SoraRabbit Short Hop 004: That Time SoraRabbit Read Some Archie Comics

I've been reading a lot of comic books lately: the comics I get from my weekly pull list, the Turtles collections I got digitally, old Venom comics on Marvel Unlimited, and most recently, comics on Comixology. One thing that's been on my list for ages that I'm finally getting around to is the Archie New Riverdale reboot from 2015.

My history with Archie has been a long and uneventful one. When I was five, my uncle gave me a whole box of comic books. Mostly they were Disney and Archie comics, but there were a few Marvel and DC thrown in there. This was a defining moment in my childhood, as you can imagine, leading to a lifetime of love for the medium of comic books. I recall enjoying the Archie comics. They were colorful, silly, and easy to understand. My mom would occasionally get me more of them from the grocery store or garage sales. As I grew up, my interest in those comics flagged. I was able to identify that they were behind the times... perpetually stuck in the 50s. I know, that's the charm of it for a lot of people, but it grew old for me. Why read corny jokes about straight-laced high school kids when you could read about flashy super heroes saving the world?

This is a good example of the sort of high-stakes story they had going on in 2002. (Credit: Archie Comics. Writer: Greg Crosby. Art: Stan Goldberg.)

Well, finally the editors caught on, and so in 2015 Archie was rebooted in a line called New Riverdale. All continuity was thrown out. The characters and setting were redesigned and updated to modern times. It kept its core values, however. It didn't fall into the trap of so many other modern reboots... making everything ultra-adult and dark. (Although if you've heard of the show Riverdale, you know they've gone that route too.) No, New Archie didn't fall into the sensationalism of many reboots. It just grew up. But not too much.

I wouldn't have known about this comic at all except that if you've read my Gwenpool post you'll realize that this reboot happened during that "really interesting time in comics" I mentioned. When Marvel was bringing in inclusivity and relaunching their entire universe, Archie did the same on a much smaller scale with much less fanfare. In 2015 I was scanning the new comic racks and saw one of these rebooted Archie titles. It caught my eye because the art style was drastically different from the norm you would expect from the series. I thumbed through an issue, a bit impressed by the art, but not thinking much of it. One of my brothers texted me around that time and mentioned that he was reading it and it was really good. He recommended it. And if I've learned anything in my years, it's that when my brothers recommend something, I should check it out because it’s going to be awesome.

This was an ongoing mystery early on. (Credit: Archie Comics. Writer: Mark Waid. Art: Fiona Staples.)

So I did check it out, briefly, before being distracted by the fantastic Flinstones reboot. (I will need to do a much longer post on that one some day.) Archie sat in the back of my mind, a mental note to get back to it someday. Well, someday turned out to be March of 2020. I had just finished reading 90s Venom and was looking for the next comic to binge. I found Archie on Comixology, borrowed every collection, and set to reading. I've been enjoying it quite a bit. It's sweet, amusing, and heartfelt. Something about it has kept me reading, and it seems to be working for others too. Five years in, and the new format has stuck around. They have reverted back to the old numbering (just in time for issue 700) but not the old style or continuity.

But that's not what we're here to talk about. We're here to talk about Reggie.

Is Vader an unreliable narrator? (Credit: Archie Comics. Writer: Tom DeFalco. Art: Sandy Jarrell.)

Reggie Mantle is the long-time bully and antagonist of the Archie series. He has a crush on Veronica, one of Archie's eternal love interests. His other crush is on one of his classmates named Midge who dates a big guy named Moose. Reggie's main defining traits are his jealousy and antagonism of Archie, his vanity, and his love for playing pranks on people. Sometimes he's a friend, other times an enemy. And that pretty much sums him up.

Under the New Riverdale line, Reggie stayed pretty much the same. In 2017, Reggie got his own five issue series, along with his dog, a dachshund named Vader. I was about ten issues into the new Archie series when I decided to check out some of the side titles, and this one caught my eye. I read through it over the course of a couple of nights and upon finishing, decided it would make a pretty good topic for a Short Hop.

Vader has some pretty strong opinions for a dog. (Credit: Archie Comics. Writer: Tom DeFalco. Art: Sandy Jarrell.)

