Iconic Comic Book Character is Killed Off

For the last few years Archie Comics has been chronicling the grown-up years of Archie Andrews and his gang of high school buddies from the town of Riverdale as they take on the challenges of marriage, careers, and other difficulties that go with being an "adult" in a monthly comic book series titled LIFE WITH ARCHIE.  People have been following the fictional adventures of Archie and his teenage friends (Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, Reggie Mantle, and Jughead Jones) since their first story was printed in 1941's Pep Comics #22 and continued throughout the last 73 years in a variety of publications.  This Wednesday, Archie Comics will be wrapping up the run of its LIFE WITH ARCHIE series in a dramatic way by killing off one of its iconic characters.  In the July 16, 2014 edition of LIFE WITH ARCHIE, Archie Andrews is killed off!

When Archie Andrews intervenes in an assassination attempt against his politician friend Kevin Keller, Archie Comics' first openly gay character, in LIFE WITH ARCHIE #36 the famous freckle faced red headed character who inspired the creation of Richie Cunningham on "Happy Days" and has been entertaining fans for decades in his own comic book publications meets his demise marking the conclusion of a series which focused on a grown-up rendition of the gang from Riverdale taking place in today's modern times.

In the LIFE WITH ARCHIE series, Kevin Keller is a married military veteran and newly elected senator who is pushing for gun control after his husband becomes involved in a shooting.  The openly gay character first appeared in the Archie Comics series VERONICA in 2010. In addition to appearing in LIFE WITH ARCHIE, the character also has his own self titled comic book and appears in the horror series AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE.

Archie's final moments will be the focus of LIFE WITH ARCHIE #36 and the series will conclude in August with LIFE OF ARCHIE #37 which will take place a year after the iconic comic book character's death with his friends gathering to reflect on and honor Andrews' legacy.  So who shot Archie?  You'll have to pick up the comic book to find out!

There will a few different variant covers to choose from for both LIFE WITH ARCHIE #36 and #37 retailing for $4.99 each.  There will also be a double-sized issue that combines both #36 & #37 selling for $9.99.

LIFE WITH ARCHIE #36

 

 

LIFE WITH ARCHIE #37

 

 

 

 

Archie Comics has gone on the record to say that Archie's death is not meant as a publicity stunt but rather meant to be a lesson on gun violence and a demonstration of the publisher's commitment to diversity in its publications' characters.  Archie Andrews will continue to live on in other Archie Comic series that focus more on the teenage Riverdale cast of characters now and in the future.

You can pick up these comic books at your local comic book store or online directly from the Archie Comics by CLICKING HERE.