Like the cliffhanger episode of the once popular American primetime soap opera "Dallas" where lead character J.R. Ewing was killed, another entertainment icon that kept baby boomers company will soon die.

Comics character Archie Andrews, from the fictional all-American town of Riverdale, will bow out of the comics scene, but here's the catch:

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Archie will die only in the "Life with Archie" series, which tackles his future. His present will be unaffected.

For 73 years since countless children and teenagers first met him and his gang in 1941, Archie, his two love interests Betty and Veronica; his lazy bestfriend Jughead; his dog companion Hotdog, and the bumbling villain and school bully Reggie, entertained several generations with stories that affected teens' lives through the years - from the Second World War to the era of the Internet.

Archie Comics, publisher of the "Life with Archie" comics series, will end the storyline of lead character Archie Andrews with a secret storyline that they say will make the teenager a local folk hero.

No details were released and asked fans to wait for the next month's issue.

John Goldwater, Chief Executive Officer of Archie Comics, said Archie will die doing a heroic deed for a friend.

Archie and his friends seemed to have defied aging at 73, and were nearly immortal teeners until the last few years.

Though the gang started off as high school kids from the 40s, their storyline adopted themes throughout the ages.

In recent years, Archie Comics introduced several themes relevant to current social trends, including a controversial inclusion of a gay character.

Archie's swaying love interest between well-off blue-haired Veronica and the blonde-but-kind Betty got a mild sizzling romance angle with the recent introduction of a new girl as the apple of Archie's eyes.

To drum up interest among the new generation of kids who are more hooked on computer games than reading books or comics, a storyline where Archie marries Veronica was released but to the surprise of the publishers, thousands reacted and demanded that Archie marries Betty instead.

Archie Comics introduced a timeline where Archie marries Betty and called the whole episode a fantasy edition into the future, showing life of Archie with either of his two love interests.

Following the trend where super heroes get killed (and then resurrected), it is uncertain if this comics icon will live again to see himself actually step into college and get a life as an adult.