By Joseph Knoop
Iconic comic book character Archie is slated to receive an untimely end in the July 16 installment of “Life with Archie” according to Archie publisher and Co-CEO Jon Goldwater.
Series’ character Archie Andrews will be fatally shot protecting his friend Kevin Keller, Archie Comics’ first openly gay character, a former military veteran turned senator pushing for tighter gun laws in the fictional Riverdale.
The series has spread to television and radio since its inception as a comic book in the 1940s.
“It’s rare we get national media exposure on a comic like this. It’s overwhelming,” said Bob Williams, owner of The Foolery in Carmel.
Williams, both as a seller and fan of comic books, said that he believes the issue will shed light on the issue of gun violence.
“The way in which Archie dies is everything that you would expect of Archie,” Goldwater told CNN. “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.”
The series’ following issue, number 37, will fast forward the story to a year after the event, chronicling how Archie’s friends deal with his passing.
The issue goes on sale July 16.
