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kitsuneheart's review against another edition
2.0
Anyone can be boring. Even gay people.
I wanted to like this book. I mean, I'm queer myself, and Archie comics Inc. actually were a part of my childhood, as a rabid Sonic the Hedgehog fan. But this...was so...yawn-worthy. I didn't expect high drama, and didn't necessarily want it. I mean, not every book o the queer experience needs to be about distrust and pain and struggle. But this book in general is a snooze. There's no real conflict that you can feel ANYTHING about. The first story is about Kevin Keller preparing for a date. The second, he has a secret admirer-er whom asks him to prom. The third, some local townies try to take over the beach, challenging him to a surf-off, which is kind of ridiculous, since it's GOVERNMENT LAND and this nothing would have come of the challenge anyways.
Just, in general...I didn't care. Yes, Kudos to Archie comics for having a gay character. But boo on having no storytelling ability whatsoever.
I wanted to like this book. I mean, I'm queer myself, and Archie comics Inc. actually were a part of my childhood, as a rabid Sonic the Hedgehog fan. But this...was so...yawn-worthy. I didn't expect high drama, and didn't necessarily want it. I mean, not every book o the queer experience needs to be about distrust and pain and struggle. But this book in general is a snooze. There's no real conflict that you can feel ANYTHING about. The first story is about Kevin Keller preparing for a date. The second, he has a secret admirer-er whom asks him to prom. The third, some local townies try to take over the beach, challenging him to a surf-off, which is kind of ridiculous, since it's GOVERNMENT LAND and this nothing would have come of the challenge anyways.
Just, in general...I didn't care. Yes, Kudos to Archie comics for having a gay character. But boo on having no storytelling ability whatsoever.
raincorbyn's review against another edition
2.0
Yay, gay character at Riverdale. Definitely awesome, even if it's a rich white cis dude. That said, who even reads Archie now? It's not contemporary high school kids, so exactly whom is going to even see this character?
misssusan's review against another edition
2.0
omg the CHEESE
help me, i don't know how i feel about this comic, it was like being briefly submerged into my life a a ten year old again
the chEESE
2.5 stars
help me, i don't know how i feel about this comic, it was like being briefly submerged into my life a a ten year old again
the chEESE
2.5 stars
jwmcoaching's review against another edition
1.0
I have some serious issues with this. The depiction of high school life here is your typical Riverdale atmosphere: dating, school, the prom, the beach...a random trip to England, etc. However, against this backdrop is the life of Kevin Keller, the newest resident of Riverdale, who honestly could be any handsome teen in this town except for the fact that he’s gay, which is his only distinctive quality. Yes, he’s nice, and yes, he’s an army brat, but other than that I felt like he could just be the archetype for any of the handsome, male teens here. He seemed extremely interchangeable except for the fact of his homosexuality. The portrayal of behaviors is also pretty simplistic. Essentially, the idea is that everyone likes Kevin, even though he’s gay (“They like me because I’m Kevin, they don’t care I’m gay.”) and the one person who is mean to him is an evil caricature with no real nuance or depth. He’s extremely one-dimensional. Even the surf contest seems more about Kevin’s sexuality than anything else. In short, it’s a good thing to be accepting and a bad thing to be a bigot. As with every Archie comic, women are portrayed as being eye candy who vie for the men (Betty vs. Veronica) or are obsessed with fashion and are vain and/or will do anything to get a man’s attention. The men, especially Kevin, are very much the focus here. The depiction of homosexuality seems incredibly outdated and quaint even though this text is only about 10 years old. I would hope that if the Kevin Keller character is still around that things have progressed far beyond this. Veronica is depicted here as the cliché friend who carries a torch for Kevin and seems to think that he will change his mind about women. The whole thing just seems incredibly old-fashioned. The ideology behind this felt like something from the 1980s or the 1990s. I felt like homosexuality was treated at best like a novelty here.
jilljemmett's review against another edition
5.0
I love the character Kevin Keller on the show Riverdale. He’s such a fun guy! So I decided to look up the Kevin Keller graphic novels, and I loved this one!
Kevin Keller is the first gay character in Riverdale. This is a huge milestone for the series! He has a very positive experience being gay in Riverdale, because Archie and his friends are supportive of him.
