I tend to read a lot of sci-fi and fantasy paperback braincandy for grins. The typical approach now is a series of books, rather than stand alone.
In the past 12 - 15 years a number of these series have started, gotten traction, and done quite well until this tired theme is forced in with the introduction of a new character or the outing of an old one. This has lead over and over to the collapse of that series, sort of a literary Dixie Chicks thing.
Look for this comic to be moribund in a couple of years, if it is still published at all.
I predict that the gay will quietly vanish from Riverdale in a couple years, as the sales plummet.