Haverhill’s ‘Archie’ dies saving gay friend

July 15--HAVERHILL -- Readers learned back in April that Archie, the main character of the iconic comic strip based on the Haverhill High School of the 1930s, was going to die.

The moment has finally arrived. Archie Andrews will be shot and killed while protecting his best friend Kevin Keller from an assassin in tomorrow's installment of "Life With Archie."

The introduction of Keller, a gay character, to the world of Archie and the fictitious Riverdale High School caused a stir in September 2010, when he first appeared in "Veronica," a spinoff comic from Archie.

"It really speaks to what a friend Archie was and what it means to stand up for someone. That's what my organization is about -- being an ally for other people," said Tom Bourdon, a 1994 graduate of Haverhill High School who is president of the Greater Boston chapter of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays. "I think the fact that this great friend did the ultimate act of support for his best friend might be a quite appropriate way to wrap up the story line. While none of us wants to see this happen to such a beloved character, this might be a quite fitting way."

When asked in 2010 if Archie's creator, Bob Montana, would have put an openly gay character in the strip, Frederick Malcolm of the Haverhill High Class of 1939 said no.

"I certainly don't think so," said Malcolm, who owned and operated the Frederick E. Malcolm Insurance Agency for many years.

He knew Montana, who attended Haverhill High for a couple of years before moving to New Hampshire and graduating from Manchester Central High School in 1940. While Archie, Jughead, Veronica and Betty were at Riverdale High School, they were actually Hillies, because Montana patterned them after people who attended Haverhill High.

Kevin Keller's marriage to Clay Walker in 2012 caused a much greater uproar. OneMillionMoms, a group that supports traditional family values, demanded that Toys "R" Us remove the "Life With Archie" comic book carrying the gay marriage story from its racks.

OneMillionMoms objected to the issue of sexual preference being presented in a toy store and threatened to boycott the chain.

Executives at Archie Comics Inc. have said the strip needs to reflect today's real-life issues.

"Bob Montana might be rolling in his grave," Tim Coco said when asked for his comment on the latest Archie episode. Coco, owner of the Coco+Co advertising agency and president and general manager of radio station WHAV, has experienced firsthand America's changing attitude toward men and women who are gay.

Coco and his spouse, Genesio "Junior" Oliveira, were married in Massachusetts in 2005, after this state had legalized same-sex marriage. Yet Oliveira was deported to his homeland, Brazil, in 2007 and was not allowed to return to the United States until 2010.

Archie's heroic act of saving his gay friend "seems a little over the top," said Coco, who added it has been many years since he read a comic book.

"It may very well be instructive," he said of Archie's sacrifice.

Charles Hayden, who like Malcolm graduated from Haverhill High in 1939, said he could not comment on Archie's death and the circumstances around it.

"To each his own," he said, regarding Kevin Keller's sexual preference. "That's their life."

Hayden also knew Montana, whom he called "a talented young man." Montana attended Haverhill High for about two years, Hayden recalled, but he made a lasting impression on the school because of his artistic ability.

"The way in which Archie dies is everything that you would expect of Archie," said Jon Goldwater, Archie Comics publisher and co-CEO. "He dies heroically. He dies selflessly. He dies in the manner that epitomizes not only the best of Riverdale but the best of all of us. It's what Archie has come to represent over the past almost 75 years."

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