'Archie' Comics Celebrates Gay Marriage

Gay rights supporters, activists, bloggers and comic book fans are celebrating along with Archie and the gang about the January issue of "Life with Archie," where a gay couple ties the knot, reported the Americans Civil Liberties Union in a Jan. 4 article.

In the comic Kevin Keller marries his partner Clay Walker, an African-American physical therapist. Keller is the comic series' first openly gay character, which has been in publication since 1941.

"Life with Archie #16" is currently in comic book stores and will appear on newsstands on Jan. 10.

Ironically, in 2003, an Atlanta theater company was performing a play where Archie would come out of the closet in order to portray being gay in a "better light". When Archie Comics got wind of the piece, however, they threatened to sue the theater.

Kevin and his partner aren't the first gay people to appear in comics. Batman and Robin's relationship has been criticized for several years but creators deny crime-fighting duo are gay.

In 1988, Extrano (Spanish for "strange"), an effeminate Hispanic magician, was one of the first openly gay comic book characters when he appeared in the DC comic book series "Millennium."

DC Comics also announced that they would rebrand Batwoman as a lesbian in 2006. In addition, Gotham City's police officer Renee Montoya has been an open lesbian for years.

Marvel's 2005 series, "The Young Avengers" had two main gay teen characters named Hulkling and Wiccan. Several LGBT organizations applauded the comic and it was awarded a GLAAD Award for Best Comic Book.