Not that I don't find this storyline to be repulsive...I do. But...the "Life with Archie" series is in an alternate universe so Archie 1) doesn't really do anything vaguely heroic and 2) doesn't die...not really. As previously noted, that would kind of kill the whole franchise.
But, that said, look at the cover and ponder...
The alleged storyline is that (alternate universe) Archie has this gay friend who is a "senator" and who is pushing anti-gun legislation because his "husband" has had some kind of a bad experience that involves a gun. Further, some pro-gun person decides to kill Archie's gay senator friend and Archie intervenes and gets killed for his trouble.
Now...given that storyline (absurd as it is), look at the above pic and ask yourself, "Hey...where is the gay senator friend?" Archie gets plugged and Veronica and Betty are left holding his rapidly cooling and bleeding body? Why isn't Archie's heroic gay senator friend there? Did he run away after Archie gets ventilated and leave the girls to be Archie's blood blotter?
And...
If "Life With Archie" is supposed to be an alternative universe where (apparently) anything can happen...
1) Can Jughead be a meth dealer and/or a pedophile?
2) Can Betty be a dominatrix who gets paid to work over Veronica's father?
3) Will it be revealed that Reggie is a transexual who likes to dress up in Veronica's underwear?
4) Will we find out that Mrs. Grundy is really a serial killer who eats her victims?
If anything goes in "Life With Archie" then why stop with the above ludicrous storyline? Why not introduce all of the characters as bizarre champions of leftist lifestyles?
Makes sense to me. As much sense as any of this idiocy.
Do remember, though, the target audience for all of this cartoon perversion: pre-teen children. There is most definitely an agenda here.
If the editors, story writers and artists for this rag were not far left liberals we would, of course, have a very different story. Archie might have been wearing a kevlar vest and a .40SW Glock in a concealed carry holster. After he gets knocked back by the attacker's initial shot he pulls out his pistol and splatters the shooter's brains all over the place. That might be interesting...
But no, we are stuck with the "Archie sacrifices himself for the homo" storyline. Realize that in addition to pushing pro-homo propaganda on kids the only other purpose here is to get lots and lots of free media. And in that...mission accomplished.