Spike TV’s Scream Awards, the first televised awards show to honor comic books and the sci-fi, horror and fantasy genres, enters its third year in 2008. The Scream Awards debuted in October of 2006 with categories like Best Rack on the Rack, Best Comic-to-Screen adaptation, and Best Superhero while honoring comic book greats like Frank Miller and Neil Gaiman.

For the first time, Spike TV is offering fans the chance to attend the Scream Awards and rub elbows with the stars, a development made possible by Comic-Con International. To sign up for free tickets to this year’s Spike TV Scream Awards, visit Comic-Con’s website and simply sign up at the Scream Awards link. The only requirements are that you live or plan to be in the Los Angeles area when the show will be taped -- October 18, 2008 -- and that you are at least 18-years-old. Tickets are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. The show will be broadcast October 21 on Spike TV.

To learn more about this development, CBR News spoke with Comic-Con International Director of Marketing and Public Relations David Glanzer, who told us the relationship between Comic-Con and Spike TV isn’t a new one.

“When Spike TV was first looking to produce a televised awards show featuring comic books, they sought us out, and it’s been a great relationship ever since,” Glanzer told CBR. “While the show is invitation only, we thought it might be a good idea to reward some Comic-Con fans with the ability to attend. After all, comics fans are among some of the most dedicated and we all thought it would be great to reward some of them with the chance of attending this really great star studded event.”

Indeed, last year’s Spike TV Scream Awards featured live appearances from talents including Harrison Ford, Shia LaBeouf, Kevin Smith, Jessica Alba, Bruce Campbell, Rob Zombie, Megan Fox, Quentin Tarantino, Alice Cooper, Jessica Biel, Seth Rogen, Robert Rodriguez, and many more. Glanzer said this year promises to be as equally well attended, “with some very special surprise guests confirmed to participate! So I’m sure anyone who is lucky enough to get a ticket will have an amazing time. I know I do!”

Glanzer doesn’t see the Scream Awards ticket giveaway as a promotion but rather as a reward to genre fans. “Comic-Con isn’t making any money from this, and neither is Spike TV,” he said. “They really are dedicated to the genre world and Comic-Con has partnered with them since the beginning on the Scream Awards. It just seemed like a natural fit. When the idea came up this year, we all really just scratched our heads and wondered why no one had thought of this earlier.”

While the opportunity to attend the awards show was put forth with the intention of rewarding San Diego Comc-Con attendees, being a Comic-Con attendee isn’t actually a requirement. “It is possible to simply visit our website and sign up,” Glanzer confirmed. “You won’t be asked any specific Comic-Con questions when you do.” That’s right, there is no need to bring to the Scream Awards a Comoc-Con badge, be pre-registered for next year, or have attended the convention in the past. “However,” Glanzer added, “if this proves successful, we may have to try that for next year. So act fast, this may be your only chance to attend the Scream Awards if you haven’t actually attended Comic-Con!”

Tickets are going fast, so anyone who wishes to attend should act now. Said Glanzer, “The people at Spike TV are very excited to have Comic-Con fans there, so while there are only 500 tickets available, who knows, you might just bump some celebrity out of their seat if you act fast.”

Visit the San Diego Comic-Con international website now for your chance to attend the Spike TV’s 2008 Scream Awards.