Leesville’s newest comic book shop, The Box, recently celebrated Free Comic Book Day 2021. Free Comic Book Day is an annual event held by comic book shops nationwide.

Top comic book companies like DC, Marvel, and Image send special comic books to be given away completely free. The event is a way for comic book stores to hold a fun community event and bring more people into their stores.

Keith Houin is the owner of The Box and expressed how excited he was to see so many people come into The Box on Free Comic Book Day.

Houin spoke to the Leesville Daily Leader during the event and said “I would never have expected this many people to be out here. The turnout is amazing.”

Locals came out in droves to check out everything The Box had to offer. In addition to the free comics from major publishers, The Box had a special guest on hand signing autographs and meeting fans.

The special guest for Free Comic Book Day at The Box was the CEO of Advent Comics, Tony Kittrell. Kittrell is a well-known talent in the world of independent comics, and he takes pride in Advent Comics ability to build a global fanbase through high-quality comic book storytelling.

Since starting Advent Comics in 2009, he has written comics of nearly every genre and launched 25 unique titles set in the Advent Universe. Additionally, Advent Comics also publishes a number of creator-owned titles under the Unbound Realms imprint.

A native of Maryland, this was Kittrell’s first time visiting Louisiana. He expressed just how inviting Keith Houin and The Box personnel were to him, as well as how nice the people of the Leesville community were when meeting him.

Kittrell said: “I’ve had a blast. They have been the most welcoming, accommodating people I have met in my entire life.”

Fans may not have seen the last of Kittrell in Leesville, as he expressed that he’d be open to coming back for future events due to the positive experience he had on Free Comic Book Day.

Kittrell also expressed how important Free Comic Book Day was to independent creators.

He said:  “Free comic book day supports not only comic shops but also independent companies like Advent Comics. It is a way to get our material out to new readers and to make new fans.”

Making new fans is something Kittrell has become quite good at. Many people at Free Comic Book Day came and got autographed copies of Kittrell’s latest titles such as “Cosmos”, “The Regulators”, and “Southside” just to name a few.

Kittrell’s signature superhero comic “Titan” was recently picked up by Diamond Distributors, which is one of the top distributors in the comic book industry. All Advent Comics titles are available to purchase globally at www.adventcomics.com, and are also available for order at The Box.

Houin expressed just how happy he was to see the community come out and support The Box during Free Comic Book Day. He even noted that there will be plenty of fun community events involving comic books, collectibles, and tabletop gaming in the future. He also expressed his desire to form a bond with the people of the local community.

He said: “Just to see all these people coming together is just an amazing thing. I think we are establishing a community in the store, and I hope it’s a long-lasting community within the community right here in Leesville.”

Houin expressed his gratitude to the local vendors who set up at the event, as well as the countless fans who came out in full force.

The Box is open on Thursdays and Fridays from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and on Sundays from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. For more information on The Box, call (504) 390-8315, or visit their official Facebook Page.

This article originally appeared on Leesville Daily Leader: The Box’s Free Comic Book Day event draws big turnout