Comic Book icon Archie to be killed off saving gay friend

Comic book icon Archie Andrews will be killed off saving his gay friend in the next instalment of the Life with Archie series.

The character will be shot when he saves Kevin Keller from an assassin in issue No.36, which will be released on Wednesday (June 16).

A 37th issue will follow which will focus on Archie’s friends gathering to commemorate his life a year later, The AP reports.

Jon Goldwater, Archie Comics publisher and co-CEO, said: “The way in which Archie dies is everything that you would expect of Archie. He dies heroically. He dies selflessly. He dies in the manner that epitomises 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. 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.

“That’s how we came up with the storyline of saving Kevin. He could have saved Betty. He could have saved Veronica. We get that, but metaphorically, by saving Kevin, a new Riverdale is born,” he added.

Keller – who is a married military veteran and newly elected senator – is now the subject of his own spin-off series – read more here.

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