Archie Comics: The Next Bastion of LGBTQ Acceptance?

Archie Comics, first published in 1941, is a cornerstone of American culture.  When I was younger, I would beg my parents for the latest installments in the  lives of Archie, Betty, Veronica, Reggie and Jughead, although their concentric struggles were largely the same in each issue: Which girl can turn Archie’s head further?  How can Jughead scheme his way to the maximum amount of Pop Tate’s hamburgers?  Will Reggie ever stanch his endless flow of pompous douchosity?  All that is about to change, though, with the introduction of who the September issue’s cover heralds as “the hot new guy!”  His name is Kevin Keller, and he is indeed suave and hunky.  He’s also totally gay.
It’s charming that this most apple pie-flavored of comic strips is bringing a gay character into its pages.  Archie Comics has always been the picture of teenage normalcy, and to extend that easygoing feel to a character in the LGBTQ community is an admirable move.

Best of all, the plot in which he’s introduced isn’t a fatalistic story where Kevin’s sexual preference shocks and offends the delicate citizens of Riverdale.  It’s a sitcom-esque romp typical of the series that finds Veronica dizzily swooning over the blonde dreamboat without realizing what his sexual proclivities are.  ”Mayhem and hilarity ensue as Kevin desperately attempts to let Veronica down easy and her flirtations only become increasingly persistent,” explains Archie Comics on its website.  ”Mayhem and hilarity” instead of preachiness and asinine “tolerance?”  Who knew Archie Comics could handle this kind of progressiveness so gracefully?

“The introduction of Kevin is just about keeping the world of Archie Comics current and inclusive. Archie’s hometown of Riverdale has always been a safe world for everyone. It just makes sense to have an openly gay character in Archie comic books,” said Archie Comics Co-CEO, Jon Goldwater in a statement on the website.

It does make sense, in direct contrast to some other aspects of the series: namely, how do Archie and the gang look that youthful for being over sixty years old?  They’re not telling, but you can observe both their beauty secrets and Kevin’s debut in the September issue of the series, due out on September 1st in comic shops and on the 14th on newsstands.