'BETTY or VERONICA...or KEVIN?': First gay character enrolls at Archie's Riverdale [UPDATED]

By Michael Cavna





Note: This post was originally published Thurs., April 22 at 12:01 p.m.







The way Archie Comics artist-writer Dan Parent tells it, Riverdale High is getting ever more diverse.

Archie's already dating Valerie from Josie and the Pussycats. The House of Archie is discussing a "Jersey Shore" influence. And according to Parent, a new gay character will enroll at Riverdale later this year.

Suddenly the ol' "Betty or Veronica?" question just got potentially more interesting. (And a lot more like a story-line from, say, the '90s film "Clueless." Or an echo from Hooper's line in Kevin Smith's "Chasing Amy": "Archie and Jughead were lovers"; in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Smith cheekily speaks to this tonight at DC's Sixth & I Historic Synagogue.)

With some comics, this would qualify as non-news. But in the historically less-diverse world of Riverdale, in the longtime land of white-walled jalopies and conspicuously vanilla malt shops, this registers as notable.

"The introduction of Kevin is just about keeping the world of Archie Comics current and inclusive. Archie's hometown of Riverdale has always been a safe world for everyone. It just makes sense to have an openly gay character in Archie comic books," Archie Comics honcho Jon Goldwater said in announcing the news.

In a C2E2 interview (clip below) with Feast of Fun, Parent said that the comic is striving for more diversity and that the new character, Kevin Keller, reportedly will appear in Veronica Comics (#202) in September, in an issue titled "Isn't It Bromantic?" (To see character art of Kevin, you can check the blog "Robot 6.")

In the "Bromantic?" issue, "Everyone seems to know where Kevin is coming from except Veronica," Victor Gorelick, editor in chief of Archie Comics, tells Comic Riffs. "They don't tell Veronica -- they let her stew in it for a while. But he hangs out with Jughead -- they seem to have a connection as far as food goes."

Judging by Gorelick and Parent, there's nothing more to be read into that last statement. Sometimes a malted is just a malted.











(images courtesy of Archie Comics)



Gorelick says none of the creative talent working on the Kevin story line is gay. He notes, though, that Parent has a daughter in high school and is able to draw -- literally -- from a range of experiences at her school.

That might explain why Riverdale High will also see an influx of 50.students this fall, according to Gorelick. "Another school will be shut because of budget cuts, and that closing will have a ripple effect," he tells 'Riffs.

As for those readers who are confused because they thought Archie was now married to Veronica -- or Betty -- Gorelick says that flash-forward arc from last year will transition into a monthly magazine: "Life With Archie: The Married Life."

Back in the Archie Comics and Veronica Comics stories, though, Archie is still single (he's just begun to call Pussycat Valerie his "Sugar, Sugar"); the "Betty or Veronica?" question rages on; and Jughead and Kevin will bond over banana splits.

As for whether any other Riverdale students will be gay, Parent says: "Traditional Riverdale characters won't be coming out."



