After a slow start because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Comic-Con Museum in Balboa Park is expected to get a big boost this summer with the opening of an exhibit on one of most popular comic book superheroes of all time — Spider-Man.
“Beyond Amazing: Spider-Man — The Exhibition” will open to the public on July 1, just three weeks before the scheduled start of the first regular-size, in-person Comic-Con convention since the beginning of the pandemic.
Museum officials this weekend announced the opening of the exhibit at WonderCon, the sister convention of Comic-Con in Anaheim.
The exhibit will mark the 60th anniversary of Spider-Man, who first appeared in “Amazing Fantasy” comic book in 1962. It will be a world premiere display of original art, vintage comics and artifacts from the many Spider-Man films. Visitors will also be able to explore interactive installations and set pieces.
“It tells the full story but in the way that only we could do,” said Brian Crosby, creative director of themed entertainment for Marvel, the longtime publisher of Spider-Man comics.
The exhibit should draw more fans to the museum.
The museum opened last November, the same weekend as a scaled down version of Comic-Con. The opening couldn’t have come at a worse time because of the ongoing pandemic, said Rita Vandergaw, the museum’s executive director.
Vandergaw did not provide attendance numbers but said, “It’s getting better.”
The timing couldn’t be better as Spider-Man is undergoing a new wave of popularity. The film “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” released last December, has become just the third film to ever break $800 million at the box office.
Crosby said Spider-Man is popular around the world.
“Peter Parker means so much to so many different people,” he said.
Comic-Con officials said the Spider-Man exhibit is part of their plan to create new attractions and refresh existing exhibits so as to entertain fans.
“The intent is to keep you engaged, make it active,” said Vandergaw.
Added Eddie Ibrahim, Comic-Con’s longtime program director: “We really are trying to book and find exciting things, interesting things, to put in there.”
Luis Monteagudo Jr. is a freelance writer and pop culture enthusiast. He has written for The San Diego Union-Tribune, USA Today and numerous other publications.
