Talking ‘Archie Is Mr. Justice’ With Blake Howard And Federico Sabbatini

At this point we know Reggie is Kid Wicked, but that transformation didn’t happen overnight. In the finale to Archie Is Mr. Justice, writer Blake Howard and artist Federico Sabbatini give Reggie space to tell his side of events and you can learn more about their issue in the following interview:

Rachel Bellwoar: Supervillains aren’t always known for being the most self-aware. What was it like having Reggie be the one to tell his own story and do you think he’s a reliable narrator?

Blake Howard: Without getting too much into spoilers, by the time Reggie is ready to tell this story he, like the other narrators, is speaking from the benefit of hindsight, as well as a newfound sense of maturity.

Federico Sabbatini: I find the villain’s point of view more interesting in the story because he is generally a more fascinating figure than the protagonist. We are more curious about the difficulties the villain has faced in life and the psychological journey that has completely transformed him, compared to an ordinary story that normally features the hero of the moment. It is no coincidence that villains always have extra appeal in stories if they are well written.

Bellwoar: It feels very telling, for instance, that Reggie spends a lot of time on his childhood. Why was that an age you wanted to focus on?

Howard: Everything we do is sourced within some greater context. In Reggie’s story, he struggles with the dichotomy of being popular and being good. And it’s a throughline that carries through the story until its conclusion.

Sabbatini: Childhood is an important stage in our lives because it is the time when we begin to face the outside world with greater awareness. For better or worse, every single experience is a small piece of what we will be when we grow up. It can be said that it is a fundamental step in life; no one is excluded, including Reggie.

Bellwoar: Even as a supervillain, Reggie’s alter ego is Kid Wicked, whereas Archie gets treated like an adult – Mr. Justice. Did that play into how you drew or showed him behave as Kid Wicked?

Howard: Archie, or Mr. Justice, does what he does because he’s truly good and wants to help. Reggie’s desires are less from a yearning to help people and more from a fear of jealousy. He is very reactionary and emotionally driven, often without the benefit of forethought.

Sabbatini: Of course, Archie has always been a stable figure, always ready for dialogue, never looking for trouble, and willing to help others, so in readers’ eyes, he must be a source of confidence and reassurance to people. Whereas Reggie, who, as we know, has always lived in a difficult environment, full of hatred and resentment, should have been the exact opposite of Mr. Justice; a character where chaos reigns supreme in his head, from whom you don’t know what to expect because he is moved only by instinct, so I opted for a crazier character.

Bellwoar: Also important to Reggie’s origin story is his relationship with his father. How was it portraying that relationship?

Howard: It was a difficult balance. Ricky isn’t a bad, or cruel father, but he is emotionally distant. Reggie, similarly, keeps resentments bottled up until things boil over.

Sabbatini: Not knowing how to communicate and express their problems caused their lives to be ruined forever. But despite everything, they eventually manage to find that common ground and tell each other everything they never did before. Unfortunately, the price to pay was high, which makes the story more believable because life is never black and white, but full of nuances and sweet and bitter endings.

Bellwoar: He may not have superpowers, but Hiram Lodge is arguably the real supervillain of this series. Is that why, for instance, you chose to never show his eyes?

Howard: I’ll defer to Federico on the eyes segment. But yeah, Hiram absolutely has a Lex Luthor quality to him.

Sabbatini: Of course, the choice not to show the eyes is because it makes the character more mysterious and at the same time disturbing, because not seeing the look and emotions of a person would make us feel more uncomfortable in their presence. It is no accident that the real villain is Hiram Lodge, because he is the one who, like the master puppeteer, pulls the strings and manages to mold the weaker minds.

Bellwoar: Are there any panels you’re especially proud of or which took a while to nail down for this issue?

Howard: Less of a panel, but the origin of Mr. Justice was particularly fun, since I was retroactively establishing an origin story within the miniseries’ final issue – so, I wanted to ensure it jibed with the rest of the writers’ stories.

Sabbatini: Pages 17 and 20 are my favorites, the first being the moment when Reggie/Kid Wicked realizes he has lost control and commits the inevitable, leading everyone to mourn the loss of their hero. I hope you noticed, but in the last panel, I wanted to pay homage to Michelangelo’s Pieta. While the second page is the final page because, as I mentioned, it is the moment when Reggie and his father can talk openly.

Bellwoar: Thanks for agreeing to this interview, Blake and Federico!

With colors by Glenn Whitmore and letters by Jack Morelli, Archie Is Mr. Justice #4 goes on sale May 21st from Archie Comics.