Free Comic Book Day is back on May 3 and it is going to be bigger and better than ever.  Just one day after the debut of X-Men 2, several thousand comic stores will give away millions of comic books.  Last year more than 2 million comics were given away -- and this year's Free Comic Book Day has many more sponsors than last year's inaugural event, so the number of books given away will increase substantially.   The comics offered next spring will also be more diverse, ranging from all-ages titles to more mature fare specifically intended for sophisticated readers.  Here's a list of this year's participating sponsors (and in most cases the titles they are providing).

Gold Sponsors:  These publishers will provide books for every participating store:

Archie Comics  (Archie & Friends)

Avatar Press  (Frank Miller's Robocop/Stargate SG1)

CrossGen  (Way of the Rat Special #1)

Dark Horse Comics (TBA)

DC  (Batman Adventures #1)

Dreamwave (Transformers: Armada)

Future Comics (Metallix #1)

Image Comics (Leave It To Chance #5)

Marvel Comics (Ultimate X-Men #1)

Silver Sponsors: Their free comics may not be in every store, but these publishers are donating mass quantities:

A-Bomb  (Landis #0)

Alternative Comics (Peanutbutter & Jeremy #4, Alternative Comics Anthology)

Avatar  (Avatar Graphic Novel Sampler)

Broken Tree (Big Bad #1, Superheroes Inc. #1)

Dork Storm Press  (The Best of Dork Storm #1)

Keenspot (Keenspace.com 2003, Keenspot Sampler 2003)

Oni Press (Courtney Crumrin and the Night Things, Skinwalker #1)

Second to Some  (Christa's 100% Guaranteed How-To Manual for Getting Anyone to Read Comics)

Slave Labor Graphics (Slave Labor Stories)

Bronze level sponsors, who have donated free quantities of previously published titles, include: Angry Dog Press, Colburn Comics, Colonia Press, CPM Manga, Humanoids, Insight Studios, Landwaster Books, Lone Star Press, NBM, Sharkbait Press, Studio Foglio, Terra Major, and Top Shelf.