At the end of the previous issue, Reggie's selfish actions finally took a toll on the one thing he treasures most in life- Vader, his precious pet rescue dog. He was hit by a car after Reggie angrily yelled at him to go away. Seriously, Reggie?! Is Vader even smart enough to know how to get home? You need to be a better dog owner. I'm sure Vader is going to be fine. This is still an Archie Comics, Inc. publication, they're not going to kill a dog.
You took the words right out of my mouth. |
No, actually this is just Vader's spirit. While his body is currently in urgent care at the animal hospital, his spirit is just traveling around. He even meets up with Hot Dog, Jughead's companion. In this universe, dogs just have the ability to astral project, I guess. Hey, maybe when my dog is happily lying on the floor, he's not actually sleeping, just traveling to meet his doggy friends. On a side note, I do have to mention that I find a particular moment where Vader recommends checking out the latest Jughead or Archie issue for something cheerier, considering that the new issue of Archie kicks off a three-part arc that promises to have dire consequences for the town.
The issue finally directly tackles the issue of Vader's intense loyalty to Reggie, despite his increasingly negative actions. It's conducted through a conversation between Vader and Hot Dog, who definitely has no bones (heh) about his owner's faults. Sure, Jughead is lazy, gluttonous, and prone to bouts of wacky plans, but he loves Hot Dog and would do anything to protect him. Conversely, Betty and Reggie talk about his actions in the 'real' world, based on some new revelations about his behavior.
I actually don't want to ruin too much about the end of this miniseries, because it is very good. Instead, I'll simply say that I appreciate the way that Tom DeFalco writes for Reggie, portraying him as a more complicated figure. Not everything is black and white for the various characters and it helps to keep the plot fairly realistic. It's a unique tone for an Archie comic, but an interesting one. For Jughead, it's going to be almost completely comedy-orientated, while Archie itself has a fifty-fifty balance between comedy and drama, most of the time. I hope that Tom DeFalco continues to write for Archie Comics, Inc.
Reggie And Me #5 is written by Tom DeFalco, drawn by Sandy Jarrell, lettered by Jack Morelli, and colored by Kelly Fitzpatrick. 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.