Posted in: Comics, Recent Updates | Tagged: archie, Comics

Archie's Ms. Grundy Loses Battle With Cancer

Longtime Archie Comics character Ms. Grundy will lose her battle with cancer in Life With Archie #6 according to the New York Times. The issue will be in stores next week, with the story of Ms. Grundy's death told by Paul Kupperberg and Norm Breyfogle. Ms. Grundy has appeared regularly in numerous Archie comic books since 1942, the character debuted in Pep Comics #30.

The story line is part of an exploration of two possible futures for Archie: one in which he married Betty and another where he is wedded to Veronica. The nuptial story line, written by Michael E. Uslan, created a big splash for Archie, who first appeared in Pep Comics No. 22 in December 1941. The first issue of the story line sold nearly 60,000 copies and led the company to start "Life With Archie," a magazine-size publication that follows both futures.

Jon Goldwater, co-chief executive of Archie Comics with Nancy Silberkleit, said the death of Ms. Grundy had been planned since the beginning. "The goal was to tell stories with important, real-world issues that people deal with like death, financial hardship and marriage issues," he said. (Making Riverdale more relevant also led to the introduction of Kevin Keller, the first openly gay resident, who moved to town in September.)

Interior page from Ms. Grundy's first appearance. Though Archie first appeared in Pep #22, the title was dominated by superhero stories for some time. Arche and his cast of characters didn't get the cover of the title until Pep #36.

And here's Ms. Grundy in more recent times:

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