Gold Sponsors announced for Free Comic Book Day

Organizers have announced a Gold Sponsor lineup for Free Comic Book Day 2011 that includes a bevy of licensed properties, Joe Hill’s Locke & Key, Spider-Man, a top-secret project from DC and, perhaps most intriguingly, a “kid-friendly title” from The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman.

The books for the May 7 event were selected by retailers on the FCBD Committee. “This year’s event is very special and the list of Gold Comics looks better than ever,” FCBD spokesperson Leslie Jackson said in a statement. “We are always honored to present comic book fans and new enthusiasts with some of the best comics available and hope that this year’s lineup will attract even more customers than ever before.”

The complete list of FCBD titles will be available in January’s Previews catalog. Here’s the list of Gold comics:

Ape Entertainment: Kizoic Presents: Kung Fu Panda/Richie Rich flip book

Archaia: Dark Crystal/Mouse Guard flip book

Archie Comics: Betty & Veronica

BOOM! Studios: Darkwing Duck/Rescue Rangers flip book

Dark Horse: Avatar: The Last Airbender/Star Wars: The Clone Wars flip book

DC Comics: “A special top-secret project too big to announce!”

Image Comics: Robert Kirkman kid-friendly title

IDW Publishing: Locke & Key

Marvel: Spider-Man

Papercutz: Geronimo Stilton/The Smurfs flip book