Archie Comics Celebrates 1st Gay Marriage

Archie Comics introduced its first gay couple last September and now Riverdale is celebrating its first gay marriage.

The Hollywood Reporter notes that Kevin Keller, Riverdale’s first gay character, just got married to Dr. Clay Walker in Life With Archie no. 16. Archie tackled a few controversial issues with its latest story line.

First they introduced their first gay character. Then they created a story line where Kevin Keller serves in the Iraq war. Then Keller gets injured and is treated by Dr. Clay Walker, his future husband. And finally, we have an interracial gay marriage.

Archie Comics CEO Jonathan Goldwater, said:

“Riverdale, Archie and the gang are set in high school, and we ran a risk, unless we reflect what’s going on with kids today in the real world, of becoming irrelevant.”

And it looks like Archie’s mission of staying relevant has been accomplished. Kevin Keller helped a four-issue miniseries sell out in 2011, and now Riverdale’s gay character is getting his own solo series. Keller will be elected president of Riverdale High School and will have to deal with the issues that come with being an openly gay teen.

GLAAD praised Archie Comics for telling the story of Kevin Keller, saying:

“With Riverdale being a picture perfect image of the reality we live in, it is important for readers to see the diversity of American life reflected in this idealistic universe.”

What do you think about the gay marriage in Archie Comics?