" When you buy a Coochy Cooty comic, " screams the cover of one scrofulous late-’60s underground comix rag, " you’re not getting just a silly-ass funnybook ... but your share in a dream! " Sadly, Coochy Cooty has gone the way of lava lamps and dragon bongs. But if it’s a tad overwrought, the sentiment behind that bellowing battle cry still rings true. Comic books aren’t just for pimple-faced kids. Nor — the title of " gamer " -themed Dork Storm notwithstanding — are they strictly the province of nerds. Far from being men-in-tights match-ups or Sunday-morning funnies, these colorful collusions of words and pictures can traffic in history or mystery, superheroes or teenage zeroes, and can be tailored to kids or adults. While many make for Hollywood summer blockbusters like the forthcoming The Hulk, others might become cerebral vignettes like 2000’s Ghost World. Comics, in short, are for everyone.

But not everyone knows this. That’s what the second annual Free Comic Book Day seeks to remedy, showing by example that these slim volumes are a lot more than kid stuff. Matt Lehman, owner of Kenmore Square’s Comicopia, thinks it's important to take part in this " outreach program " by offering titles for free. At least nine other area stores agree.

But wait, you say. Nothing good comes free these days. These have to be poorly drawn rejects. Untrue! " These are definitely good, solid titles, " Lehman says. " They’re not bottom of the barrel; that would defeat the purpose! This year a lot more publishers have signed on, so we have quite a lot of variety. "

He ain’t lying. A rundown of some of the 16 or so issues waiting to be grabbed gratis on Saturday reveals stuff sure to please nostalgic moms (Archie) and dads (issue one of DC’s new Batman Adventures); there’s fare for five-year-old funny-book first-timers (Disney’s Donald Duck Adventures) and for overgrown children of the ’80s (RoboCop and Transformers). There’s Potter-esque kid-stuff-grown-ups-could-love like Courtney Crumrin and the Night Things, and a treasury of artier alternative comics called, well, Alternative Comics.

One book, Syn, is penciled by local guy Greg Titus, a former employee of Comicopia ( " He still pops in once a week to get his comics, " Lehman says with a fatherly glow), who’ll be on hand to sign issues and talk about his art.

Then there’s Marvel’s new Ultimate X-Men. Lehman ordered anywhere from 30 to 100 of each of the other titles, but since Free Comic Book Day happens to fall on the day after the big-screen premiere of X2: X-Men United, he called up 1000 copies of that one.

Getting right to the point of the day is Christa Shermot’s 100% Guaranteed How-to Manual for Getting Anyone to Read Comic Books, " which offers instructive syllabi for benighted souls like " The Young Guy Who Thinks He’s Too Cool for Comics, " and " Women Who Have Absolutely No History with Anything Remotely Resembling a Comic Book ... Period! "

" There are all different kinds of movies and TV shows and books, representing all walks of life, " says Lehman. " Comics are no different. There’s more and more of a variety these days, accessible to anyone who’s interested in just reading stories. It’s just a matter of getting past these stigmas, the preconceptions people have. "

Free Comic Book Day is this Saturday, May 3. Visit www.freecomicbookday.com for a list of participating area stores.