Kevin Keller is a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...

in the

Archie Comics Archie Comic Publications, Inc., is an American comic book publisher headquartered in Pelham, New York.Dan Parent Dan Parent is an American comic book artist and writer best known for his work for Archie Comics. He has illustrated Love Showdown, Felix the Cat, Barbie, Disney Adventures, and with Fernando Ruiz, created the comic series '' Die Kitty Die''. Bi ...

, Kevin is the first

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

character in Archie Comics history. He is portrayed by

Casey Cott Casey Morton Cott (born August 8, 1992) is an American actor, known for his role as Kevin Keller on The CW series '' Riverdale''. Early life and education Cott was born in 1992, the middle of three children of Rick Cott, an investment manager ...

on ''Riverdale''.

Character description and publication history

In Keller's initial storyline, "Isn't It Bromantic?", Veronica expresses interest in dating Kevin but he is uninterested. As he and Jughead bond over their mutual love of food, Kevin explains that he does not want to date Veronica because he is gay. Kevin also bonds with Veronica and they become best friends. Archie Comics co-CEO Jon Goldwater explained that including an openly gay character is a way to open up the world of Riverdale and de-stigmatize homosexuality. "Archie's hometown of Riverdale has always been a safe world for everyone. It just makes sense to have an openly gay character in Archie comic books." ''Veronica'' writer

Dan Parent Dan Parent is an American comic book artist and writer best known for his work for Archie Comics. He has illustrated Love Showdown, Felix the Cat, Barbie, Disney Adventures, and with Fernando Ruiz, created the comic series '' Die Kitty Die''. Bi ...

concurred, saying "It shows that Riverdale is in the 21st century." Keller returned in ''Veronica'' #205 and headlined his own four-issue miniseries, ''Kevin Keller'', beginning in June 2011. The new series focused on Keller's life before he arrived in Riverdale, including his struggles in

junior high school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school ...

. It also establishes that he is an

Army brat A military brat (colloquial or military slang) is a child of serving or retired military personnel. Military brats are associated with a unique subcultureDavid C. Pollock, Ruth E. van Reken. ''Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds'', Revis ...

and introduces the characters Wendy and William, friends whom Keller had been previously seen texting. In July 2011, Archie Comics announced that Keller would star in his own ongoing solo title, also titled ''Kevin Keller''. The new series debuted in February 2012 and featured Keller becoming class president while also dealing with "adversity". The series ended in November 2014 after 15 issues. In April 2015, Archie Comics announced that Kevin Keller would headline another solo series, ''Life with Kevin''. It would be a digital-first mini-series to start with the option to become an ongoing series if successful. The series will bring back creator Dan Parent as writer/artist as well as

J. Bone J. Bone is a Canadian comic book artist and writer who has worked on such titles as DC Comics' '' Batman: The Brave and the Bold'' and ''Super Friends''. He was the inker on the one-shot '' Batman/The Spirit''. Early work J.Bone's first publish ...

as inker. The series will not take place in Archie Comics' "New Riverdale", instead being set in the classic Archie universe and focusing on an older Kevin who has moved to New York City after graduating from college. The series debuted in June 2016.

Other versions

''Afterlife with Archie''

Kevin appears in the second issue of ''

Afterlife with Archie ''Afterlife with Archie'' is a comic book published by Archie Comics beginning in 2013, depicting a zombie apocalypse that begins in the town of Riverdale in an alternative reality. It is written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa,

''. He is shown to be a skilled archer as well as having received military training from his father who died before the series began.

''Life with Archie: The Married Life''

Keller first appeared as an adult in issue #16 (January 2012) of '' Life with Archie: The Married Life'' where his marriage to Clay Walker was shown. Later, after Walker is shot in a robbery attempt, Keller runs for and wins election to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

on a platform of stricter

gun control Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms by civilians. Most countries have a restrictive firearm guiding policy, with on ...

legislation;"For fans of Archie, comic book character's sacrifice to save gay friend makes an impact"
. ''

The Gazette The Gazette (stylized as the GazettE), formerly known as , is a Japanese visual kei Rock music, rock band, formed in Kanagawa Prefecture, Kanagawa in early 2002.''Shoxx'' Vol 106 June 2007 pg 40-45 The band is currently signed to Sony Music Recor ...

'', July 14, 2014. the series concludes with

Archie Andrews Archibald "Archie" Andrews, created in 1941 by publisher John L. Goldwater and artist Bob Montana in collaboration with writer Vic Bloom,

' death saving the newly elected Senator Keller from an

assassination Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...

attempt.

In other media

* Kevin appears in '' Riverdale'', a drama series for

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

portrayed by

. His character featured in a recurring role for the first season, he was then promoted to regular cast for the next season. * Cott reprises the role in the episode "Chapter Ten: Gloria" from the first season of ''

Katy Keene Katy Keene is a character created by Bill Woggon that has appeared in several comic book series published by Archie Comics since 1945. She is a model/actress/singer marketed by the publisher as "America's Queen of Pin-Ups and Fashions". In the bo ...

'', a spin-off of ''Riverdale''.

Reception

Kevin Keller's first appearance in ''Veronica'' #202 proved so popular that the issue sold out, prompting Archie Comics to issue a reprint for the first time in its history.

Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation GLAAD (), an acronym of Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, is an American non-governmental media monitoring organization originally founded as a protest against defamatory coverage of gay and lesbian demographics and their portrayals i ...

then-president

Jarrett Barrios Jarrett Tomás Barrios (born October 16, 1968) is the chief executive officer of the American Red Cross Los Angeles Region, a former politician and activist. Prior to this, he served as the CEO of the American Red Cross of Massachusetts. Barrio ...

praised Kevin's creation. "It’s thrilling to see Riverdale High welcome its first openly gay student, and give readers a window into the lives of gay youth today. As images of gay and transgender people become more frequent on TV and in film, people are embracing and expect to see images of our community across media platforms, including comic books." Parent was nominated for a

GLAAD Media Award The GLAAD Media Award is an accolade bestowed by GLAAD to recognize and honor various branches of the media for their outstanding representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community and the issues that affect their live ...

in 2011 for creating Kevin. Parent has reported that fan reaction to Keller has been overwhelmingly favorable. "Not everybody's particularly happy about it, but from where I'm sitting it's been about 98% positive." He has noted the number of gay fans who have approached him at personal appearances to express their appreciation and explain what a difference a character like Keller would have made to them as they were growing up.

Collected editions

The series has so far been assembled into the following collections:

Trade paperbacks

References

External links

Archie Comics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keller, Kevin Comics characters introduced in 2010 Archie Comics characters Fictional gay males GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book winners LGBT characters in comics Fictional LGBT characters in television LGBT-related comics Fictional United States senators Male characters in comics Male characters in television Teenage characters in comics Teenage characters in television