Shame on me for thinking that there would be a simple solution to the Archie-Betty-Veromica love triangle. That a decades-old story line would be unraveled in a single issue. That Archie's marriage was not just a publicity stunt to sell more comics around the world.

The New York Times exposed the sordid underbelly of Archie-gate today, reporting that the highly publicized proposal to Veronica in  issue #600 (shown here) was not the final word. In November, Archie will marry Betty, according to the Times. Then there will be time for further episodes in the six-part story -- with an ending that is still secret.

The Archie-Betty marriage would please all of the fans (including me and Nancy) who can't stand the thought of the redhead shackled to Veronica, working for a hedge fund, golfing and summering in the Hamptons for the rest of his life. But if, after six episodes, the ending is: "Archie woke up and it was all a dream," the writer, Michael E. Uslan, should be impaled on his pen.