'Free Comic Book Day' comes to Orange County

Free Comic Book Day is a national event which takes each year in May and one business in Orange County has been a part of the event for the past few years. Lyons Den,located at 365 N. Main St. in Vidor, will be participating in Free Comic Book Day from noon to 5 p.m., Saturday, May 7, and will feature costume contests and special guests. Photo by Tommy Mann Jr.

A national event which occurs annually each May is helping bring attention to one business in Orange County.

Lyons Den Comic Book and Game Store, located at 365 N. Main St. in Vidor, will participate in the 15th annual “Free Comic Book Day” event from noon to 5 p.m., Saturday, May 7. The event is held annually at thousands of participating comic book shops across the county and around the world as businesses give away select free comic books to any person who comes into the store.

Owned by brothers Kelly and Leonard Lyons, this is the fourth year the locally owned business will participate in the “Free Comic Book Day.” The event, which is held on the first Saturday in May of each year, has continually grown each year at the Vidor business.

In 2013, the first year Lyons Den participated in the event, approximately 500 people attended the “Free Comic Book Day” event. The event has continued to grow in popularity and this year the comic store expects to give away approximately 3,000 comic books.

"This is our fourth year celebrating 'Free Comic Book Day,' offering the community a fun, family-oriented event where everyone can find a comic they will enjoy," said Kelly Lyons. "We want to spread the word that comics are perfect for today’s times. Recently, comic books and graphic novels have been propelled to the front ranks of pop culture, many being adapted into movies."

“Free Comic Book Day” is designed to appeal to people with a broad range of tastes, whether it is the traditional action-packed superhero stories or science fiction adventures. The event is made for children of all ages, including pre-teens through comic books offered in previous years such as SpongeBob SquarePants, The Smurfs and Strawberry Shortcake.

The store will have a big sale to celebrate the event and to coincide with the event, including many items at 50 percent off. Also on tap are door prizes throughout the afternoon and costume contests for Cosplayers. A child's costume contest will be held at 3 p.m. and a costume contest for adults will be held at 4 p.m.

Lyons, an educator with a local school district, said the original intent of “Free Comic Book Day” was to create a fun way to promote literacy. He still believes that to be a valid reason for the event each year.

"Comics are a fun and enduring form of entertainment for readers to dive into as imagination comes-to-life with the turn of every page," Lyons added. "The variety of stories told in modern comics ensure that readrs of all ages - children, teens and adults - can find something appropriate to stir their imaginations.”

Lyons Den is open from noon - 10 p.m., Tuesday through Friday, and noon - 6 p.m., Saturday and Sunday. The store is closed on Monday.

For more information visit http://www.lyonsdengames.com or find them on Facebook or call 409-783-3393.