Gay Schoolmate Kevin Keller Joins Cast Of Archie Comics

NEW YORK — Riverdale High is getting its first gay character.

Archie Comics announced Thursday that in an issue out Sept. 1, the long-running comic will introduce its first "openly gay" character, Kevin Keller.

The strapping blond will defeat Jughead in a burger eating contest, win the affection of Veronica and wrestle over how to gently rebuff her flirtations.

Jon Goldwater, co-CEO of Archie Comics, says the introduction of Kevin is "about keeping the world of Archie Comics current and inclusive."

Comments

[ProfessorDuh]

09:20 AM on 04/26/2010

Everything's up to date in Riverdale. An excellent move. Maybe it will encourage gay teenagers not to commit suicide the way so many who've gone before them have.

[BigMitch]

11:39 AM on 04/25/2010

Fox and the Republicans are always railing against the "Liberal Media." Now we know what they are talking about.

[Brent Abrahamson]

11:35 AM on 04/25/2010

Interesting article and it's about time. Good for Archie Comics! It's amazing that in 2010 this still must be big news. As of May, 2010, same-sex marriage will have been been legal here in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for 6 years. What effect has this had on my life? None at all. Zero. Nada.

I did receive a few comments when I wrote an article called Adam and Steve. Some were very positive; others were as you might expect. Our society has come a long way. It has a way to go still.


http://massachusettsobserver.blogspot.com/2009/05/adam-and-steve.html

[BigMitch]

11:43 AM on 04/25/2010

I support Gay Rights 100% and think that anti-gay concerns like the "threat to marriage" canard are nonsense. However, I also think that the timing of Massachusetts' legalization of gay marriage by the court dealt a death blow to John Kerry's presidential campaign.

[UncleJimbo]

11:47 AM on 04/25/2010

And You Too! Fanned # 14

[UncleJimbo]

11:50 AM on 04/25/2010

And you're right about the Kerry Campaign......Timing is Everything!....Of course the rigged Voting Machines in Ohio helped!

[UncleJimbo]

11:46 AM on 04/25/2010

Fanned! #28

[Dan Kushner]

11:21 AM on 04/25/2010

Well there's no going back now! Now that Archie- a cultural signpost- has embraced the modern era, "don't ask don't tell" surely can't be far behind!


Please understand that everything in this post is dripping in poorly executed sarcasm.

[UncleJimbo]

11:25 AM on 04/25/2010

For Conservatives....."There's a Cultural Signpost Up Ahead,You've Just Entered the H0M0Zone!"

[holyfrak]

11:21 AM on 04/25/2010

Archie is definitely gay and Jughead earned his nickname in the back alley bath-houses of Riverdale.

[UncleJimbo]

11:19 AM on 04/25/2010

Jughead has always been a Gay Character......He's just not a H0m0sexual!......Ha!

[JeromeHoward]

11:05 AM on 04/25/2010

Cool idea. Would be far funnier though (comics like Archie were intended as humor and not social propaganda), far funnier if one of the longtime characters 'came out':

"Hey Arch?"

"Yeah, Jughead."

"I got a confession to make."

"What is it, Jughead?"

"Arch, you know , in the locker room,all those times you've asked me about, you know....?"

"Yeah, Jughead?"

"Well, Arch, I've been fibbin'. That's not really a banana in my pocket, like I told you."

"OHHhhhhh, JUGheadddddddd!!!!!!! You just wouldn't BELIEVE how often I've DREAMED of this moment.........."

[UncleJimbo]

11:11 AM on 04/25/2010

Thanks Curly!....Now I'm all titilated...Finish the story!

[JeromeHoward]

11:24 AM on 04/25/2010

Nah. We'll leave that one hanging there for now. My strategy is to corrupt the entire town, Then we'll proceed.

Next episode: Veronica reveals that she's a man trapped in a woman's body and proceeds to become "Victor".

[David Christensen]

11:36 AM on 04/25/2010

....AND Jughead, tears in his eyes, ran towards Archie...only to be distracted by a someone passing by with a hamburger.

"Hey is that a burger in your hand or are you just happy to see me?"

[UncleJimbo]

11:40 AM on 04/25/2010

Let's see.......Hamburger?.....Se X with Archie?......Hamburger?....Se X with Archie!!!!

[TimnySlagle]

10:55 AM on 04/25/2010

They're still printing Archie Comics?

Oh... THAT'S why they're doing this...

[marecek]

10:50 AM on 04/25/2010

I'm sure we'll hear howls of abuse from lots of idiots - that it is the liberal media (which does not represent "real" Americans) trying to impose its "gay agenda" on us - something like the bodysnatchers. In fact, if you go into a typical high school these days, most people could care less if one of the students is gay. So Archie will hardly be revolutionizing the views of its audience.

[jws2346]

10:28 AM on 04/25/2010

Chill out all you naysayers. This just proves the comic strip joined the current century and is trying to display real life.

[dumosumo]

10:15 AM on 04/25/2010

First Maude gets an abortion, then Murphy Brown has a baby out of wedlock, now Riverdale has a homosexual. What nefarious act of social deconstruction will the country have to face next? Garfield getting neutered?

[jws2346]

10:29 AM on 04/25/2010

Maude got an abortion?

[Gudrun]

11:05 AM on 04/25/2010

Oh yes, that was a famous episode of Maude.

[Harry Mudd]

10:39 AM on 04/25/2010

Oh, go back to the 1800s already, and leave us 21st Century Americans alone. All those you mentioned are fictional characters, but they reflect what REAL people do in real life. You don't link reality, then you must be a Republican. Go back to your unreal "Leave it to Beaver" phony existence.

[UncleJimbo]

11:04 AM on 04/25/2010

You're new here...That's Sarcasm!.....I'm a Big Star Trek Fan Harry but you got to get with it....'K?

[hallowellboy]

10:15 AM on 04/25/2010

Great news!

[lockDown]

09:59 AM on 04/25/2010

Archie is still in production?!

[jttri]

09:56 AM on 04/25/2010

A Liberal Victory?? Don't Ask Don't Tell. Guess Veronica is safe, thank God for Gay Men as they stay away from women.

[HRH]

11:17 AM on 04/25/2010

Yeah, how many gay men have been the cause of a woman having to go to the ER?

[jerryatthebeach]

09:46 AM on 04/25/2010

Sounds like a good character, will he be the Captain of the football team and the star wrestler???

[UncleJimbo]

11:43 AM on 04/25/2010

Drama Club Queen!

[emerson7]

03:09 PM on 04/26/2010

let's hope not.