Archie Andrews from the popular "Life With Archie" comics will die in July after 73 years of stories.
In an interview with Comic Book Resources, writer Paul Kupperberg explained the comic's decision to kill off their beloved title character.
"I was in a story conference with [Archie CEO] Jon Goldwater, [Editor-in-Chief] Victor Gorelick, and [President] Mike Pellerito talking about where we wanted to go for the end of 'Life With Archie' and Jon said, 'Why don't we do something we've never done with Archie before?' We'd already taken Archie and the gang to a lot of new places over the course of the last three years, but when he said 'Let's do the death of Archie,' I really thought he was kidding," Kupperberg told CBR.
"Even after he'd convinced us he wasn't and we started discussing the why and how of his death, Jon didn't entirely commit to it," he added. "He wanted to think on it before giving me the go-ahead, and it took a couple of months and a revision or two of my six-month overview before he thought we'd nailed the direction and gave me the okay. But it really did fit in and make sense with the direction we'd been going in for a while, starting with Clay getting shot in 'LWA' #22 and then the mall shooting in #30."
Publisher/Co-CEO Jon Goldwater released a statement regarding Archie's death, published by the New York Daily News.
"This is a historic moment for the company, but also for comics," Goldwater said. "Archie was around for the birth of the comic book industry, and now we have a chance to celebrate his life by showcasing his final moments in the future "Life With Archie" story. We thought about this a long time, and this story really represents the best of Archie and, in turn, the best of us."
