Today's closing missive comes from this great CBR interview with George Takei, the legendary Star Trek actor, gay rights activist, and now Archie Comics guest-star. Conducted by Kiel Phegley, the interview focuses on Takei's history as a gay Asian-American in Hollywood and how he came to appear alongside Kevin Keller, Archie Comics' first and exceptionally popular openly gay member of the iconic Riverdale gang. With his typical eloquence, Takei explained the appeal of Keller and what it says about where American culture finds itself as 2012 comes to a close.

Of course Kevin Keller is gay. He's also a blond and he's got a nice personality. It's all a part of who Kevin is, as opposed to when I was a teenager growing up where of course I looked who I look like, but they couldn't know the whole me. Today, it's not just in comic books but with television series regulars or movies or books that we read. It's all throughout our society. And it's that recognition of "He's a brunet" or "She's a blonde" or "He's a soldier." All of those people might be gay, but that's just a part of who they are organically just as much as if they're a policeman or a star professional football player. But he might just be gay as well. That's the norm or at least the ideal that's depicted by Kevin Keller. And we're getting closer to that ideal in American society.

George Takei appears as himself in Archie's Pal Kevin Keller #6, which is on sale now in finer comics shops and digitally from ComiXology. Read much more from George Takei's interview at CBR.

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