Oh no – Archie of Archie Comics will die this summer!
According to comic books publisher Archie Comics, readers should be prepared for a big twist come July.
At the end of the “Life with Archie” comic book series, which will conclude this summer, “Archie” protagonist Archie Andrews will meet his end.
According to the publisher, Archie will “sacrifice himself heroically while saving the life of a friend.” The “Life with Archie” series detailed what happened to the main character after he finished college. However, “Life” has followed two different timelines, one showing what Archie’s life would be like if he pursued a relationship with paramour Betty and the other following his life if he chose Veronica.
“The final issue, however, will show readers Archie's final fate in both timelines – and they're the same,” Archie Comics CEO Jon Goldwater told CNN.
The issue in which Archie will die will be issue number 36 and issue number 37, the final one, will jump forward a year and show how Betty, Veronica, Archie's friend Jughead, and others are dealing with his death, according to the publisher. Issue number 37 will be sold separately as well as with issue number 36 in a double-issue magazine, said Archie Comics.
He believes that Archie’s death is “the natural conclusion to the ‘Life With Archie’ series,” Goldwater said. As noted by CNN, since "Life" leaped forward to the future, Archie will still be around in what is the comics' present day.
Comic book fans are used to multiple resurrections for heroes, but Goldwater said of Archie’s death, “This isn't a story we're going to retcon a few weeks from now. This happened.”
Archie Andrews first appeared in 1941 when he was created by artists Bob Montana and Vic Bloom. "Girls" creator, writer, and star Lena Dunham was recently tapped to write a four-part "Archie" story that will appear in 2015.
