undertaking。 As a generic project， it asks what guides us in the moral decisions we make。 As a method， it strips away everything we’re accustomed to directing us: corruption means we can’t trust the police， the government， or our laws; theological uncertainty means we can’t trust inherited ethical teachings; and the flawed self means we can’t even draw on our own （or our protagonist’s） past decency。 All that’s left is the nagging echo of the hope that we have a fa At its core， noir is an ethical undertaking。 As a generic project， it asks what guides us in the moral decisions we make。 As a method， it strips away everything we’re accustomed to directing us: corruption means we can’t trust the police， the government， or our laws; theological uncertainty means we can’t trust inherited ethical teachings; and the flawed self means we can’t even draw on our own （or our protagonist’s） past decency。 All that’s left is the nagging echo of the hope that we have a faint hunger for doing the right thing。 The best noir – whether that’s Hammett， Chandler， Ellroy， Woodrell， or dozens of other – shows us staggering brutality without flinching， but also finds a way to lament a fallen world。 Ellroy’s characters behave in shockingly immoral ways， but his protagonists seem to sense there is a better possibility out there。 They continue to kill one another， but some of the dramatic climaxes of his work come when they regret what their choices have forced them to do。 They don’t undo it – they still shoot friends in the back， and they still betray innocents – but they acknowledge the possibility of decency in a world very different from the one they know。Meanwhile， this book is noir at its worst。On the one hand， there’s the condescending narrative structure。 I don’t know how it can be a [SPOILER] since it’s telegraphed so inelegantly， but the first of these contained stories – in which ex-soldier Harry Exton is hired by a wealthy man as a participant in an illegal league where “button men” kill one another or get killed in a private sport – is framed by Exton talking with a psychiatrist about his experiences。 It opens with Exton drawing a gun and asking the psychiatrist for help。 Then， 80 or so pages later， surprise！， the psychiatrist turns out to be the “voice” who has hired Exton and forced him to kill others。 It’s a lazy device clumsily presented。 The next two stories are only marginally better。 In one， Exton sets out to collect blackmail information against his new voice。 In the other， set up by the collective voices to have to fight off 13 other Button men， he finds a way to [SPOILER] fake his own death。 It’s hard not to see any of this coming， and it’s even harder to feel there’s anything satisfying in such endings。But those narrative shortcomings are almost pardonable。 After all， noir is linked to pulp， and pulp is all about shuffling through familiar plots in order to refine them into efficient stories。 （Think， for instance， of the dozens of comic book and film reiterations of the Batman or Spiderman origin stories; those have evolved from quick and clumsy first versions into powerful cultural myths。 They aren’t surprising any longer， but they’ve become deeply satisfying as vehicles for a range of cultural anxieties and hopes。）The real failing here is a moral one。 These stories purport to criticize the violence inherent in capitalism， with the wealthy able to hire “button men” to live or die on their behalf。 As awful as we are often supposed to feel about that premise， though， the bottom line is that Exton resents it only because he isn’t really one of the wealthy。 He complains about the fact that “they” will never let you quit， but， as the volume mercifully ends， he protects himself by killing the last man who knows he’s alive， murdering him in front of the man’s nephew and making a joke about it。 The writing is clumsy enough that it isn’t clear the murder is necessary; the vision is corrupt enough that it doesn’t acknowledge any of the moral distance we’ve traveled。In some ways， this is a cultural descendent of the Rambo films。 It’s easy to forget， but First Blood was a powerful reckoning with the experience of Vietnam。 Then the sequels lost all sight of that premise and produced an unreflective killing machine who fought and refought the war on the “gooks，” winning this time through superior American toughness and unexamined “decency。” These stories don’t even have the virtue of such original clarity of moral inquiry。 This is always something that tries to indict a spectacle that it then invites us to watch as we munch on popcorn。This looks like noir， but it’s as far from the best of the genre as I can imagine。 It echoes better works in seeming to ask how we should act in the moral vacuum of a world where money can buy life for sport。 Then it encourages us to enjoy the experience without asking us to evaluate our own complicity。 。。。more
Philip Higgins
，
