Since then, Kevin has truly become a staple of the company and was a major character in the Riverdale television show. The character found success with his own spinoff series and is included in almost every major Archie Comic publication.
Thanks to characters such as the Claytons, Kevin, and Harper, Archie Comics has been slowly moving the needle into truly being an inclusive space for everyone. But now that Kevin has been around for 13 years, is now a good time to collect his key issues?
Kevin Keller appeared in Veronica #202 in October 2010.
The exciting cover features Veronica telling Archie to move over as there was a new hot guy in town, as fireworks go off behind her. While some people did protest this issue, the comic was so popular that the first printing completely sold out. Archie Comics released a second printing -- the first in the company's history -- almost immediately. The reception for Kevin was overwhelmingly positive. So much so that the company won the Outstanding Comic Book award at the 2013 GLAAD Media Awards.
To date, CGC has graded 57 copies of Veronica #202, with 43 receiving Universal grades, while the remaining 15 have Signature Series grades. In April of 2021, blue-label 9.8 examples hit an all-time price high of $430. Unfortunately, that price dropped significantly. By October of 2021 a similar example sold for $66 on eBay. The last time a graded example sold was in March 2022, when a blue label 9.0 sold for $26.
If you are looking to add this book to your collection, now is the time. Signed copies do not fare much better with only a $30 difference between both blue and yellow. While I do believe with time this book will increase in value, you would be sitting on it for a long time.
Kevin's first solo comic -- simply titled Kevin Keller -- currently has no third-party grades or sales. But throughout his series, Kevin Keller comics did have a number of unique variant covers.
Kevin Keller #6 introduced Star Trek's George Takei into the Archie Comics universe with a standard cover, and a Star Trek homage cover, both drawn by Dan Parent. The variant cover has 7 CGC graded copies, with 5 being Universal, one being Signature Series, and one being Qualified.
Despite having a handful of these on the census, there is little to no sales data for this book. Unfortunately, this is the norm for most modern Archie comics.
2012's Life With Archie #16 follows the wedding of Kevin and his partner, Dr. Clay Walker.
This was a significant issue for both Kevin and Archie Comics as it was the first gay marriage in the company's history. Despite protests about the issue, Life with Archie #16 sold out. This comic can be easily found on eBay for between $12 - $55, but currently, there is no sales data for sold copies.
In Conclusion...
If you're looking for a Kevin Keller starting point, these are the three books I would seek out. Thankfully, these books will not break the bank, but if you're of an investment mindset, you might be sitting on them for a while. Good luck and happy searching!
