In an epic finale more than 70 years in the making, red-headed comic book character Archie Andrews will die trying to save a friend.
The shocking news was announced Tuesday by Archie Comics publisher Jon Goldwater.
Archie will die in the July edition of “Life with Archie,” which is a spinoff series that explores the character's life after high school and college.
“We’ve been building up to this moment since we launched ‘Life With Archie’ five years ago, and knew that any book that was telling the story of Archie’s life as an adult had to also show his final moment,” Goldwater said in a statement.
Goldwater said he expects Archie fans to experience a range of emotions as his story comes to an end.
"Fans will laugh, cry, jump off the edge of their seats and hopefully understand why this comic will go down as one of the most important moments in Archie’s entire history. It’s the biggest story we’ve ever done, and we’re supremely proud of it.”
Archie will reportedly sacrifice himself while saving the life of a friend in “Life With Archie” #36, which will hits stores July 16.
While #36 shows readers Archie’s final moments, #37 leaps one year into the future to show how the remaining members of the Riverdale gang -- including Jughead, Betty and Veronica and Reggie -- have honoured the legacy of their friend.
In recent years, Archie Comics has branched out into more modern-day story lines.
The comic's first openly gay character, Kevin Keller, was introduced to Archie fans in 2010.
Last year, “Afterlife with Archie” confronted our modern obsession with zombies as Riverdale fell under the threat of a zombie invasion.
