Archie to die while saving Kevin Keller, Archie Comics' first gay character

Tue. July 15, 2014 8:38 AM by OnTopMag.com

Archie Comics' Archie Andrews will die while attempting to save Kevin Keller, the comics' first openly gay character.

According to the AP, Archie is killed in Wednesday's installment of Life with Archiewhich looks at the possible future lives of Archie characters.

Archie's death will conclude the series.

"The way in which Archie dies is everything that you would expect of Archie," Jon Goldwater, Archie Comics publisher and co-CEO, is quoted as saying. "He dies heroically. He dies selflessly. He dies in the manner that epitomizes not only the best of Riverdale but the best of all of us. It's what Archie has come to represent over the past almost 75 years."

Kevin Keller first joined the gang in the Archie Comics spin-off Veronica in 2010.

Dan Parent, the creator of the character, said in an It Gets Better video that response to Kevin was overwhelmingly positive.

"When we introduced Kevin in Veronica #202 it was the first Archie Comics ever to sell-out in 70 years. That's a good sign. The readers responded really favorably," Parent said.

In Life with Archie #16, Kevin returns from serving in the military to marry Clay. Cover artwork for the issue showed Kevin and husband Clay standing in front of a "Just Married" sign as the gang cheers on.

As the series comes to an end, Kevin is a newly elected senator who's pushing for greater gun control in Riverdale after Clay is involved in a shooting. Archie's life is cut short when he intervenes in an assassination attempt on Kevin.

"We hope by showing how something so violent can happen to Archie, that we can – in some way – learn from him," Goldwater said.

Article provided in partnership with On Top Magazine

 

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