Archie Comics welcomes a blue-eyed blond gay

Kevin Keller [pictured] is his name, and he’s Archie Comics’ first openly gay character. Kevin makes his debut in comic book shops September 1, with a coming out story written and illustrated by Dan Parent. To the kids at Riverdale High, Kevin’s sexual orientation is a nonissue. Their reaction is very nonchalant.

The story titled “Isn’t It Bromantic?,” finds the Veronica chasing after Kevin, who seems immune to her charms. She doesn’t know Kevin is gay, though others do.

“Comedically, you see Veronica kind of falling all over herself trying to win the guy over, where the audience knows what is going on and half of Riverdale know what’s going on,” Parent said. “It just seemed like it would be a fun story.”

“My daughter is that age, she’s 16. I see in her high school that there are a lot of openly gay kids. It’s not even like a big deal.”