The beloved comic book character Archie Andrews will die in the upcoming issue by taking a bullet for a close friend. Archie publisher and co-CEO Jon Goldwater revealed on Monday, July 14 that the character will be shot to death after a gunman tries to kill Kevin Keller, a military veteran and openly gay senator.
In issue #36 of Life With Archie Keller is pushing for stricter gun control in Riverdale after his husband was involved in a shooting. A gunman opens fire aiming at Keller and Andrew jumps in the way of the bullet. He later dies from his injuries.
"The way in which Archie dies is everything that you would expect of Archie. 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 75 years," Goldwater told the Associated Press.
He didn't reveal who the gunman is but said it's a stalker who wanted Keller dead.
"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 continued. "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."
Many popular comic book characters have been killed off - Lori Grimes from The Walking Dead, Peter Parker from Amazing Spider-Man #700 - but Goldwater insists that the move wasn't a publicity stunt and was meant to teach a lesson about gun violence.
"Archie is not a superhero like all the rest of the comic book characters," he said. "He's human. He's a person. When you wound him, he bleeds. He knows that. If anything, I think his death is more impactful because of that. We hope by showing how something so violent can happen to Archie, that we can - in some way - learn from him."
Issue #36 of "Life With Archie" will be released Wednesday, July 16. The last issue, #37, will take place one year following Andrew's death and will focus on how his friends are dealing with the loss.
