Tom Defalco

Something that's been overlooked pretty often since the big Archie Reboot is that the company is still publishing stories featuring the classic, gag-centric versions of the characters. It's publishing a lot of them, actually --- every single Archie Digest features a new lead story about the gang, and in 2016, that amounted to over 300 pages of new material in that classic Archie style. Now, it's all being collected in the Archie: Best of 2016 Digest Annual, a 348-page digital collection out next week. Check out a preview.

The big news for Archie this week is, of course, the launch of Riverdale as a prime-time TV drama that's already garnering interest by building its first storyline not around a botched double-date or a milkshake with too many straws, but the discovery of a dead body that may or may not have been murdered by one or more members of the cast. Really, though, dead bodies? That's small potatoes compared to the shocking and tragic events that are going to be playing out in the comics next month: There's just so much Reggie Mantle.

You know those superhero stories like "Must There Be a Superman" where the main character is abducted by aliens and put on trial for crimes --- intentional or otherwise --- against humanity? Well, before it hit shelves, I was really hoping that's what the rebooted Reggie And Me was going to be about. I mean, honestly, there is no other character in comics who represents cosmic evil as much as that guy, and if Archie and the Gang won't hold him responsible for his terrible, terrible ways, then perhaps some Elder of the Universe should? Alas, that's not what we got. But we are creeping a little closer in the pages of Reggie and Me #2, which not only features a superheroic fantasy sequence, but delves into the long and hateful history between Reggie Mantle and his eternal rival, Archie Andrews. Check out an exclusive preview below!

Reggie Mantle is a menace. I mean, we've all known that for years --- even Archie's official Twitter account spends most of its time dragging him for being Literally The Worst --- but now, his unchecked terribleness has gotten way worse. Not only is he starring in his own ongoing series with its second issue hitting shelves on January 11, but he's also got a starring role in Jughead #12, out the same day, where he somehow becomes actual, literal King of Riverdale (or at least of Riverdale's Teens) for a day.

Reggie Mantle is the absolute worst. But since he's starring in a comic called Reggie and Me, who could possibly stand being around him long enough to be the "and Me" in that equation? Well, as it turns out, the series is narrated by Reggie's beloved dog, bringing the number of dog-narrated 2016 Archie comics to a surprising "two." Check out a preview of the first issue from Tom DeFalco and Sandy Jarrell to see what else is in store for Riverdale's (least) favorite prankster.

Reggie Mantle is the worst, but for some reason he has a following, so Archie Comics has added a new title to its beloved reboot line of comics; a new ongoing featuring Riverdale's resident creeper. Written by industry legend Tom DeFalco, with art by Sandy Jarrell, Reggie and Me launches this December and promises to give readers an inside look at the most "loved, revered, admired and adored" teen in Riverdale. Those are their words, not mine.

You probably haven't heard since they haven't really been making a big deal of it, but this year marks the official 75th Anniversary of Marvel Comics. Sort of. It actually marks the 75th anniversary of the publication of Marvel Comics #1, which introduced the world to the Human Torch and paved the way for the company that would eventually become the modern Marvel Comics which really came about in 1961, but you know what? That's a good enough reason for a party. To that end, this week saw the release of the Marvel 75th Anniversary Celebration, an anthology that caught my eye mostly because it features legendary and still hugely popular Batman: The Animated Series co-creator Bruce Timm adapting a Captain America story written by Stan Lee in 1941, and that is definitely something that I want to read. But with 55 pages in the anthology, there's a heck of a lot more in there besides, including the return of Alias by the original creative team of Bendis, Gaydos and Hollingsworth, and essays by comics journalists including our own Andrew Wheeler, making this one of those rare anthologies where it's all pretty good stuff.

DC's WTF month continues apace with the newly revealed gatefold cover of Superboy #19 insinuating that the titular character could be the son of a surprising pairing, though his previous appearances seemed to indicate he was a clone similar to the pre-New 52 Superboy...

DC Comics confirmed this week some personnel changes for two of its New 52 superhero titles. Specifically, Gail Simone will no longer be Ethan Van Sciver's co-writer of The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men following February's issue #6...

As Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz's Spider-Girl Mayday Parker prepares to take her final bow (for now) in August 25's "Spider-Girl: The End!" #1, Marvel Comics has provided ComicsAlliance with an exclusive first look at the conclusion of a storyline more than a decade in the making...