Iconic comic star Archie Andrews died today, sacrificing his life for his gay friend, Kevin Kellar. The demise of the 73-year-old character had been announced in April.

 

Archie thwarted an assassination attempt on Kevin, the comic’s first gay character. Kevin is a military veteran and freshman Senator pushing for tougher gun-control laws.  He first made his appearance in a 2010 issue of “Veronica.” The character was popular enough to get his own solo title, “Kevin Keller,” which debuted in July 2011. In 2012 he married his African-American partner, Clay Walker. 

 

Archie has had a good run and, of course, the way it is with comics, you never know if he might be miraculously resurrected some day.