Reggie And Me #2 Review: Vader Takes Us Back To The Past


First off, that is an absolutely amazing cover. I just love the way that it positions Reggie, Archie and their respective dog counterparts as mortal enemies, framed by classic images of the two as children. I believe the pictures are taken directly from classic stories from the company. It creates a wonderful tableau showcasing their personalities and rivalry, becoming even more relevant once the story is read.

Once again told by Vader, it recounts a childhood tale from Reggie's past, showing more of his origins. It's almost painful to read near the end, seeing Reggie's fear that he might be a genuinely rotten person and having no one to talk about it with. It's interesting to note that Vader's recollection of the story seems to change, almost as if he's slowly starting to doubt Reggie's retelling of the events. He makes no bones (heh) about knowing that his owner is a jerk, but he can't believe that all of the rumors are true.

He almost doesn't seem to want to believe it, refusing to acknowledge that the person who rescued him from the pound could be a bully. Whether intentional or not, it's fairly ambiguous as to whether Reggie nearly did something unforgivable to Archie or if it was just an accident, a minor bit of roughhousing at the pond. Could that be Reggie's start on his path to darkness or is he just taking jokes a little too far? It's almost a question of nature vs nurture. Is Reggie's natural personality completely bad at heart or can some of it be attributed to his less-than-attentive parents?

On a lighter note, it continues to baffle me that Archie's younger self is referred to as 'Little Archie' by everyone. I know it's a reference to the comics, but was there a mistake on his birth certificate? When he's a college student, will he be referred to as Fraternity Archie?
Back in the present, Reggie's ultimate plan to demolish Archie for his most recent alleged slight against him is coming together. Moose and Reggie meet up at Pop's for a "man to man" talk about Midge. I really like Moose's portrayal in this scene. He genuinely isn't as dumb as some characters like to think of him and as some writers like to portray him as. While not the smartest knife in the drawer, he just has a different kind of intelligence.

In fact, Moose himself acknowledges this in his chat with Reggie, saying that despite all of the horrible things that he's heard, he does respect him. He's a simple guy. He loves Midge, Midge thinks that Reggie isn't that bad, so he in turn regards Reggie as a friend. For his part, Reggie just thinks of him as an obstacle in the way of wooing Midge. Because Moose is loyal to his companions, Reggie obviously plans to manipulate him. Based on the next issue's cover, I predict that this might result in some harm to Archie.

I love how he's drawn as the Hulk in this fantasy. I guess Vader reads comics in his spare time.
Reggie And Me #2 continues to be a fascinating glimpse into Reggie's mind and backstory. I really appreciate seeing a different side to him, even if it does get slightly uncomfortable. It's good to see the company continuing to flesh out their main characters in the name of realism.

Reggie And Me #2 is written by Tom DeFalco and drawn by Sandy Jarrell. You can find it at your local comic book shop.

Zachary Krishef is an evil genius. Do not question his knowledge of Saturday Night Live trivia or Harry Potter books.