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chuckroMany of the Archie Comics offerings seemed to be “Kevin shows up in this” choices.
Archie's Pal Kevin Keller - The first half-dozen stories that introduce Kevin to Riverdale, work out how he fits into the Archie gang’s dynamic, and establish his extended supporting cast (his family, his friends from his old school, a few rivals, etc). I found it entertaining that they decided to create a new character to be the homophobic jerk—Reggie is allowed to be cartoonishly evil, but even he won’t stoop to homophobia!
Kevin Keller Vol 1: Welcome to Riverdale - An introductory collection of Kevin’s headline comics as he goes on dates and gets into trouble. Y’know, standard Archie fare, just with the gay dude.
Kevin Keller Vol 2: Drive Me Crazy - Kevin manages to get himself into an Archie-style love triangle with two boys, which is exactly as it should be. This set includes the briefly-serious story of one boy getting kicked out by his parents when he comes out; but because it’s an Archie comic, Veronica just solves that on the next page. Also, George Takei guest-stars. I can take or leave the “very special episode” comics, but I heartily approve of the wacky Archie adventures without the heteronormativity.
Archie Love and Heartbreak Special - Unlikely couples at the fairground (Kevin’s story is really kind of secondary to the Jughead/Betty plot) noteworthy in that it uses the modern art style rather than the classic house style.
Archie #666 – Nothing to do with the devil; Archie also gets kicked out of school upon reaching his 666th stint in detention.
Archie #635 - “Occupy Riverdale”, which seems hopelessly dated, as a bunch of high school student stage a protest against the rich people in Riverdale (Mr. Lodge, basically) and it turns out that when there are only ~100 residents of town and everyone can just have a conversation with each other you can work these things out.
Betty & Veronica: Bond of Friendship - Another book that isn’t in the Archie house style; this is in a more cartoony style and Betty and Veronica look closer to the actresses who play them on Riverdale. As the girls explore career day together, we see flash-forward adventures (i.e. goofy fantasies) about them being politicians, astronauts, etc. I can’t really object to the theme of “We’re different but both really capable and teamwork makes us unstoppable.”
Life With Kevin – Taking a break from high school hijinks, this is a flash forward to Kevin’s post-Riverdale life, where he gets a job at a news station and his own dive apartment…with a cut-off Veronica as his roommate. Ridiculous misadventures work out well, and pretty boys make him stupid. It diverges from any sort of reality often and with aplomb, which is also par for the course.
Archie and Sabrina Vol. 2 – A more “serious,” rather than goofy Archie story in the newer style (rather that the classic house style) about Archie dating Sabrina as mysterious things happen around them. Reggie’s dad is missing, Betty and Veronica are clashing over a stretch of woods, and some kind of evil is rising. Unfortunately, this is the second volume of an ongoing series, and I have no idea what comes before or after. Also, no idea why it’s in this bundle.
Afterlife with Archie #5 - The last issue of the first volume: A zombie plague has taken over Riverdale! The surviving characters have holed up in Lodge Manor, but help may not be coming! Kevin…is there too!
This also included Archie the Married Life: 10th Anniversary #1-6 and Archie: The Married Life Vol. 3-6 for reasons I’m unclear on. I’ll probably read them eventually.
Overall: I love the very existence of Kevin Keller because the Archie writers know exactly what to do with him: Exactly what they’re doing with every other character. His intelligence, coordination and skill levels at various things vary wildly in order to make stories work; he does really stupid things for love and gets into wacky hijinks and everybody loves him anyway…he’s just like Archie, only gay. Perfect.
Archie's Pal Kevin Keller - The first half-dozen stories that introduce Kevin to Riverdale, work out how he fits into the Archie gang’s dynamic, and establish his extended supporting cast (his family, his friends from his old school, a few rivals, etc). I found it entertaining that they decided to create a new character to be the homophobic jerk—Reggie is allowed to be cartoonishly evil, but even he won’t stoop to homophobia!
Kevin Keller Vol 1: Welcome to Riverdale - An introductory collection of Kevin’s headline comics as he goes on dates and gets into trouble. Y’know, standard Archie fare, just with the gay dude.
Kevin Keller Vol 2: Drive Me Crazy - Kevin manages to get himself into an Archie-style love triangle with two boys, which is exactly as it should be. This set includes the briefly-serious story of one boy getting kicked out by his parents when he comes out; but because it’s an Archie comic, Veronica just solves that on the next page. Also, George Takei guest-stars. I can take or leave the “very special episode” comics, but I heartily approve of the wacky Archie adventures without the heteronormativity.
Archie Love and Heartbreak Special - Unlikely couples at the fairground (Kevin’s story is really kind of secondary to the Jughead/Betty plot) noteworthy in that it uses the modern art style rather than the classic house style.
Archie #666 – Nothing to do with the devil; Archie also gets kicked out of school upon reaching his 666th stint in detention.
Archie #635 - “Occupy Riverdale”, which seems hopelessly dated, as a bunch of high school student stage a protest against the rich people in Riverdale (Mr. Lodge, basically) and it turns out that when there are only ~100 residents of town and everyone can just have a conversation with each other you can work these things out.
Betty & Veronica: Bond of Friendship - Another book that isn’t in the Archie house style; this is in a more cartoony style and Betty and Veronica look closer to the actresses who play them on Riverdale. As the girls explore career day together, we see flash-forward adventures (i.e. goofy fantasies) about them being politicians, astronauts, etc. I can’t really object to the theme of “We’re different but both really capable and teamwork makes us unstoppable.”
Life With Kevin – Taking a break from high school hijinks, this is a flash forward to Kevin’s post-Riverdale life, where he gets a job at a news station and his own dive apartment…with a cut-off Veronica as his roommate. Ridiculous misadventures work out well, and pretty boys make him stupid. It diverges from any sort of reality often and with aplomb, which is also par for the course.
Archie and Sabrina Vol. 2 – A more “serious,” rather than goofy Archie story in the newer style (rather that the classic house style) about Archie dating Sabrina as mysterious things happen around them. Reggie’s dad is missing, Betty and Veronica are clashing over a stretch of woods, and some kind of evil is rising. Unfortunately, this is the second volume of an ongoing series, and I have no idea what comes before or after. Also, no idea why it’s in this bundle.
Afterlife with Archie #5 - The last issue of the first volume: A zombie plague has taken over Riverdale! The surviving characters have holed up in Lodge Manor, but help may not be coming! Kevin…is there too!
This also included Archie the Married Life: 10th Anniversary #1-6 and Archie: The Married Life Vol. 3-6 for reasons I’m unclear on. I’ll probably read them eventually.
Overall: I love the very existence of Kevin Keller because the Archie writers know exactly what to do with him: Exactly what they’re doing with every other character. His intelligence, coordination and skill levels at various things vary wildly in order to make stories work; he does really stupid things for love and gets into wacky hijinks and everybody loves him anyway…he’s just like Archie, only gay. Perfect.
