Comics

Announcing The Button Man by Arthur Ranson Apex Edition

21st August 2024

As officially announced by Near Mint Condition today, we are delighted to announce that the next instalment of our incredible Apex line will highlight one of the most acclaimed comics in 2000 AD history: The Button Man by Arthur Ranson Apex Edition!

Button Man is an action-packed thriller, deservedly regarded as one of the greatest strips ever to be published in 2000 AD and a high point in the career of Arthur Ranson, whose photo-realistic artwork astonished readers. Written by John Wagner, the series follows military vet Harry Ex, who returns to England with no idea what to do with his new domestic life. When he gets contacted by an old comrade, however, he finds himself drawn into a vast and strange new world. He is hired to be a “Button Man”: paid by unseen powerful men to engage in underground shootouts to the death with other professional killers.

After surviving his first fight and making his name in the scene, Harry finds himself dragged deeper and deeper into the world – but each shootout could be his last. How long can Harry keep this up, especially when his thirst for violence finds himself at odds with the shadowy figures who hired him in the first place?

Written by Judge Dredd co-creator John Wagner and fully-drawn by Arthur Ranson in this run, Button Man is also currently in being adapted into a TV series by The Fall Guy director David Leitch.

Arthur Ranson has long been one of 2000 AD’s most popular artists; having made his initial impact working on Judge Anderson, he teamed up with John Wagner to create the highly acclaimed Button Man series, and later worked with Alan Grant for Mazeworld. He has also co-created the character of pyrokinetic Mega-City One citizen Juliet November, and illustrated both Judge Dredd and several Future Shocks.

This Apex Edition reprints nearly 200 pages from the first three 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 work. Each page of this book has been scanned directly from Ranson’s art and presents each page as if you were looking at it in person!

The Button Man by Arthur Ranson Apex Edition will be released in 2024 both as a Standard Edition available from comic book stores via Diamond Distribution and the 2000 AD webshop; and as a webshop-exclusive edition with special slipcase. This limited edition slipcase version also features a tip-in sheet featuring the cover art for 2000 AD Prog 789, individually signed by Arthur Ranson! You can find out more details in Near Mint Condition’s exclusive announcement video:

The Apex Edition series is a deluxe, over-sized facsimile edition reproducing his original art pages at their actual size. Each page of this book has been scanned directly from Arthur Ranson’s art and presents each page as if you were looking at it in person. Unlike previous Apex editions (which measured 47.5 x 36.5cm / 19 x 14″) this volume is 36.1 x 27.6cm / 14 x 10″ reflecting the smaller size of the original Button Man artwork.

This is a landmark collection of a classic 2000 AD series, straight from the drawing board! Running 192 pages in total, this is one of the biggest Apex collections to date, and follows previous editions celebrating the artwork and legacy of revolutionary artists including Kevin O’Neill, Brian Bolland, Mick McMahon and Steve Dillon.

The Button Man by Arthur Ranson Apex edition is released on 11th December 2024, with pre-orders available now on the 2000 AD webshop for both the standard and the webshop-exclusive slipcase editions.