Beloved comic book character Archie to die in July

It’s time for legendary comic book character Archie Andrews to get his business in order because he’s going to die in July. Fans the world over have followed the exploits of Archie and his buddies since 1941 but the end is nigh, as CNN exclusively revealed.

On July 16 “Life With Archie #36” will hit the shelves and in that issue Archie will lose his life by sacrificing his own to save a friend.

Archie Comics CEO Jon Goldwater said:

I think it’s the natural conclusion to the “Life With Archie” series.

Archie dies as he lived — heroically. He dies saving the life of a friend, and does it in his usual selfless way. Archie has always been a representation of us — the best of us. Our strengths and our faults.

Writer Paul Kupperberg, with input from myself, has crafted an emotional, impactful and classic story that I know will survive the test of time. This isn’t a random one-off or “what-if” story that we’re doing as a gag. This is the story that we mapped out carefully and with much thought. This is the death of Archie as we see it, and we’re treating it with that same level of gravitas and import. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime event, and we are being very considerate about it.

He added:

What’s Jughead doing? How are Betty and Veronica dealing with the loss? It’s not about the attention-grab of the death but about telling a great, evocative story that reminds people why this character is important to the fabric of pop culture — and showing how heroic a normal guy like Archie can be, and how important it is to realize that.

This isn’t a story we’re going to retcon a few weeks from now. This happened. This is the conclusion to the “Life With Archie” story and timeline, and it will allow us as a company and the world to take a moment to look at Archie’s life as a whole and recognize him as one of the most important characters — not in just comics — but in popular culture.