Joe JaroszNortheast News
Feb. 26, 2014

In the background, played the popular fanfare of a beloved superhero. The tables were lined with red and blue streamers, as the man of the hour wore a Superman pin.

Library staff weren’t setting up for a child’s party. They were getting ready to say goodbye to one of their own.

Wednesday, Feb. 26, was Ken Martin’s last day with the North-East Branch of the Kansas City Library. He was an employee of the library for the past 34 years with the most recent title as senior technical assistant. Martin said that title meant he wore a lot of hats.

“Anything I was asked to do, I would do it,” Martin said, which included checking out books for patrons, cleaning and technical assistance.

As a comic book fan, Martin didn’t need much time to think of his favorite memory at the library. He said years ago, he was awarded a grant that allowed him to create a comic art program for children. He said the program was only a couple months long, but kids would attend while a comic artist friend would work with the children. Martin even bought the art supplies for the program.

“That was a labor of love,” Martin said.

What does he plan to do now? Martin has a few ideas that he said he can better concentrate on now that he has the time. First, he and his brothers are trying to put together a website to write blogs. Martin also wants to write a book and eventually open his own comic book store. His favorite comic book characters, if you were wondering, include Marvel’s “X-Men” and D.C.’s “Batman.”