Via Addicting Info, some sad news about a longtime comic book figure, who goes out heroically in a story about gun control:

Comic books are taking a political turn toward the serious. In two days, comic book star of Life With Archie, Archie Andrews, is going to die. Wednesday, the freckled hero will be shot down thwarting an assassination attempt on his best friend, newly elected Sen. Kevin Keller, over the gun rights issue.

Archie Comics publisher and co-CEO Jon Goldwater said:

“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 almost 75 years.”

Mashable reports:

“[Keller] is a married military veteran and newly elected senator who’s pushing for more gun control in Riverdale after his husband was involved in a shooting.”

The first gay character in the Archie Comics series, Keller debuted in the spinoff, Veronica in 2010, alongside traditionally known characters such as Veronica Lodge, Jughead Jones and Betty Cooper. Keller later even carried his own, separate comic. Now, lead character Archie will lay down his life to save him.

Goldwater continued:

“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. 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.”