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For one day this year, Superman, Batman and Spider-Man will join forces. Free Comic Book Day will sweep the nation Saturday, leaving at least one comic in the hands of every man, woman, child and college student who walks into a comic store, or at least the ones participating in this year’s nationwide event.

Created to coincide with the upswing in interest generated by recent comic book movies such as “Batman Begins” and “Spider-Man 2,” the day is a joint promotional effort between Diamond Comic Distributors and direct-market comic stores.

As the target audience for comic books has grown older, publishers are looking to reignite interest in the younger generation with free comics appropriate for all ages. The publishers hope to recapture the youth market already dominated by video games, television and movies.

“It is a great opportunity to twist your neighbors’ and friends’ arms and to come, to share something with them that costs little to no money,” said Mike Wellman, co-owner of The Comic Bug in Manhattan Beach. “But it is becoming a bit of a routine.”

The event is often a mixed bag for comic book retailers. Many local stores, such as Meltdown Comics and Collectibles on Sunset Boulevard and Earth 2 Comics and Collectibles in Sherman Oaks, will feature autograph signings by popular creators, but it’s the comic books themselves that provide the problem.

Not only are the giveaway comics offered by publishers often merely reprints of older issues, the “free” titles cost retailers money, so more and more stores are deciding not to participate.

“It’s sort of a misnomer for us. We have to pay for it anyway,” said Tony Edwards, manager of Golden Apple Comics in Hollywood. “If the publishers went back and made these comics cheaper to us, it might make other stores participate.”

Some publishers are responding to the criticism. Marvel Comics, Oni Press, Bongo Comics and others are releasing new stories of their more popular or accessible titles.

“The fact that they got me and an artist to do an all-new story shows how important (Marvel) thinks Free Comic Book Day is,” said Brian K. Vaughan, the critically acclaimed writer of the comics “Runaways” and “Y the Last Man.”

The event is a chance to provide the same “spark” that got Vaughan, who will be appearing at Meltdown on Free Comic Book Day, into comics in the first place.

“The first time I went to a comic store the guy behind the counter handed me 10-15 free comics, and it was the most amazing day of my life,” he said. “It might have cost him $3, but it hooked me.”

Mark Waid, the writer of the current DC Comics series “Legion of Super-Heroes,” will sign at Earth 2. He notes that the day provides comic stores a chance to increase their customer bases.

“It drums potential readers into the stores, into these destination marketplaces,” Waid said.

The day is a chance for fans and creators alike to celebrate the medium, one store at a time.

“We try to create something,” said Wellman, “Everyone is doing (Free Comic Book Day), so you have to do something to step above and beyond and rise above the noise. At the end of the day it’s up to us to get people into our store.”