Kendra Brea Cooper
Since 1941, Archie comics have been widely read by kids and adults alike. Some call the story "wholesome", but Archie is actually an open story, like a blank slate with characters that are fluid enough to take on the changing aspects of culture. It evolves because of it's structure and the undefinable and transitional world of teenagers. Privilege, class differences, death, race, and human rights are only some of the topics Archie has covered in narrative.
In the final story of the grown up lives in "Life with Archie", the bullet that kills Archie is loaded not only in a gun, but also in issues that reflect big time stories we hear about everyday. Archie dies by saving his gay friend and new senator pushing for gun control; Kevin Keller. He dives in front of a bullet meant for his friend, and also dies inside a point being made about gun violence and hatred.
"Girls" writer Lena Dunham is going to write a four part Archie story in 2015. Dunham is well known for her stories about the mindset of youth in the millennial generation struggling to make ends meet, while the dreams before the recession still sit in the ideological background. This will be an exciting addition to the stories, and it will show the ways in which the Archie comics can stretch themselves into other aspects of pop culture.
This very dark zombie apocalypse take on the Archie comics uses the dead as a way of fleshing out the more interesting original story lines of Archie. The tensions between Veronica's Father and Archie are greater and the stakes in all friendships are higher because anyone could die. While reading this graphic novel, you'll be more interested in who Archie really loves in the Betty/Veronica triangle more than you ever were before.
Archie has become famous for it's progressive and true-to-life stories. In the Life with Archie series, his friend Kevin Keller gets married to his same-sex partner, Clay Walker. These stories help the Archie comic to expand and reflect on contemporary issues, and help the readers think about the world around them.
The story of Archie saving Keller's life during an attempted assassination is surrounded by the issues of gun control. As a senator, Kevin Keller is pro-gun control and this leads to the assassination attempt, and finally Archie's death.
Archie took on the politics and resistance of Occupy in one of it's comics. Archie walks right into the protest with Jughead while on their way to school. They engage in a conversation with the protesters and carry it on in the hallways of the high school. The writers point out the class differences between Betty and Veronica ( and others) in a way only Archie comics can, and the teens engage in class and privilege discourses.
The stories in Life with Archie dive into issues like financial woes, the death of Ms. Grundy, and relationship problems beyond high school fights. Long gone are the days of homework problems. It's a plain realism that the writers are going for, hoping to grow with their readers and attempting to reflect some of their lives.
Bombshell Cheryl Blossom becomes ill with cancer in Life with Archie. The illness changes her appearance all together, which is an issue for women in an image driven world. It also tackles health care in the U.S. as Blossom feels an anxiety in her privileged access to it, while others do not.
Life with Archie plays on our "what could have been" fantasies. In the comic, we see the split story lines of him marrying both Betty and Veronica, and their lives that follow. Through these stories, we can enjoy the two worlds, which is something we think about in our own lives. It is cathartic.
Instead of picking one of his high school sweethearts (Betty and Veronica) to share the rest of his life with, Archie falls for the Pussycats band member, Valerie. They have a baby and name her "star".
Pop culture and all that ideology sitting in the blind spot. Also crafts.
