After four premium issues, Archie Is Mr. Justice is done at Archie Comics. The event series took the Archie superhero characters and treated the concept seriously, emotionally, and in the final issue — spoilers past this point — deadly, as we saw just how Reggie Mantle killed Archie Andrews… Or did he?
“Well, I actually didn’t kill him!” writer Blake Howard told Comic Book Club over email. “That was all on Editorial! In all seriousness, Mr. Justice was dead from the get-go, but it did fall to me to write how it ended up happening.”
For much more from writer Howard and artist Federico Sabbatini on how this issue came together, read on.
Comic Book Club: Massive spoilers here, but how does it feel to do what only a few writers have done before, and Riverdale several times: kill Archie Andrews?
Federico Sabbatini: It is a great satisfaction! Hahaha…
Blake Howard: Well, I actually didn’t kill him! That was all on Editorial! In all seriousness, Mr. Justice was dead from the get-go, but it did fall to me to write how it ended up happening.
And as a follow-up, how did you decide how Archie would go out?
Howard: Heroically. An obvious answer, of course. But what’s more, I wanted to make his death something that shook Riverdale to its core, even among his supposed enemies.
Sabbatini: Whoever said he died?
The issue focuses squarely on the relationship between Reggie and his dad… Why was this the way to go?
Howard: Well, family dynamics are fertile ground for storytelling and, often, conflict. Yes, we are telling a superhero story, with high concept action and adventure — but Archie has, at its core, always been a comic about relationships, whether Betty/Veronica and Archie, or any of the other denizens of Riverdale. Reggie strikes me as a character who is desperate for approval and sometimes doesn’t care about who that approval comes from. In this particular story, that feeling of emptiness comes from the perspective that his father is uninterested in him.
Sabbatini: The conflictual relationship between father and son is a great classic of narrative; many works address this theme, each in their own way. It is an important theme, always current and not at all obvious.
Given that you’re four of four in this exquisite corpse series, what was important about building off the previous three issues? What was the coordination like?
Howard: Haha! Funny enough, I actually didn’t get a chance to do a lot of coordination. This project had a much longer production timeline than I’m used to, and most of our collaboration came at the very beginning of the process, where we all decided which issues we were tackling.
Sabbatini: Obviously, it was a great pleasure to be able to share this work with great artists, and this makes me proud. As for the work, it was very easy because the publishers provided us with all the material available, and since it was the last story, we had an advantage. I thank the whole team who were always present and professional.
You’ve got a big action issue here, what was it like putting together the fight between Archie and Reggie?
Howard: A lot of fun. I’m a simple guy — I love those “who would win” hypotheticals (even though the answer should always be “what would make for a more interesting story?”) But from Dragon Ball to Invincible, it’s always tons of fun for godlike dudes and dudettes to knock the crap outta each other! Though with this particular fight, I wanted there to be consequences. And there are.
Sabbatini: It was the most fun to do, and I’m really glad we had several pages. After all, it is a superhero story, so sacrificing the action pages would have been a shame. Blake scripted the scenes masterfully, and I hope I was able to convey his vision on paper.
How does it change tackling Archie in the superhero mode, versus horror?
Sabbatini: It is completely different to have a horror story versus a superhero story, starting with the layout of the boards. In horror and mystery stories you have to mostly play with shots that can convey anxiety and creepiness, unlike with the classic superhero comic, where I try for more cinematic shots.
Howard: It’s a different style, to be sure. A lot of times, with horror, you want to keep a reader guessing — the more unfamiliar, the better. When working on something that is a pastiche such as this, I almost feel like the opposite is true. There are genre conventions one wants to adhere to, because a reader will be anticipating it.
The final panel is enigmatic… Is there more Mr. Justice to come?
Howard: Guess we will have to see!
Sabbatini: I’m looking back at my answer to the second question…
Archie is Mr. Justice #4 is in stores now.
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