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

[Colin YNWA]

Well if Week 1 broke you into what Round 3 could be like Week 2 will show you its extremes with possibly the tie of the Round coming in (though there is one later that possibly tops even this). Eyes will be blinding, hair will be torn out before this week is over...

I mean we wouldn't have expected this sort of tie until the Quarters maybe. Two astonishing thrills, both of which could have gone a long, long way in the tourney. But one will fall here. Zenith already has form in tough match-ups having taken down Harry 20 on the High Rock in Round 2. Button Man had a much easier time taking out that other hitman (well Button man is kinda a hitman... kinda) in Grey Suit. If this isn't the tie of the Round it's damned close and one of the toughest calls that will have to be made... maybe...

Button Man - more info

Vs

Zenith - more info

Just reply in this thread naming your favourite thrill of these two series at the beginning of your post (or use Bold tags so I can spot it easily) and say what you like about these wonderful stories after that.

Match ends early on the morning of Saturday 21st May and the winner gets a place in Round 4 (of 9!!!).

What on Earth is ALL of this?

For those that need 'um and can be bothered to follow 'um there's some simple rules

Any questions, just ask as ever - and have FUN

[broodblik]

Wow this is a real difficult one but I will go for Button Man

[moly]

Zenith

[Trooper McFad]

Button Man

[Huey2]

Button Man

[AlexF]

Button Man all day. Sure, I've grown to respect Zenith, but never to love it. Button Man has class and suspense and just plain great plotting all the way through. BM vs Stront, now that'd be a tough call...

[abelardsnazz]

Much of Zenith is great, including the way it all ties in together, but Wagner and Ranson were on absolutely top form all the way through, so it has to be Button Man.

[Magnetica]

Both are classics for sure. I recently reread all of Button Man. The plotting revisits the same theme through out: having got involved in the game Harry is trying to get out and gets dragged into one last contest. Arthur Ranson's art is stellar. I remember finding Fraser Irving's art jarring on book 4 at the time - but not now; it's also great.

But Zenith is a level above for me. A top five thrill. Well top 6 now, as a new thrill has come along to push it down one, but it's still great.

[JayzusB.Christ]

Dear me, this is a tough one - two of the best the prog has ever had.

But for mind-bending depth, perfect characterisation and dialogue, and a grasp of the zeitgeist that never seems try-hard or contrived, it's Zenith for me.

[rogue69]

Zenith

[IndigoPrime]

That first Button Man is a classic – one of the best things that ever ran in the Prog. I'm sure in hindsight the reveal is obvious, but it threw me at the time. Every moment of that first volume felt perfectly plotted, and Toxic were absolutely bonkers for rejecting it. (I mean, come on – the comic that had that ridiculous murdery trucker strip didn't want Button Man?) After that point, mind, it felt like slight diminishing returns. I never did care for the follow-ups as much as the original – even though they were very, very good.

Zenith remains one of my all-time favourites from the Prog, and a Grant Morrison highlight. Many of his subsequent ideas (Invisibles, notably) and trailed in the pages of 2000 AD. But he's more coherent in the Prog, and less chaotic. Each book has its own vibe, including the grin-inducing and lawyer baiting DCT stuff in book three. (Although, frankly, the Beano skirts the same lines to this day – albeit without killing the parodic figures in horrible ways.) That fourth book was also wonderful as a conclusion (since I'm perfectly happy to ignore the rather iffier one-off that followed).

The one downside to Zenith for me is inconsistent art. I really wish they'd not made Phase IV a colour strip. There was just no need for that. And if I had millions years back, I'd have politely asked Steve Yeowell to draw the few strips he didn't tackle, for the HC collections. But that's it really. Zenith wins it for me.

[The Enigmatic Dr X]

Zenith

[davidbishop]

Button Man.

[Richard]

Button Man is great, but Zenith is by far one of the best series in the prog.

[The Mind of Wolfie Smith]

zenith