The floor of the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi, Michigan filled to record numbers for the 2015 Motor City Comic Con, with attendance in excess of 50,000 people over the three day weekend (May 15-17), and 30,000 on Saturday alone. Also, in record breaking numbers were the amount of comic and celebrity guests, exhibitors, and publishers –making this year what is certain to be a resounding success. I had the pleasure of joining the thronging masses in a collective nerd extravaganza with my friend (and podcast co-host) Eric Joseph for Saturday and Sunday. This was my first year attending as press, and as such, I was eager to hit the floor early to meet and greet with as many of the fans, creators, exhibitors, and guests as possible.
Neal Adams greeting a fan.
Comic Creators/Media Publishers
As is usually the case at the Con, I make it a point to walk the floor looking for comic creators, writers and artists, in hopes of showing my appreciation for their hard work and talents. The very first guest that I had the pleasure of meeting was none other than Comic Book Legend Neal Adams! A man of many talents, one of which (and possibly lesser known) is that of pitch man—as he worked his storytelling magic to sell me hard on his book Batman: Odyssey. He was kind enough to sign my copy of the classic Superman vs. Muhammad Ali story and seemed to appreciate and engage every fan he met. I was also able to meet the Brazilian duo of Ivan Reis and Joe Prado (Aquaman, Justice League), two of my favorite working artists, and was fortunate enough to get them to sign a stack of books and get a nice photo op. Rounding out my list was one of my personal favorites and local creator, David Petersen, who celebrated his 10th anniversary at Motor City Comic Con. He was kind enough to give me a personal version of his Saturday panel (that we were not able to attend) and some awesome giveaways that he signed. There were also several other talented creators that I had the pleasure of meeting including Matt Wagner, Mike Mayhew, Sara Richard, Jeremy Bastian, J.M. Dragunas, and many more.
Left to Right: Ivan Reis, Me, and Joe Prado
David Petersen, Author and Artist of Mouse Guard
A special shout goes out to the crew at Culture Junkies who had a massive press presence at the show.
The crew from Culture Junkies!
The Panels
With so much to do, and so little time, I was only able to attend two panels this year (with a deep regret that I wasn’t able to attend David Petersen’s 10th Anniversary panel). First up was the panel for media guest Camren Bicondova of Fox’s Gotham. Attending her first Con in the Motor City was a special treat for fans of the show, and she took her time to answer several questions for the eager attendees ranging from her favorite color (lavender), history and love of dancing, and favorite onscreen Catwoman (Julie Newmar) to her desire to see her character develop more on the next season of the show, and to see Selina Kyle do a little more butt kicking.
Also was a very brief stop in at the standing room only Walking Dead panel, with stars Chad Coleman, Lawrence Gilliard Jr, Scott Wilson and Daniel Bonjour in attendance. Last but not least, was the panel for none other than Captain Kirk himself: William Shatner. In what was certainly an intimate and funny panel, Mr. Shatner took several questions from fans, broke off into wild Shatneresque soliloquies about his life and history, and mused with a very young (and not thoroughly entertained) fan on what it takes for actors and others in showbiz to keep the audience engaged—which according to him, included sometimes yelling at the audience to stay in their seats and be entertained.
John Wesley Shipp and I
Media Guests
The media guest appearances not only broke records this year, but also increased the credibility of Motor City Comic Con as a place for high profile stars, up-and-comers, fan favorites (Lou Ferrigno, Dawn Wells, etc.), and celebrities from many forms of media to make a showing. In attendance was a very large presence this year from mega-hit The Walking Dead, including local boy and fan favorite Steven Yeun, as well as Scott Wilson, Chad Coleman, and Michael Cudlitz. The Con also saw a small Karate Kid reunion in Ralph Macchio, Billy Zabka, and Martin Kove.
Michael Rowe of Arrow
Jodi Lyn O’Keefe of The Vampire Diaries
I had the pleasure of speaking to several of the guests, with highlights being Michael Rowe of Arrow, Jodi Lyn O’Keefe of Prison Break, and John Wesley Shipp of The Flash (check back in with DCN to read an exclusive interview with him about the new hit show!). Amongst others were very nice experiences with Billy Boyd, Lance Henriksen, John Schneider, Denis O’Hare, Judith Hoag, Terry Farrell, and Boba Fett himself Jeremy Bulloch (who was a stereotypically polite and delightful Brit).
The Fans/Cosplayers
These Cons would not be the successes that they are today, nor the multi-media spectaculars that bring out the droves of celebs and creators if not for the fans who attend them. Following are some of the pictures taken from the floor of the devoted fans who put time and effort into showing their love for all things geek!
Dark Knight Batman
Dark Knight Rises Bane
Clark Kent?
Cesar Romero Joker
Harley and Big Barda
A Jedi and Han Solo
Darkwing Duck…Let’s Get Dangerous!
And finally the Individual Costume Contest Winner for MCCC 2015:
I am Groot!
