There’s really only one way the story can end — you get a gay friend, he starts dating, finally has that first kiss, gets gay married, then you inevitably die taking a bullet for him.
Well, if you’re Archie, that is.
The wholesome tyke who first appeared in comics in 1941 has been reimagined as an adult in the recent and ongoing series Life With Archie, in which gay pal Kevin Keller is a newly elected senator with a military background pushing for gun control in Riverdale after his husband was involved in a shooting.
Sounds like the tune from how many notes can I play at once?
How about we take this to the next level?
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Archie’s planned death will mark the end of the series, and is intended to raise issues of gun violence in America.
But it’s also significant that it’s Keller who is saved.
“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,” said Jon Goldwater, Archie Comics publisher and co-CEO. “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.”
So who’s the shooter?
You’ll have to read to find out.
tricky ricky
the storyline brought a tear to my eye.
enlightenone
@tricky ricky: Me too! I grew up reading Archie Comics, not Marvel, not to reinforce a stereotype, just the truth. The “closet” wasn’t a concept for me, thank God!
Queer4Life
I was actually interested in the storyline right up to where it started talking about gun control. Then I wondered what century the writers were in. Haven’t they heard of 3D printers? This story is seriously out of date. The people over at Pink Pistols are right. You could talk about gun control right up until Cody Wilson printed the first gun. Talking about gun control now is like trying to take down file torrents, and we have seen how well that works.
This is yet another attempt to equate being queer with being anti-gun. I may not believe in god but the sentiment is still true “If god made man. Sam Colt made them equal.”
Ridpathos
Another important question: Why is the series ending so soon after introducing a gay character? Did they lose that much leadership or has it just been a constant decline?
hotshot70
wow! I assumed Archie comics was advancing by having a gay person in it. But it really looks like some hate groups forced the creator to end the run immediate after Kevin’s introduction…
Badabang
@Ridpathos: “Kevin Keller” series is not ending, just “Life with Archie” is ending (70 years was enough)… Life with Archie is a long-running comic that portrays Archie’s future adult life, where he is married with Valerie Brown… The author of this article just mixed events from “Kevin Keller” (Kevin Keller’s college years where he has his first kiss and gets a boyfriend) with events from “Afterlife with Archie” (where Kevin is a married veteran soldier).
“Archie”, “Betty & Veronica”, “Veronica”, “Jughead” and “Kevin Keller” series are not ending.
Archie Comics recently introduced a new series called “Artelife with Archie”, a post-apocalyptic zombie version of Life with Archie that is more appealing for young readers that don’t feel identified with the original and cheesy Archie.
jonjct
@Queer4Life: “This is yet another attempt to equate being queer with being anti-gun.” I’m with you. I believe in God and the second amendment and I’m pretty damn queer.
Queer4Life
@jonjct: You can keep god and the second amendment. I don’t own, nor have I ever owned a gun. That is mostly because I have lived mostly in area’s where people around me own guns, so I don’t feel like I need to carry one.(There is a local Pink Pistols chapter near me). As to the second amendment the question of gun regulation has become moot. As of this moment in time it is rather easy to print “The Liberator” (a 3d printed hand gun) and I saw a news article about a rifle that just came out a few weeks ago.
Its fine and dandy to talk about gun control but when you can get a 3D printer for under $200 and print a gun in your own home there is no way to implement gun control at that point. Especially when you can just download the design off the internet.
The conversation about gun control is dead most people just haven’t accepted reality yet. The conversation we need to be having now is not gun control but gun safety. To be frank it scares the daylights out of me to think about some 6 year old being able to print a gun, but that is exactly the situation we are in. There is no undoing it, no turning back the clock. Now there is only awareness prevention.
Locking out certain designs wont work FYI. It’s already been tried and there were workarounds posted online in hours.
The only options which exist right now is.
1) letting cops go door to door searching for contraband. Letting them access your computer and search it for content.
2) Outlawing 3D printers (which by the way can print 3D printers so that doesn’t work).
3) Shut off the internet and confiscate all computers and 3D printers.
4) Prevention through education and awareness, especially targeted to children.
I do not want a situation where little bobby down the street goes to a friends house and prints up a gun and accidentally kills someone. No that is not very likely today but projections are that every home will have a 3D printer in the next 3-5 years.
It doesn’t matter if you like it, it doesn’t matter if I like it. There is this thing called realty and we have to face it. We cannot wish away this technology.
RIGay
Since the trend is to bring graphic novels to the screen, I wonder if “Life with Archie” would get a live action cinema treatment?