Gay Archie character to get his own comic book
ArtsBeat reports: The gay pride parade continues in Riverdale, the longtime home of Archie Andrews and his friends. Kevin Keller, the first openly gay resident of the town, who was introduced in issue No. 202 of Veronica in September, will have his own monthly comic book starting in February.
“He’s proven to be incredibly popular,” said Jon Goldwater, co-chief executive of Archie Comics. “We’re just so proud of the success of Kevin and the fact that he adds a new dynamic to Riverdale.”
The series, titled Kevin Keller, will follow a four-issue mini-series starring Kevin that began in July and has started filling out his background, including his relationship with his father, who serves in the military and is supportive of his son’s desire to follow in his footsteps. Like those for the other Archie characters, Kevin’s series will deal with his life in high school.
“He’s going to be the class president,” said Dan Parent, the writer-artist who created Kevin. But it won’t all be a good time. “Even the most popular kids are not popular with everybody,” Mr. Parent said. “There’s some adversity he’ll have to deal with.”
Readers will also get a glimpse into Kevin’s adulthood thanks to a continuing married life story line in Life With Archie, which shows that famous redhead’s life on two paths: one in which he married Betty, the other in which he married Veronica. In early 2012 that story line will feature Kevin’s marriage.
“We needed to figure out how to get Kevin into that book and, frankly, not sidestep the issue,” Mr. Goldwater said. “It deals with the fact that he’s a gay man and has gay relationships.” Mr. Goldwater said the overall reception to Kevin has been positive. “Out of all the people who subscribe to the Archie books, we only had seven total cancellations,” he said.
“He’s proven to be incredibly popular,” said Jon Goldwater, co-chief executive of Archie Comics. “We’re just so proud of the success of Kevin and the fact that he adds a new dynamic to Riverdale.”The series, titled Kevin Keller, will follow a four-issue mini-series starring Kevin that began in July and has started filling out his background, including his relationship with his father, who serves in the military and is supportive of his son’s desire to follow in his footsteps. Like those for the other Archie characters, Kevin’s series will deal with his life in high school.
“He’s going to be the class president,” said Dan Parent, the writer-artist who created Kevin. But it won’t all be a good time. “Even the most popular kids are not popular with everybody,” Mr. Parent said. “There’s some adversity he’ll have to deal with.”
Readers will also get a glimpse into Kevin’s adulthood thanks to a continuing married life story line in Life With Archie, which shows that famous redhead’s life on two paths: one in which he married Betty, the other in which he married Veronica. In early 2012 that story line will feature Kevin’s marriage.
“We needed to figure out how to get Kevin into that book and, frankly, not sidestep the issue,” Mr. Goldwater said. “It deals with the fact that he’s a gay man and has gay relationships.” Mr. Goldwater said the overall reception to Kevin has been positive. “Out of all the people who subscribe to the Archie books, we only had seven total cancellations,” he said.
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