Cap is Back in New Free Comic

MEDIA CONTACT: Chris Ward
MEDIA ADVISORY: 11-043
RELEASE DATE: August 18, 2011

DALLAS – On the heels of its 116th anniversary, the Army & Air Force Exchange Service is once again joining forces with Marvel Comics to distribute free, military-exclusive comic books at its stores around the world.

 The 11th issue in the Exchange/Marvel series, titled The First Avenger,” revolves around kidnapped civilians who transform into super-strong creatures and attack small European villages. Captain America traces the unwitting bad guys to a remote castle in Symkaria where he finds a mad scientist in the midst of creating an army of “electric soldiers.”

 “It’s hard to believe that this is already the 11th installment in the Exchange’s free comic book series,” said the Exchange’s Senior Enlisted Advisor Chief Master Sgt. Jeffry Helm. “Based on the enormous success and popularity of these special issues, I’m certain this one will be just as popular as the previous ten.”

 “The First Avenger” arrived exclusively at CONUS Exchanges in early August and is due at OCONUS facilities, including 56 locations in Operations New Dawn and Enduring Freedom, around the end of August.

 “While we may work with costume-wearing heroes every day, it is a true honor to help create a comic book for the real life heroes of the U.S. Armed Forces,” said the comic’s Editor Bill Roseman. “All of us involved salute the troops, thank them for their sacrifices every day that grant us the freedoms we enjoy, and hope they are entertained by the action-packed adventures of the one and only, shield-slinging Super-Soldier known as Captain America.”

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 The Army & Air Force Exchange Service is a joint command and is directed by a Board of Directors which is responsible to the Secretaries of the Army and the Air Force through the Service Chiefs of Staff. The Exchange has the dual mission of providing authorized patrons with articles of merchandise and services and generating non-appropriated fund earnings as a supplemental source of funding for military Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation (FMWR) programs. To find out more about the Exchange history and mission or to view recent press releases please visit our Web site at http://www.shopmyexchange.com.

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 Media Notes:

 For more information or to schedule an interview with an Exchange representative please contact Chris Ward, 214-312-2714 or [email protected].

About Marvel Entertainment

Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of over 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media over seventy years.  Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing and publishing.  For more information visit www.marvel.com.