Article by Gerry Giuliano
July 18, 2022
Get to know your heroes and their foes in a profound way by talking a stroll through a 7,500 square foot, ever-changing, comic book. The Comic-Con Museum opened as Balboa Park’s newest edition in November of 2021 and honors our favorite comics and associated art forms. The museum is here to save us from the expected; the exhibits will be constantly rotating so there is something new to see with each visit. Executive Director, Rita Vandergaw notes, “Our goal is to engage you and bring you back for something new. This is not a static museum. We are a dynamic museum and things will always be changing here.”
We love comics because they are an escape from reality. Stories we can lose ourselves in. Fighting crime and slinging webs from our wrist. Comic-Con and The Comic-Con Museum give us the unique opportunity to make those fantasies come to life. I’m not talking about dressing up like your favorite hero. Rita Vandergaw elaborates, “It’s really more about education. Not just educating children but also adults and helping them finding career opportunities and building careers such as programming, computer art for comics and games.” They will be opening an education center in September including high-end computers and every other resource needed to pursue your dreams.
Marvel and German live entertainment producer, Semmel Exhibitions figured there was no better place to honor Spider-Man’s 60th anniversary than in the city that does Comic-Con best. To celebrate, they brought us Marvel’s Spider-Man: Beyond Amazing- The Exhibition. An exhibit that jumps out at you with villain sculptures, walls of comic history and art, artifacts such as the Spider-Man #1 comic and Green Goblin movie props from Spider Man 2002, and much more. The heroic exhibit was co-curated by Patrick A. Reed and Professor Ben Sanders and really sprang into action when Rita Vandergaw put on her cape and brought it to life.
On July 20th the museum will celebrate Spider-Man as its fourth inductee into the Museum Character Hall of Fame during Night at the Comic-Con Museum on July 20th. An event to salute a pop-culture icon that was bitten by a genetically modified spider. Experience the interactive exhibit while enjoying live entertainment, special guests, food and signature cocktails. The premier event will also present the winners of San Diego’s Hunger Action Hero Art Contest- Action Hero’s created by local K-12 kids that help fight hungry.
If you have the power to visit this event and exhibit, that means you have a great responsibility to do so; or it may fall into the wrong hands. Just kidding, the museum will be fine. But missing this event may be considered a crime and with thousands of super-hero aspirants in town, I recommend not taking any chances. The Comic-Con Museum is Located on 2131 Pan American Plaza. Spider-Man will be hanging out there through January 2023.