It's 25 years since this character first appeared in the "2000AD" comic。 There， amid all the sci-fi & fantasy was this ripe slice of hard-boiled pulp noir。 The premise is neat & much copied: our 'hero'， （a former soldier & mercenary，natch） joins up to the "Killing Game"， a modern day gladiatorial contest controlled by wealthy backers。 Today's graphic novels can be nuanced， insightful & character driven: this isn't。 It's a page turner with exploding helicopters and death by alligator。 John Wagne It's 25 years since this character first appeared in the "2000AD" comic。 There， amid all the sci-fi & fantasy was this ripe slice of hard-boiled pulp noir。 The premise is neat & much copied: our 'hero'， （a former soldier & mercenary，natch） joins up to the "Killing Game"， a modern day gladiatorial contest controlled by wealthy backers。 Today's graphic novels can be nuanced， insightful & character driven: this isn't。 It's a page turner with exploding helicopters and death by alligator。 John Wagner's plotting is just about perfect and the artwork by Arthur Ranson is seriously cool。 You end up rooting for Harry Exton， despite him being a hard-as-nails bastard whose only redeeming feature is his adoption of a stray dog （and a reluctance to shoot deer！？） After reading this， if you spot anyone with fingers missing you'll reach for your six shooter。。。just in case。I hope the long-awaited film doesn't soften his edges with romance & backstory （bleugh！） Casting for Harry？ Ideally Sean Bean or Richard Harris， but they are a） bit too old now b） bit too dead， so that leaves Statham， or Tom Hardy。 Sorted。 。。。more
Ed Dinnermonkey
，
There's probably a thoroughly academic and well researched paper out there on why stories about generally unlikeable characters who go about killing scores of slightly less likeable characters are so enjoyable。 Perhaps it's that sorting out all the unpleasantness in the world through reasoned debate is just awfully exhausting， and offing scores of undesirables is far more immediately satisfying。 Who knows。 Here's 300 pages of stabbings， shootings and dismemberment to enthral and delight while yo There's probably a thoroughly academic and well researched paper out there on why stories about generally unlikeable characters who go about killing scores of slightly less likeable characters are so enjoyable。 Perhaps it's that sorting out all the unpleasantness in the world through reasoned debate is just awfully exhausting， and offing scores of undesirables is far more immediately satisfying。 Who knows。 Here's 300 pages of stabbings， shootings and dismemberment to enthral and delight while you try and figure out if you're a horrid person for lapping it up。 。。。more
Erik Wirfs-Brock
，
The plot of a generic airport novel or b-grade action movie （soldier of fortune fights others in a game of death at the behest of rich sleazy types） elevated by the photo realistic art and creative page layouts， as well as a particular viciousness in the writing。
Theo Kokonas
，
Read this in a day。 If you want a graphic novel that's going to hold you for ransom until you finish it - this is it！ Read this in a day。 If you want a graphic novel that's going to hold you for ransom until you finish it - this is it！ 。。。more
Chris
，
awesome art。 straight up action movie comic。
Nicola Mansfield
，
Enthralling！ This is probably the best story I've read from 2000 AD！ I had never heard the term "button man" before but oddly enough while I was reading this I also was reading a novel where one character said to another， you're not a button man you know。 So， I looked it up and it is a real term used in the mafia， gangs， etc。 meaning a low-ranking hired killer （ie。 a muscle man）。 So this is what Harry is。 He becomes entrapped in a high stakes "Killing Game"， not fully aware of the permanence of Enthralling！ This is probably the best story I've read from 2000 AD！ I had never heard the term "button man" before but oddly enough while I was reading this I also was reading a novel where one character said to another， you're not a button man you know。 So， I looked it up and it is a real term used in the mafia， gangs， etc。 meaning a low-ranking hired killer （ie。 a muscle man）。 So this is what Harry is。 He becomes entrapped in a high stakes "Killing Game"， not fully aware of the permanence of the position。 He becomes the best player around and then he wants out。 So the rest of the stories surround Harry trying to get out of the game。 Unusual coming from 2000 AD， this is realistic fiction （no sci-fi or fantasy here） with a top-notch thriller， espionage for bored business men "game" at its centre。 An intense story， violent， and one where you never know what will happen next。 Harry is a likeable guy， to a point。 I was rooting for him， he was in an inescapable position， but on the other hand he is just as （more！） much a ruthless， heartless killer in the game as anyone else。 This collection here brings together Books 1-3 of the strips from the comic magazine。 The ending is quite shocking but a good finite conclusion to the book。 However， there has been a continuation of the series and it has not been closed off as finished。 。。。more
Ethan
，
I'm really picky about comics。 I hardly like anything。 I'd recommend this one。 The artwork is absolutely amazing。 It's a terrific collection of action stories。 I'm really picky about comics。 I hardly like anything。 I'd recommend this one。 The artwork is absolutely amazing。 It's a terrific collection of action stories。 。。。more
Jason Ragle
，
Absolutely awesome。 My favorite comic read so far this year。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Button Man: Get Harry Ex
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Button Man: Get Harry Ex&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft