The problem is you don't find them in the supermarkets. There are adult comic books, and there are a lot, a lot of great comics for kids, especially interesting(ph) for kids.
So the "Archie" books are kind of - tended to be all ages. But you know, comics are a medium, and they're a broad medium.
The "Archie" books are kind of pointed toward tweens. It might surprise some parents to realize that a lot of the books that involve people in capes and cowls beating up on each other to fight crime aren't necessarily going to be guaranteed kid-friendly. WELDON: Geeks like me is what you're trying to say, yes. You know, that was an interesting and very matter-of-fact, non-apologetic way of presenting him, and it was really interesting to see.ĬONAN: It is interesting to look at who the audience - intended audience - we think about comic books - well, most of them are sold these days to people over 30 years old.ĬONAN: They're not really intended for young people. WELDON: So how they dealt with this character, how they introduced him, which was a very - in the way of the "Archie" books, innocuous to the point of blandness. They have to attempt to adapt to the times while pretending that the times don't change. Riverdale, as you said, has this interesting - the "Archie" books have this interesting tension. And that's the interesting thing about this character. So whether or not Kevin makes it to the big time or if he's just sort of (unintelligible) remains to be seen.ĬONAN: They did say, in a press release, that he would not be a one-shot, that they did plan to bring him back with three or four episodes at least. Chuck and Nancy are two African-Americans, are kind of in that same thing. WELDON: Your Mooses, your Midges, your Big Ethels, your Dilton Doileys. But there are a couple of African-American characters who've kind of made into the second tier.ĬONAN: The B-list of students at Riverdale High. And that's certainly more than has happened with, say, Tamiko(ph). So there is plan - there are plans to bring Kevin Keller back. And then they kind of tend to cycle into the background. They've introduced several African-American characters, several Asian characters, several - an Indian character, Hispanic characters. What remains to be seen is how much he's actually going to be hanging around Riverdale after this. So again, this is the normal way that characters are introduced -hijinks ensue. In this case, he is hanging out with Jughead, Veronica comes over, falls kind of madly in love with him because he's a very attractive young man, and in so doing insults Veronica - and he takes it upon himself - Jughead does - to get revenge on Veronica by making sure that nobody tells Veronica that Kevin is gay. And through no fault of his own and perfectly unwittingly, he upsets the delicate equilibrium that exists between the five principals. But yeah, they introduced him the way they introduce a lot of characters into the Archie mythos. And you know, Professor Flutesnoot has always personally pinged my gaydar. He has been fending off Big Ethel for decades now. WELDON: Well, it's important that you stipulate openly gay, Neal, because, you know, the jury is out on Jughead. Click on TALK OF THE NATION.Īnd Glen, how is Kevin Keller introduced? Email: You can join the conversation at our website, npr.org. How important is that Riverdale reflects the times? Should Riverdale remain in that timeless bubble of the malt shop instead? Give call us: 80. Of course, we want to hear from listeners as well. They actually asked me not to.ĬONAN: Well, we appreciate that. And Glen Glen, I have to - are you sitting in my seat, Glen? He blogs about comics for NPR's pop-culture blog, Monkey See. Joining us to talk about it is Glen Weldon. And while Kevin Keller is hardly the first gay character in a mainstream comic, Riverdale represents something very different than the X-Men's New York or Superman's Metropolis. And Kevin is interested in neither Betty nor Veronica, because he's openly gay. Riverdale High, home of the wholesome, the upright, the relentlessly mainstream, has a new student.�The all-American school, home of Archie and Jughead, enrolled Kevin Keller in September.