‘Reggie And Me’ Tops The List Of This Week’s Best Comics

In the world of Archie, everybody is frozen in time. Archie is a perpetually broke klutz. Moose is a big dumb lug. And Reggie Mantle is a jerk, a prank-pulling narcissist who doesn’t think of anybody but Reggie. However, as part of Archie’s ongoing campaign to give their stable of characters more depth, the miniseries Reggie & Me, which finishes today, offers more of an explanation as to why Reggie’s such an ass, while not letting him off the hook.

Granted, writer Tom DeFalco has been unapologetic in his plot device: The story is told from the perspective of Reggie’s dog, Vader, which might be the only creature he truly loves, and loves him in return. Really, who else could love such a guy But, in the last issue, Vader got hit by a car, and the issue unfolds with Vader on the table, his potential ghost floating around Reggie, as he’s challenged to explain how he could love such a complete turd of a person.

Shameless Oh, absolutely, and DeFalco makes no bones about it. Sandy Jarrell’s clean art just underscores it, as Vader is an adorable weiner dog. But it also manages the impressive task of explaining Reggie’s actions and motives without forgiving him. Reggie is still kind of a dirtbag, and a lot of his pain is his own fault. But DeFalco makes the gentle point that Rome isn’t built in a day, and owning your mistakes is the first step to being a better person. Which Reggie has no intention of being, but hey, baby steps.

Adam Warren has always had a certain skill where what starts as a lacerating parody of cheesy comics tropes takes a sudden, hard turn into the painful. And so it is, here, as even as Warren and guest artist Karla Diaz destroy the concept of magical girls and the puerile ideas somebody who never escaped being a teenager about love, he also has Ninjette, Emp’s sidekick, come to a painful realization about her relationship with her dad. It’s unexpected, as always, and a little heartbreaking, and a good reminder that Empowered is one of the more thoughtful takes on heroism, whenever it appears on the stands.

Most fans didn’t quite know what to expect when “The Button” was announced as a Batman/Flash crossover, but it has paid off in unexpected ways. Tom King and Joshua Williamson, working together as writers, have written a story about how what should be an odd case finds Batman cut down to the bone, emotionally, and the Flash realizing he’s still not done with the mistakes he’s made in the past. It helps that they play against the unexpected; the button, of course, is Watchmen‘s notorious smiley face, but we’ve yet to see those characers, and it says something that even if they don’t in fact turn up, this will still be a superb illustration of crossovers done right.

Way, way, way back in the day, Image Comics launched with Youngblood, an absolutely shameless knock-off of a bunch of Marvel heroes written and drawn by Rob Liefeld. It was a massive hit, because, speaking as somebody who was a kid during that time and owns a few of those early issues, kids are dumb. Chad Bowers and Jim Towe, however, take the idea and turn it into something much more engaging and original; now, the young blood in question are superheroes who use apps to find endangered civilians, and the old dogs have to turn up to… well, mostly realize that being a superhero gets hard when you’re old. It’s a silly, fun book that is fully aware that it’s silly, and that joy spills over into the rest of the book, making this far more than just a dose of nostalgia.

Saladin Ahmed and Christian Ward have the seemingly impossible job of making Black Bolt, the silent king of the Inhumans, interesting. And, surprisingly enough, they pull it off! Bolt, it turns out, has been dumped in a prison intended for his brother, a place outside time and reality that’s sort of a Groundhog Day in hell. Black Bolt is being forced to account for being really kind of a monster throughout much of his history ruling the Inhumans, and it’s a smart take on a character who frankly doesn’t have much history or definition to him.

Sam Sykes and Selina Espiritu’s affectionate parody of manga melodramas has been a delight, but this issue in particular stands out for how Sykes keeps the tone light and funny, with Espiritu’s help, even as Brianna, the human making a name for herself serving food for monsters, finds herself staring down a fairly brutal inferiority complex as her brother rolls into town. The result is a sweet, thoughtful book under a delicate candy coating, and worth a read.

Savage Things #3, DC Comics: Justin Jordan and Ibrahim Moustafa’s smart, creepy thriller continues at a breakneck pace.

Faith #11, Valiant: Faith has to fight that classic plotline: Her supervillains teaming up to take her down. But Jody Houser and Joe Eisma keep this idea fresh in part because Faith herself is such a great character.

Tekken #1, Titan: Yes, the video game’s story is excessive and impossible to follow. Fortunately, the comic is fully aware of this and has a lot of fun with it.

Project Superpowers: Hero Killers #1, Dynamite: A black comedy about what happens where there are too many heroes, and some of them are jerks, and, well, you can guess what happens from the title.

Jean Grey #1, Marvel: Marvel’s telekinetic heroine is back, with an issue that addresses the elephant in the room about the Phoenix Force, and Jean’s inevitable fate. Or is it so inevitable

Absolute Preacher, Vol. 2, DC Comics ($150, Hardcover): Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon’s hilarious satire of religion, America and everything else gets a handsome new edition.

Pix Vol. 2, Image Comics ($13, Softcover): What happens when a teenage girl believes she’s a fairy princess And can actually back that claim up That’s what this series from Gregg Schigiel explores.

Tarzan On The Planet Of The Apes, Dark Horse ($20, Softcover): This surprisingly well-done crossover takes the slam-dunk idea in unexpected, and very fun, directions.