All good things must come to an end. Or, well, kind of an end.
As revealed at CNN.com, who have thankfully put a pause on their non-stop coverage of missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 to cover some real news, it appears that Archie is going to be killed in an upcoming issue of “Life of Archie,” the series that focuses on two alternate timelines involving marriages to his two consistent paramours. Thankfully, he’s only going to die one way, but each storyline in the book will react to his death in different ways. While his death has not been revealed, it has been noted that he dies saving someone else, because Archie is nothing if not our perpetual under-sung hero.
Not only that, but the issue will also mark the end of the series. While the series itself is done in an AU fashion, it is also supposed to show where Archie would go if Riverdale didn’t exist inside a Simpsons-esque bubble where no one grows or ages or leaves. So while the main Archie lines will not be impacted by this, Archie Comics CEO Jon Goldwater (the son of Archie’s creator John Goldwater) says that this is how they think Archie dies, should Archie die. Which is a bit sad, considering that it means he won’t live until a ripe old age, happy with his life’s work, but never the less bittersweet given that he is allowed to go out on a high note.
Archie, we hardly knew ye.
“Life with Archie” #36 hits stores July 16th, and the series ends with #37. The two-part finale will come with a main cover by Pat and Tim Kennedy (pictured above), and variants by Adam Hughes, Fiona Staples, Francesco Francavilla, Mike Allred, Ramon Perez, Alex Ross, Cliff Chiang, Jill Thompson, Tommy Lee Edwards, Walt Simonson and a Jeff Shultz “Graphic Novel” Cover. Take a look:
