Archie Comics Death: Archie Will Die Saving Gay Friend

Archie Andrews, the flagship character of Archie Comics and one of the best-known names in the medium, is getting killed off on Wednesday in issue #36 of Life with Archie. And, apparently, he's going out a hero.

According to Archie Comics publisher and co-CEO Jon Goldwater, who confirmed the news to the Associated Press, Archie will die trying to prevent the assassination of Kevin Keller, the first openly gay character in Archie Comics. A military vet-turned-senator, Keller is one of Archie's best friends.

Of course, the irony in all of this is that the Keller character is passionately in favor of increased gun control, which adds to the tragic impact of Archie's demise:

"Archie is not a superhero like all the rest of the comic book characters," said Goldwater. "He's human. He's a person. When you wound him, he bleeds. He knows that. If anything, I think his death is more impactful because of that. We hope by showing how something so violent can happen to Archie, that we can — in some way — learn from him."

Goldwater added, “We wanted to do something that was impactful that would really resonate with the world and bring home just how important Archie is to everyone.”

Naturally, if there's any consolation for long-time Archie fans, it's in the knowledge that Life With Archie is a "what if?" series, depicting a series of alternate, possible futures that aren't necessarily intended to be canon. But Archie's death is still intended to be every bit as deeply felt as if he'd been offed for real. The July 23rd issue, which is #37 in the series' run, will be the finale. The issue will illustrate how Betty, Veronica and Archie's old Riverdale gang is handling Archie’s death in the year following his murder, which frankly sounds like how Justice Leagues get started.

Via: Associated Press

Credit: Archie Comics