Death to Archie?

Before you say anything, I know that this is NOT Friday, so pardon the jump in scheduling–I just have to get this out.
Archie Andrews, the first comic book character I read consistently, is dying in July, specifically within his ‘Life with Archie’ series.
You can read the news update straight from Archie Comics at their site.

In my opinion, I was shocked when I first heard the news teaser, but as it went on, I was less shocked–Archie has been the teen we all know so well since the 40s. Here’s what the Washington Post had to say about Archie’s death.

Archie was one of the first comics I remember reading, my Grandmama would pick up copies of their digests for me at the grocery store. Archie, Betty and Veronica, Archie kids–none of it mattered, I just wanted to read the stories. And read, I did. It got to the point where one digest didn’t last a whole weekend, or didn’t last a whole day. But I kept those wonderfully-sized guides to the residents of Riverdale and would crack them open at random times, just to get a glimpse of life at what seemed to be the coolest place to live.

But as I grew older and other comics and books became more and more of my daily life, I lost touch with Riverdale. I lost touch with Archie and Betty and Veronica and Reggie and Jughead and…you get the idea. Apart from picking up a lipgloss and pencil from the Betty and Veronica collection from MAC, I hadn’t put much stock into Archie Andrews. After all, times are changing. And, despite Archie guesting with Glee or the Punisher, Archie is a little dated.

Perhaps the death of Archie isn’t happening in July, perhaps it’s already happened in my heart.