Writer: Kaare Andrews
Artist: Karre Andrews
Publisher: Marvel Comics

It’s a book about the future, but don’t let that scare you.

Reign tells the story of an aged Peter Parker, still down on his luck, and trapped within a Police-State city. Spider-Man has long since disappeared, along with is superhero brethren, and evil forces have corrupted the city they once swore to protect. Sound familiar? It should. Reign is writer/artist Kaare Andrews attempt to give Spider-Man the Dark Knight Returns treatment. Showing us what it might be like once our heroes retire or simply pass from light, and the darkness that can shroud the world in their wake.

Sound dramatic? Well, it is. Almost alarmingly so, and that is what makes Reign such a wonderful read. Andrews goes out of his way here to illustrate the violence and darkness of this future, and it doing so grounds the whole story firmly in reality. Instead of showing the characters we know and love as just the same versions of themselves but with grey hair, Andrews ages them drastically, and almost painfully. Andrews’ art is as beautiful as his story telling in this compelling and emotional story. The tension of the book is heightened as the plot unfolds and when it reaches its monumental conclusion, you as a reader are so gripped by the story it’s impossible not to feel for the characters as they try to conquer, redeem, and survive the final confrontations.

There are a lot of similarities between Reign and the classic Dark Knight Returns. Both feature aged versions of heroes and characters that we know and love. Both deal with a world without superheroes, and both feature children taking up arms in rebellion against this dark new world. In fact, Reign contains a character named Miller Janson, which is a nod to Dark Knight Returns creators Frank Miller and Klaus Janson.

The major difference between Reign and The Dark Knight Returns though, is the treatment of the main characters themselves. In The Dark Knight, we see Bruce Wayne struggle to fight his age and re-connect with the side of himself that is Batman. In Reign, we are almost led to believe that Spider-Man is another personality within Peter Parker, with one living independently of the other. This schizophrenic feeling adds to the emotional strain of the book, and sets it apart from other stories of it’s ilk.

In terms of “bonus” material in this book, there is a partial cover gallery, and a couple pages of sketches, but truth be told, Reign doesn’t need any extras. I think that in time, Reign will be spoken of in the same breath as The Dark Knight Returns, not in terms of their similarities, but as classic works of graphic art and story telling.

-JM

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Tags: Graphic Novel, Reign, Spider-man, The Dark Knight Returns

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