The Countdown To Archie Comics' First Gay Character

When I think of Archie Comics, my mind is instantly taken back to a time in America when my parents went to school, when Rock 'n Roll was just getting started, when everyone had to walk uphill both ways to get anywhere, and a soda cost a nickel. But it's also not an image of America that is necessarily reflective of the political and social struggles that many folks face.

That's why it's pretty interesting and somewhat ground-breaking that Archie Comics is about to introduce their first openly gay character, a blue-eyed, blond-haired teenage boy named Kevin Keller. Announced in April 2010, the issue with Keller's first appearance, Veronica #202, is slated to ship in the coming days, and be available to the public on September 1.

And that couldn't make the writer and illustrator of the book, Dan Parent, happier. Parent spoke with Bill Radford at The Gazette, and he noted that Archie's introduction of a gay character has little to do with wanting to be provocative, but more to do with wanting to reflect the reality that teenagers and pre-teens experience. There are gay kids in their classrooms, and there ought to be gay kids in their comics.

"My daughter is that age, she's 16. I see in her high school that there are a lot of openly gay kids. It's not even like a big deal," Parent said, dropping the obligatory "like" that consumes the vocabulary of many a teenager (hey, it was me too at one point). "We're trying to show that Riverdale is contemporary, and that it is a diverse and accepting place ... At some point, you have to address these subjects."

So how about it? When I was growing up, all I had to crush on was Fred from the animated version of Scooby Doo. Might Kevin Keller take his place?

Back in April, when the Kevin Keller character was first announced, Change.org's Nathan Tabak pointed out that this was a pretty big to do.

"For decades now, LGBT activists have sought better representation of LGBT characters and issues in the media. Yet children's media have been almost completely exempt from these demands," Tabak wrote. Archie Comics, to some extent, turns that trend on its head, and makes visible an LGBT character that young folks who are 10, 11, 12, 13 years old or beyond might be able to identify with, at least in some form.

Now the question will become just what kind of storyline this gay character will be given, and whether or not he'll make more than just a one or two-off appearance. As has been teased, Kevin Keller will play a new gay teen in town who is open with most of his classmates, but becomes somewhat of a teenage crush for long-time character Veronica (who doesn't know he's gay). Sheesh, I can think of a really sweet high school prom date I had who might be able to relate.

Meanwhile, Parent says the character is there for the long haul.

"We had to be careful that it didn't come off as a stunt," Parent said, adding that Keller will be around in Archie's world for some time.

Good. Archie Comics may sound square to a lot of people ... but they're proving with this move that this isn't your 1950s version what might be America's most beloved comic book series.

Photo credit: bobster855