When you think of Archie comics, what pops into mind? Archie, naturally, and Jughead; and then, of course, Betty and Veronica, the Samantha/Serena or Mary Ann/Ginger yin-yang of the comic book world. It’s as all-American as you can get and some people think that’s because it’s super-squeaky clean, hap-hap-happy and non-controversial.

Well, Archie comics just showed itself to be truly all-American by celebrating inclusivity— the strip’s first gay character, Kevin Keller, a military man, will tie the knot in the January issue, marrying an African-American partner.

Mazel Tov.

On Friday, the Huffington Post ran the January cover showing the Riverdale couple at the wedding, and references an October Comics Alliance story which shows in-progress panels of the “Life with Archie” issue, with the gang chatting with the happy couple and with scenes from Kevin’s life during war time. From Comics Alliance:

“The character has earned lots of attention and praise for tackling the subjects of gay teens and gays in the military, but as Kevin's creator Dan Parent told ComicsAlliance in May, Archie Comics readers— like the Riverdale gang themselves— just simply love the guy for who he is.”

Jon Goldwater, Archie Comics CEO, told the magazine that Kevin is “the most important new character we've introduced in the comics since the original five,” and that the magazine has gotten overwhelming support for the storyline.