Fans of Spider-Man are caught up in the web

By Michael Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

This Spider-Man mural in downtown Honolulu is part of the deluge of hype publicizing the new flick "Spider-Man 2." Critic Roger Ebert, who didn't much care for the first Spider-Man film, says this one may be the best superhero movie he's seen. Andrew Shimabuku • The Honolulu Advertiser 'Spider-Man 2' Youth Speed & Quickness Challenge 5:30 p.m. today: strength and agility clinic 6 p.m.: climbing wall opens Niketown Waikiki 943-6453 Free Comic Book Day Comic art competition for artists and writers 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Saturday 955-2440

Rave reviews from advance screenings — on his weekly TV show with Richard Roeper, Roger Ebert (who gave a downturned thumb to the first film) says the sequel "may be the best superhero movie I've ever seen" — have been received like chum to shark-infested waters by Spider-Maniacs here and around the country.

"It's wild," says Brett Joubert, manager of Last Sanctuary, a comic store and cafe on Kapi'olani Boulevard. "Things are really at a fever pitch.

"There's been great marketing of this film," Joubert says. "And all of the articles and reviews seem to be a barometer of what should be a great movie."

Joubert says Spider-Man fans of all stripes have been clearing his shelves of comics, graphic novels, T-shirts, mugs, Monopoly games, keychains and other comic- and film-related items.

"I've had to look twice at some of the customers that have come in," Joubert said. "There are people coming who you'd never expect to see.

"The cinema will do that sometimes," he said. "It will make fans of people who wouldn't normally buy comics."

Los Angeles-based writer Charles Gary has noticed the same crossover interest among film buffs.

"There is no film that's as anticipated in L.A. right now," he says. "You have art-house afficionados who would never go to an action film who are excited about seeing a guy in a spider suit swinging around buildings. "The backstory is so universal that even the most cynical art-house geek can relate," Gary says. "Who hasn't felt like a nerd by day and wanted to be a superhero by night?"

Lucy Rivera of Salt Lake is just hoping Spidey can save her from her 9-year-old twin grandchildren, Jeremy and Jon.

"They've been driving me up the wall waiting for this movie," she says. "They watch the DVD. They watch the preview on the computer. They talk, 'Spider-Man, Spider-Man, Spider-Man' all day long.

"I not going have no peace until they see the movie (today)," she says. "Probably not even then."

"Spider-Man 2" may well be one of the most anticipated movies in its genre, but it'll take a superheroic showing by fans to match the success of the first "Spider-Man," which set a record for biggest opening weekend ($114.8 million) and eventually grossed $822 million worldwide during its run.

The first movie was also a marketing boon for Cingular and other corporate partners. The new film should at least keep pace in that arena. "Spider-Man 2" has licensing agreements with everyone from Kellogg's to Wal-Mart to Embassy Suites.

And by the time school rolls around again, kids like Jeremy and Jon should will likely have had their fill of Taste of Nature's Spider-Man cotton candy and Spider-Man Sour Gummi Mutant Spiders.

Hawai'i has had its share of Spider-hype.

In addition to radio contests — who doesn't know the original Spider-Man theme song by heart now? — and a giant Spider-Man mural put up in downtown Honolulu last week, there is also a "Spider-Man 2" Youth Speed & Quickness Challenge at Niketown today that includes a strength and agility clinic for kids and a climbing-wall challenge for adults.

On Saturday, Last Sanctuary will celebrate national "Free Comic Book Day" and the "Spider-Man 2" release with an in-store comic-creation competition for artists and writers.

Reach Michael Tsai at mtsai@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2461.