IT GETS BETTER - DAN PARENT, ARTIST AND WRITER FOR ARCHIE COMICS

Working at Archie Comics is the fulfillment of a dream for me. I grew up loving the Riverdale High characters, and followed my love of drawing to art school. For over 25 years I’ve been able to write and draw many of the characters in the Archie Comics world. 

As a comic book artist and writer, I often use real life experiences in my work. Recently, I thought about the many conversations I’ve had with my kids and their friends about school, friends, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. In doing so I realized that something was missing in the Archie world. There were no LGBT characters.
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Kevin is a new student at Riverdale leading life as an out, proud high school student. Despite the fact that Kevin comes from a supportive family, growing up is not easy.

We saw a huge response when we introduced Kevin to our Archie readers. Issues featuring Kevin are the first ones to sell out in Archie’s 70-year history and Kevin’s characters received many accolades, including a GLAAD Media Award.

I loved the Archie Comics as I grew up and into my teen years and after.  Though I have not kept up  with Archie lately, I have fond memories of all the characters.   How lovely that Kevin Keller's introduction as a member of Archie's crowd went smoothly and well.