Everybody's favorite comic book ginger will die in July. Seriously.
Well, this was unexpected.
Archie Comics has just announced that their popular Life with Archie magazine will be wrapping up its run this July with a special doublesized 36th issue written by longtime series scribe Paul Kupperberg. Even more surprising is that the book will conclude with the death of Archie Andrews. No, really. Here's what the company has to say about this development:
“We’ve been building up to this moment since we launched LIFE WITH ARCHIE five years ago, and knew that any book that was telling the story of Archie’s life as an adult had to also show his final moment,” said Archie Comics Publisher/Co-CEO Jon Goldwater. “Archie has and always will represent the best in all of us—he’s a hero, good-hearted, humble and inherently honorable. This story is going to inspire a wide range of reactions because we all feel so close to Archie. Fans will laugh, cry, jump off the edge of their seats and hopefully understand why this comic will go down as one of the most important moments in Archie’s entire history. It’s the biggest story we’ve ever done, and we’re supremely proud of it.”
There's no word as of yet as why Archie Comics has decided to cancel the series, which still seems ripe with creative potential, but the story will fittingly end with Archie meeting a heroic death while saving the life of one of his friends. The first half of the issue will focus on the circumstances of his demise, with the remaining pages to leap ahead one year in the life to Riverdale to explore how Archie's pals and gals have moved on -- or not -- without him.
The issue will be commemorated with special variant covers featuring art from the likes of Francesco Francavilla, Alex Ross (!), Fiona Staples, Jill Thompson, Adam Hughes, Mike Allred, Ramon Perez, Pat and Tim Kennedy, Cliff Chiang, Tommy Lee Edwards, Jeff Shultz and Walt Simonson.
Since its very beginning, Life with Archie has been a daring and at times bizarre comic (early issues featured a bonkers parallel universe subplot) that focused on two possible futures -- one in which Archie marries Betty and another where he weds Veronica. As interesting as the series has been so far, few could have guessed that it would wrap up this soon and in this manner. It's the latest example of the company's commitment to shaking up the status quo...or maybe they just have bloodlust since they began killing off characters in Afterlife with Archie. Either way, you can bet that you'll be hearing more about this issue from us in the coming months.
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