Only In Riverdale

I love Archie comics.  My mother was a literary snob (sorry, Mom) and she hated the idea of comics.  They were not allowed in the house, and were frowned upon as a lower form of entertainment.  My best friend at the time had Archie comic books by the hundreds, and a childhood rebellion was born.  Her mother bought them everywhere, and we'd hit garage sale buyouts that filled grocery bags.  I know the gang, and I know them pretty well.

As an adult, I look back and realize they made some pretty strong statements, over decades.  The main female characters were both talented and strong, and held their own.  Nobody was perfect, everyone made mistakes.  Drugs, alcohol, driving while intoxicated, dropping out of school, weight problems and body issues have all been topics at one point or another.  There was an effort in the 80s to be more gender and racially sensitive, and their stories demonstrated some good values.  But always fun, at least for me.  Just the other day, my husband couldn't describe a guy and used the name Moose Mason to paint the picture.  I got it immediately.

It really is in line with Archie to have a gay character.  I may or may not still read the occasional Archie, but if I did I would say he wasn't a safe stereotype.  He had his own look, actions, humor and talents.  In other words, he just was.  Like any other character, he was just a person, any old guy.  In doing that, they did kids a favor.  They gave them someone that was a fully developed person who happened to be gay.  After a brief buzz, Kevin was just one of the crowd, not defined by his sexuality but by other things as well.  That he was gay was given perspective, and was not the most important or interesting thing about him.

Although the January issue depicts Kevin Keller -- Riverdale's first openly gay character who is also an active U.S. military officer -- tying the knot with his African-American partner Clay Walker, Archie Comics CEO Jon Goldwater insisted that creators weren't interested in making a statement about marriage equality or the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" so much as simply being current.

"Kevin and Clay getting married really is just a reflection of what's going on in the world today," Goldwater said. "If you get married in Riverdale, Riverdale accepts everybody, so this was more of an acceptance."

I'm out of touch enough that I had no idea a wedding was coming, but spiffy.  I'll end up buying that one for sure.  I mean, if I still did something as silly as read an Archie comic book.