Forum’s Favourite Thrill - Button Man vs. Zenith Round 3 Heat 14

[Colin YNWA]

Colin the problem is that somehow somebody reverted the votes from the alternative reality where all answers are Zenith although they voted for Button Man. So you have to reverse count them Zenith=Button Man and button Man=Button Man

Yeah but when I do that I'll release I'm trapped in a bubble universe bound in a prism constituted of endless tournaments. When I see the black sun that is the eye of the Elder Gods stirring into that infinite prison I'll realise I've been manipulated and tripped and I should have kept the vote the same...

[broodblik]

I blame Ukko for this frolicking with the gods outside his universe

[Magnetica]

Another few thoughts on Zenith.

It came along at the right time, when replacements for some of the classics were required. Apart from Slaine and Nemesis, there wasn’t much else in the Prog at the levels we had before, and even they were on the slide a bit.

It’s got some of the best ever art seen in the Prog; it’s more detailed than Yeowell’s later work and all the better for it. It has some of the most memorable lines of dialogue ever printed in the Prog and Zenith himself has a cheeky arrogance, combined with a selfish cowardice that drives pretty much all of his actions.

A quarter-final contender, maybe semis depending on the draw.

[JayzusB.Christ]

Fair points Funt. Nostalgia will likely impact all of our votes to one degree or another!

Of course nostalgia plays a role, but I feel obliged to say that my Zenith vote partly came about from re- reads in later life. There are levels of complexity that I just didn't see the first time round - I only worked out a few years ago why Chimera was a pyramid (though a tetrahedron would have made more sense).

[broodblik]

Zenith has you stated Magnetica came at the right time in the prog. I do not mind "superheroes" but I do find it to be too generic and mostly becoming boring whereas Zenith was quite refreshing even compared to todays "superhero" stories. I still believe that this is Morrison's best work ever.

[IndigoPrime]

Honestly, I hated Zenith at the time, probably because I arrived at the Prog halfway through Phase III. Not ideal. But I don’t recall anyone from my friends really enjoying it at the time. But on going back to it later, in back Progs and the Best of collections… yeah. And during every re-read, it’s held up. That absolutely is not the case for me with a slew of 2000 AD strips. Very, very few stay at that level where I’ll very happily read them again and still get much of the original impact. (Oddly, bar – obviously – the reveal – Button Man would be one of those, and I adored that when it originally ran, in part probably because most of the rest of the Prog was shit. But, as I said earlier, the impact of that strip for me diminished with each subsequent series.)

[Magnetica]

The funny thing (well for me anyway) is, given I don’t read super hero comics, I didn’t realise Zenith was one.

It was just a cool story with a lazy, self centred, brattish lead who’d rather be out partying than saving the world.

[Link Prime]

Now we're starting to roll up our sleeves!

Classic Ranson Vs Classic Yeowell.
Wagner teen sleaze up against peak Morrison.
Who did have the better arse - Ruby Fox or Cora?

It would be tough to beat that first series of Button Man on it's own, but when all is said and done, it has to be Zenith.
Top 5 2000AD all-time hall of famer for me.

[Rogue Judge]

I jumped ship from American comics to 2000AD to get away from all the superheros. Superheros in the pages of 2000AD, albeit well done and different, just isn't what I'm looking for from the Mighty One. The great thing about anthologies, something for everyone!

[sintec]

Gah such a horrid choice but choose we must. After far too much consideration I think I've got to give it to Zenith. Button Man is a top draw thrill and deserves to go much further but as others have noted it's a series of diminishing returns as the sequels retread similar ground. Zenith just keeps ratcheting up the insanity and it's that which wins out here.

[NapalmKev]

Button Man.

Cheers

[maryanddavid]

Near Impossible, But which collection would I reach to first to reread, probably Button Man. Button Man it it.

[Colin YNWA]

VOTING CLOSED

Well before we get into it - well done folks this one has been the biggest vote yet, which is hardly a surprise given the contenders.

Both those contenders are simply magnificent thrills. Both could have gone a lot further I suspect, well one still might of course. Buttonman is a magnificent thriller, truly astonishing and has some beautiful, brutal, gritty art. Zenith is more on all levels however and on that basis

Zenith

has taken more than a finger and has jump the Briggs-Rosen* Bridge into Round 4

*I don't think this is right but I can't remember what they were called and I'm too lazy to go to the nerd cave this morning!

[Magnetica]

This has been the most interesting vote so far. There was a lot of love for Buttonman and it opened up a healthy early lead (5-1), only for the Zenith supporters to come out in force. And even then Buttonman continued to pick up votes.

It wasn’t actually that close in the end, and Harry Ex will be nursing his wounds after this one, as he could definitely have taken down some of the big boys.

[broodblik]

Sometimes these votes feel unfair but then again it makes it more interesting to have heavy weight fight it out while the lesser thrills go trough to the next round