Archie Andrews to Take a Bullet in Life With Archie Comic

Iconic comic book character Archie Andrews will meet his demise in the next issue of Life With Archie—by taking a bullet to save the life of his gay friend Kevin Keller. More from publisher Jon Goldwater in Out magazine:

The way in which Archie dies is everything that you would expect of Archie,” Goldwater, Archie Comics publisher and co-CEO, tells Associated Press. “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. …

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, Goldwater adds. 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.

As for what’s next for the comic series: “it will jump forward a year and focus on honoring the character’s best moments.”