Motor City Comic Con 2016 - Post-Show Wrap-Up!

This show keeps getting bigger and bigger. Driving in on Saturday morning, the exit off the highway was jammed up leading to the Suburban Showcase Center. I found a place to park rather quickly and easily (the parking was well organized and had options for all budgets) and couldn't believe the size of the line to get in and to buy tickets. It was wrapped around the building!

The setup was similar to 2014 when I had last attended and made my way over to artists' alley. Alan Davis was doing sketches so I jumped into his line. Well worth the hour and a half wait!

I was fortunate enough to be a winner in Jose Luis Garcia Lopez sketch raffle and got the legendary artist to draw Doctor Fate for me.

I then meandered through the aisles getting a handful of autographs. I was impressed by the Hero Initiative presence and was happy to pay a donation for autographs. Unlike Neal Adams who demands $30US per autograph. That was a disappointment as I already paid out over $50 for his Batman omnibus, which he gets a cut of, and so paying that much to him (and not a donation to Hero Initiative), left a bad taste in my mouth.

What impressed me most about the show was the cosplay. I didn't recall that many cosplayers in 2014. And the originality of their costumes and the breath of scope of their interested was truly impressive. From Fallout to Game of Thrones to Marvel's TV and movies, they covered it all. Agent Carter was well represented as was Daredevil, both in costume and as Matt Murdock. I never got a picture of a cute couple who were dressed as Ghostbusters, pushing around a baby stroller in which their child was dressed up as the Stay Puff Man.

The only negative was the crowds. By mid-afternoon on Saturday, the crowds were simply too much. The line-ups for the food stands were really plugging up the aisles.

Other than that, it was a great show and I'm looking forward to attending again in 2017!

Motor City Comic Con 2016

Gathered just over the border this weekend, more than 300 creators, writers, illustrators and actors will make their appearance at the Motor City Comic Con.

It's hard to believe this Comic Con is in its 27th year. I have fond memories of making the pilgrimage in the early 1990s across the Canada-US border to the Dearborn Convention Center to meet with comic book talent that never visited Canada, like Neil Gaiman, Ron Frenz, James O’Barr, John Ostrander, and John Byrne.

My last visit there was in 2014 and I was really impressed with its new locale, the Suburban Collection Showplace. The show was very well run and I'm looking forward to meeting some great 1980s talent.

For more information regarding Motor City Comic Con guests and events, visit www.motorcitycomiccon.com.

Motor City Comic Con 2014 Wrap-Up

The organizers of this year’s convention deserve a lot of credit for their logistical improvements. I read a lot of negative comments about last year’s show and to be honest I was quite concerned as I was driving four hours from Toronto. I got to the Suburban Collection Showplace a little before 10am and there was already a line-up to get into the parking lot. However, things moved rather well with three lines dividing up the traffic into the various parking lots.

The line-ups outside the Showplace were well organized and quickly dispersed when the show opened. Just after noon, the line-up had all but disappeared to get in. The layout of the show was good with retailers strategically placed between artists’ alley and the celebrity autograph area.

I attended the show mostly to meet and get autographs from creative talents that don’t normally make their way to Toronto’s Fan Expo, like J.M. DeMatteis, Frank Brunner, and Gerry Conway. Their lineups were modest and for bigger draws like Claremont, they actually set up areas for fans to queue. The show was well spaced out and the artists’ alley was impressive in terms of its size.

Art Baltazar, artist on Tiny Titans, one of my daughter’s favourites, 

was a class act providing a lovely sketch of Robin.

Legendary DC artist Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez happily sketched for fans throughout the day.

 J.M. DeMatteis, author of Moonshadow, Justice League International, 

and Spider-Man: Kraven’s Last Hunt.

My copy of Kraven's Last Hunt signed by DeMatteis, Zeck, and McLeod!

With Gerry Conway, the write who killed Gwen Stacey!

The costume play was a bit of surprise with legions of Stormtroopers, Ghostbusters, and Game of Thrones inspired fans showcasing their efforts. Several families dressed up together thematically to partake in the show’s fun environment.

While there was a broad range of retailers, there was a distinct lack of gaming products. I was looking to take advantage of the cheaper US prices on Star Wars X-Wing and some other board game expansions, but struck out.

From my Saturday attendance, the 25th Anniversary Motor City Comic Con was a great success and well worth the drive. Looking forward to next year!

Motor City Comic Con 2014

The Motor City Comic Con holds a special place in my heart. It was the first comic book convention I travelled over 3 hours to attend. In the early 1990s in Canada, the Toronto Fan Expo was in its infancy and while it did draw a handful of comic guests, but it wasn’t anything like what the Motor City Comic Con offered. Studying at the University of Waterloo, I trekked down to Windsor where my aunt and uncle lived only a few minutes from the border. I always had a great time visiting them and they’ve retired since and left the area. So, it’ll be a bit weird going to the show without seeing them.

I attended the MCCC a handful of times in the 1990s, and was fortunate enough to meet comic book greats like Neil Gaiman, James O’Barr, John Ostrander, Guy Davis, Ron Frenz, and John Byrne.

I’m looking forward to going back to see what their 25th anniversary has in store. And from the looks of the great comic book line-up, it’s going to be a lot of fun.

Frank Brunner
Chris Claremont
Gerry Conway
J.M. DeMatteis
José Luis García-López
Kevin Maguire
Bill Sienkiewicz
Mark Waid

Anybody else going?

For more details, check out their website: http://www.motorcitycomiccon.com/