Kevin: Kevin Keller is the first openly gay character in the history of Archie Comics and currently stars in his own best-selling series of comic books. In this special paper-over-board novel, we focus on Kevin’s early, awkward years and the struggles and joys of his inspirational road to self-discovery. This sweet and funny coming of age story features a strong anti-bullying message and is a perfect gift for Archie fans, parents, and anyone who has—or is—struggling to find their place.Kevin is scheduled to be released later this month.
Late last month, Publishers Weekly posted an article about Kevin, which included an article by writer Paul Kupperberg. Kupperberg is the writer who penned LIFE WITH ARCHIE #16, the issue in which an adult Kevin Keller married Dr. Clay Walker. Since the wedding, Kupperberg has continued to include Kevin and Clay in the title, resulting in Clay getting shot and Kevin running for Congress on a gun reform platform.
The book sounds interesting. It's set long before Kevin moved to Riverdale, back when he was a flabby junior high student with braces and a comic book collection. Kevin is struggling to fit in and he's also struggling with his growing attraction to one of his male friends. It sounds pretty interesting and I'm sure I'll get it when I see it.
But the thing that gave me pause in this article was down in the final paragraph. Check this out:
When Archie initially decided to publish a young reader novel about an openly gay character, it immediately turned to Kupperberg, who said that he “knew the characters as well as had some experience in young adult publishing.” The author added, “Kevin is a character who is gay, not a gay character. When you boil it down, it’s still an Archie comic, I didn’t even show them kissing. I’m not looking for controversy. I’m just telling a story.”One of the biggest complaints that people have about Kevin Keller is that he's a gay teen and he'll tell you that he's a gay teen, but we haven't really seen much to indicate that he's anything but a eunuch. Even I noticed the difference between how Archie Comics was handling its gay married war hero versus how Marvel Comics was handling its gay married super hero. I mean an adult version of the character eventually married another guy and he recently held hands with his new boyfriend Devon, which is great.
But neither version of Kevin Keller has ever been seen kissing his husband or his boyfriend.
Kevin was originally described as one of the gang. He was to be just like Archie -- except gay. Archie kisses Betty. Archie kisses Veronica. Archie has also kissed Cheryl and Valerie and a whole assortment of other girls since his creation seven decades ago. In fact, pretty much everyone in Riverdale has been seen smooching at least once or twice -- including Mr. Misogyny himself, Jughead!
I guess my biggest complaint is that a kiss between Kevin and Clay would be viewed as controversial. Kevin marrying Clay was controversial. They have already crossed that bridge. Those who object to the relationship have either quit the book or issued their complaint. Kevin and Clay never kissing is actually controversial for his actual fan base. They're growing restless over the concept of an out gay teen who won't even kiss his new "bad boy" boyfriend. Or they're insulted with the notion that two boyfriends kissing is seen as controversial while his straight friends perpetually dating all of his other straight friends isn't controversial. Or both.
It is possible that Kuppenberg was awkwardly quoted and somewhat out of context. But both he, KEVIN KELLER's writer Dan Parent, and Archie Comics in general need to re-think how they portray their infamous gay teen. He needs to grow as a character and they need to fulfill their promise of him being just like any other Riverdale teen. Or else they will lose his fan base.