Vader is a rescue dog who adores Reggie and believes everything Reggie says about himself. Vader trails after his best friend, chronicling his adventures for us. These adventures mainly consist of trying to get revenge on Archie, avoiding Betty (who can see right through him), and trying to win over Midge. He also runs afoul of some bullies from a rival High School, one of whom is upset because Reggie disrespected his cousin. (Actually he just ghosted her, and she doesn't mind at all, but the damage was done.)

Reggie's party is interrupted by Veronica's party, and of course he blames Archie for that. He also has a tense confrontation with Moose, who's noticed that Reggie spends a lot of time around Midge. Midge, however, vouches for him and Moose decides to be Reggie's friend.

It isn't long before Reggie puts his master plan into action. He steals Archie's phone and sends "suggestive texts" to Midge, which understandably upsets both her and Moose. Reggie uses his new friendship with Moose to plant the suggestion that Archie is the one behind the texts. He lures Midge, Moose, and Archie under the school bleachers at night and tips off the Principal, Mr Weatherbee. Riverdale has a no tolerance rule for fighting, so Reggie thinks the two of them getting expelled will leave Midge all to him.

As you can guess, this all backfires, and Reggie is the only one who gets in trouble. On the way home, he gets ambushed by the bullies and gets a black eye. Betty's "I told you so" the next day is his last straw. He yells at the ever-playful Vader, which drives the sad little doggy to wander into traffic.

Oh no... Comic, you wouldn't. Would you? (Credit: Archie Comics. Writer: Tom DeFalco. Art: Sandy Jarrell.)

Reggie rushes Vader to the hospital where he stays for the entire final issue, the prognosis bad. Vader begins the issue assuring everyone that this story does not have a happy ending and can only end with tears and fears. Vader spends the issue out of body, complete with wings and a halo, talking to Jughead's dog Hot Dog. Hot Dog isn't dead... just able to astral travel I guess? (Honestly, I want to know more about that.)

This took a dark turn. (Credit: Archie Comics. Writer: Tom DeFalco. Art: Sandy Jarrell.)

Hot Dog maintains that Reggie isn’t a good guy and doesn’t care about anyone. As Vader defends Reggie against Hot Dog's snide remarks, life goes on in Riverdale. The big game happens, and Moose steamrolls the bully who punched Reggie. Betty visits the hospital and makes her peace with Reggie. Vader flatlines. And then the doctor comes out, ominously saying she has news.

Vader is fine! He was revived and just has a bandage around his chest. And seemingly everyone in town has left the game to come see if Reggie and Vader are okay.

Whew. Way to give us the feels, comic. (Credit: Archie Comics. Writer: Tom DeFalco. Art: Sandy Jarrell.)

So the series ends with everyone rallying around Reggie and Vader realizes that Reggie is thinking of a way to exploit this new-found popularity. Which is why he started off Issue 5 with the misleading statement about how the story was going to end with tears and fears... because the Prince of Darkness was back. (Yeesh.)

Yeah, Reggie learned nothing from all that, except maybe to not yell at his dog so close to a busy street. He's going to fall right back into his old patterns of jealousy and selfishness, pranking everyone, using his friends, and trying to get Midge to date him. Ah well, maybe he learned something, but the story (and Vader) doesn't seem to think so. Draw your own conclusions.

Although the whole thing with Vader getting hit by a car and all the hints that he was going to die could be construed as cheap emotional manipulation, I feel like it was done well. Lots of stories have played with the heart strings like this, but somehow this story managed to half convince me the poor doggy actually wasn't going to make it. Well done, DeFalco. Well done.

Over the course of these five issues, we get to see some of Reggie's past... growing up in a neglectful family, living in the shadow of Archie, who everyone loves, and dealing with his own loneliness. What he does with these past experiences is lash out, trying to build himself up and get what he wants from everyone around him no matter the cost. He has his human moments too, mostly where Vader is concerned. They did a good job making a one-note bully into a layered character. You couldn’t necessarily root for him, but he was likable all the same. If the comic had continued beyond five issues, I certainly would have kept reading. As it was, we got an interesting and fun story with a nice angle to it.

Vader’s a good boy. (Credit: Archie Comics. Writer: Tom DeFalco. Art: Sandy Jarrell.)

Thank you for reading my latest Short Hop. I hope you're enjoying these brief forays into pop culture. See you again soon!