Captain Blue Hen Comics & Entertainment (Newark, DE)

From the Staff at Captain Blue Hen Comics:

Captain Blue Hen Comics & Entertainment in Newark, Delaware was the place to be in the region. 800 people from Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania joined the party. The store gave away thousands of comics.

Happy folks chose from a wide variety of comics from superhero, to comedy, to adventure, and more. Captain Blue Hen got into the act by contributing to the contents of one national free comic book. Sky-Dog Press’ Buzzboy/ RoboyRed/ Major Damage has an educational page, “How to Create Comics,” that is co-written by storeowner, Joe Murray.

The celebration went beyond free comics as visitors enjoyed game demonstrations, sidewalk sales, and special guest comic book artists, and appearances by Batman, Batgirl, and Spider-Man. The artists were Scott Neely, book illustrator and artist on Scooby-Doo; Mike Manley, artist on Kim Possible and editor of Draw! magazine; and Rich Faber, artist on Green Lantern and Buzzboy.

Captain Blue Hen used the event as a charitable opportunity. We raised over $250 for Cecil County Libraries in Maryland, and gathered over 75 pounds of food for Newark Area Welfare Committee’s Emergency Food Assistance Program in Delaware. Each visitor took one comic free and could take additional comics in exchange for a 25-cent each donation or a non-perishable food donation.

The store partnered with local libraries to make Free Comic Book Day a success. The count of 800 visitors does not count the number of lucky library visitors who found comic giveaways in Cecil County, Maryland and New Castle County, Delaware libraries. Eight different libraries participated with elaborate comics-related displays and announcements. Folks who presented a library card received an extra free comic at Captain Blue Hen Comics.

“We were stunned and delighted by the huge turn-out,” said Murray, “ this was 77% bigger than last year and we wonder how we can possibly top that.”