Though Kevin gets a lot of support from his friends and family, the stories also demonstrate some bullying. They meet some of Cheryl Blossom’s friends, who are not as supportive and call Kevin names. There is another person who leaves Kevin notes as his secret admirer, but he is not comfortable coming out as gay yet. Though these things are not the worst things that can happen, this story does touch upon hardships that other people face.
I loved these comics! I can’t wait to read more about Kevin Keller!
Kevin Keller is the first gay character in Riverdale. This is a huge milestone for the series! He has a very positive experience being gay in Riverdale, because Archie and his friends are supportive of him.
Though Kevin gets a lot of support from his friends and family, the stories also demonstrate some bullying. They meet some of Cheryl Blossom’s friends, who are not as supportive and call Kevin names. There is another person who leaves Kevin notes as his secret admirer, but he is not comfortable coming out as gay yet. Though these things are not the worst things that can happen, this story does touch upon hardships that other people face.
I loved these comics! I can’t wait to read more about Kevin Keller!
andrea_f's review against another edition
3.0
What's with non-straight characters from the Archie universe and their obsession with food?
To be honest, I decided to read this because I'm reading a couple of books with queer characters that could be used in an ESL classroom. I read Jughead's volume so I had to read Kevin's too. To be honest, this was highly stereotypical. I don't think it could be deemed as problematic because the portrayal is not actually negative, but I feel like the situations and his personality are based primarily on stereotypes of gay people.
To be honest, I decided to read this because I'm reading a couple of books with queer characters that could be used in an ESL classroom. I read Jughead's volume so I had to read Kevin's too. To be honest, this was highly stereotypical. I don't think it could be deemed as problematic because the portrayal is not actually negative, but I feel like the situations and his personality are based primarily on stereotypes of gay people.
libraryanned's review against another edition
3.0
It's Archie comics, people. It isn't going to be anything that is remotely edgy or real. Yes, poor Kevin was called Twinkle Toes in a horrific gay bashing event until his military dad gave the errant gay basher a firm talking to, but that is as real as it gets in Riverdale. This comic even gave me a little more than I expected, as Kevin actually sort of dates. By keeping my expectations very low, I thought this was just another fun, colorful, ridiculously stupid Archie comic - nothing more and nothing less.
chrisvigilante's review against another edition
5.0
I kind of loved this. Kevin has some love interest in this set. He's going on his first date and getting tips from Archie and friends. Kevin had bad luck on dates and is generally just kind of awkward as it is when it comes to dating. It was nice to see since he does come across at just kind of good at everything kind of character at times.
At one point he gets a secret admirer and I was rooting for it so hard. Hoping all the best things. Definitely want this to be followed up on in future issues. The whole thing was too cheesy but these comics are cheesy and I just love it.
I really ship Kevin with someone he probably won't ever be with and it makes me sad. I can't even explain without spoiling but just know I have so many feels reading this.
Loved that there was some variation to the way the homophobic characters are written. I swear I keep saying the same thing in every story with a queer character. I felt like you see different levels in this a little.Not much. It could be better but at least there was some.
Overall I really enjoyed this set of Kevin Keller stories.
At one point he gets a secret admirer and I was rooting for it so hard. Hoping all the best things. Definitely want this to be followed up on in future issues. The whole thing was too cheesy but these comics are cheesy and I just love it.
I really ship Kevin with someone he probably won't ever be with and it makes me sad. I can't even explain without spoiling but just know I have so many feels reading this.
Loved that there was some variation to the way the homophobic characters are written. I swear I keep saying the same thing in every story with a queer character. I felt like you see different levels in this a little.Not much. It could be better but at least there was some.
Overall I really enjoyed this set of Kevin Keller stories.
pridereads's review
4.0
Kevin Keller is such an endearing character, I love him so much. I went into this knowing absolutely nothing about the rest of the Riverdale comics, but in the end I didn't need it. The introduction by the author and the introductionary comic at the beginning was enough to understand who all the characters were. I really enjoyed reading these comics about Kevin, who is always positive and has his struggles as the only out gay teen in high school. I feel like every arc they gave him was handled well, which is so refreshing and makes me really happy. If you love comics and are in need of more lgbt+ comics, I'd definitely recommend checking out Kevin Keller!