Kevin Keller may find himself dead square in the national debate over gays in the military because of his dad.
Keller, the first openly gay character in Archie Comics’ 70-year history, is loud and proud of his father, a retired Army colonel, in a four-issue miniseries debuting next week.
Archie, Veronica, Jughead and the rest of the Riverdale gang are puzzled given their pal’s sexual orientation. They’re even more perplexed when Kevin’s mom calls her son her “future military man.”
The miniseries debuts Wednesday, and will be released monthly.
Writer and artist Dan Parent says Kevin’s relationship with his father is a key plank of the character’s identity, just as much as his being gay.
“We just wanted to show a healthy father-son relationship where Kevin’s sexuality wasn’t an issue, similarly to the reaction he got from the gang in Riverdale,” Parent said.
He talked to numerous children of career military members, and found that they all shared the same bond with family.
“There’s a certain thing Army brats have in common, and its that feeling of not getting too comfortable in one spot because you really don’t know how long you’ll be there,” Parent said. “And, maybe not in all cases, but I think in many, there’s a closer family bond because all you have from place to place is that immediate family to rely on.”
Throughout the story arc, Kevin’s homosexuality is one of many threads of the tale of a teenager who aspires to be a journalist but only after attending the U.S. Military Academy and becoming an Army officer.
Jon Goldwater, co-chief executive of Archie Comics, said Kevin is not meant to be a divisive figure.
“The way it’s presented is done with such a light touch. It’s kind of the way Dan introduced Kevin,” he said. “We’re not trying to come across as preachy or heavy-handed or even political.”
Associated Press.
As I've said before, surely only fags buy these mags?
I think this is proven by Kevin Keller being the third most popular reason people hit on Fagburn after Lady Gaga and Tom Daley.
Can anyone explain this?
Thursday, 2 June 2011
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Because people like it.
ReplyDeleteThe idea that only fags buy comics is so patently false and based on nothing but comicreaderphobia that I'm not even going to bother responding to it... apart from this...
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