Are you ready for some free comics?

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Saturday, May 3, is the seventh annual Free Comic Book Day -- a day in which, as the name suggests, ordinary folks are treated to free comic books.Yes, let me say that again: free comics. Woo-hoo!Participating shops across the country (visit www.freecomicbookday.com to find one near you) will hand out more than 2 million comics. Some are reprints, some are new, some are samplers -- but they are of all genres, and represent publishers putting their best foot forward.Expect big names like Archie, Hellboy, The Simpsons, Spider-Man, Superman, Transformers and X-Men to be sauntering, swinging, stomping and swooping by. Look for intriguing anthologies: "Graphics Classics" (a line of literary graphic novels), Gemstone's "E.C. Comics Sampler," "Shonen Jump" and "Gegika" (both manga) and still more. And for the kids: Amelia Rules, Comic Book Diner, Disney's Gyro Gearloose, Gumby's Coloring Book, Marvel Adventures, Owly and Friends, Sonic the Hedgehog and DC's Tiny Titans.Some other titles may be unfamiliar, and those are the hidden gems -- books that publishers took the time to prep for FCBD simply because they're proud of them. I plan to sample Virgin's "The Stranded," Antarctic's "Neotopia," Boom's "Salem: Queen of Thorns" and many more. Also, HeroClix and Collectible Miniature Games are getting into the act (with Iron Man and Star Wars figures, respectively).And, yes, all of the above comics are completely free to customers. But obviously this stuff isn't free to create and distribute. If you're wondering what the businesses get out of it, keep in mind that the comics industry has grown for seven consecutive years -- the same years FCBD has existed. Coincidence or correlation? A spokesman from North America's largest comics distributor gives FCBD at least some of the credit:"Yes, it does help raise awareness, given the amount of free publicity we've been able to garner for the event," said Dan Master, director of marketing at Diamond Comic Distributors Inc., "and local comic shops have been able to attract new readers to their stores. Every after-event survey we've done with comic-book specialty retailers shows they believe the event has helped them increase sales and awareness of their stores and comics in general."A number of retailers agree, including Brian Jacoby, a newcomer who has owned and operated Secret Headquarters in Tallahassee, Fla., for two years. "(FCBD) definitely created more of an awareness of our store," he said.Some retailers take the opportunity to throw costume parties, or have signings by famous creators. Some have storewide sales. And with the "Iron Man" movie debuting the day before, retailers can piggyback on Shellhead's metal shoulders."There is interest generated by comics-based properties, if it's obvious that that's where the movie or TV show came from," said Brent Frankenhoff, editor of the long-running "Comics Buyer's Guide." "The other key component in this is a twofold response: The publishers need to produce a tie-in product and retailers need to do aggressive marketing (hand-selling in many cases) to put it in the hands of potential customers. Free Comic Book Day is an excellent way to do much of this, if retailers play it to their advantage. Partnering with a local movie theater's showings of 'Iron Man' this year should be a no-brainer."And expect plenty of Iron Man stuff to be available, from action figures to T-shirts to reprint collections like the humongous "Iron Man Omnibus."But that's just Marvel, and there are at least 38 other publishers involved. All of which will be easy to sample. Because it's free.Have I said "Woo-hoo!" yet?(Contact Andrew A. Smith of the Memphis Commercial Appeal at capncomics(at)aol.com or visit www.captaincomics.us.)