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Stars and Super Heroes Pack Motor City Comic Con
(Sam Gurwin, June 9, 2019)
Novi, MI-  Another year of super-heroes, anime fiends and pop-culture enthusiasts gathered recently for the annual Motor City Comic Con at Suburban Showplace in Novi.
We spent a Saturday and Sunday at this treasure trove of Comic Books, Sci-Fi & Movie collectibles and even Celebrities from current and past Movies & Shows- but getting in was a fun challenge. Parking was busy and even the private businesses around the Showcase Center were filled.
Like Kevin Costner said in the “Waterworld” movie, “Fresh water…I’ve seen it!” Meaning we did get in to partake in the fun.
We found a ragtag group of suited folks with Star Wars Mandalorian Helmets- Josh, Kurt, Greg & Cassie. They are the “MandalorDogs.”
“It’s a mix of Boba Fett & Reservoir Dogs” said Greg. “We love the blending of 2 worlds, Stars War and Tarantino.  We thought it would be something fun and original.”
This tough-looking group had one woman, Cassie. “I feel empowered being the only woman in the group…and it’s fun,”  she said.
Our childhood souls spotted a character from that time. Rob of Muskegon was a character you don’t see too often- Gilligan from the classic show Gilligan’s Island!
“I was called Gilligan in High School- I was always Gilligan” he said.  A lot of people, even the younger ones, recognize his character.
There were aisles and aisles of fantasy and more for all tastes of cop Culture. We found a pair cosplayers – Jessica and Aubrey of Saginaw. Jessica was Oogie Boogie “I’ve always loved Oogie Boogie in ‘The Nightmare before Christmas” and I have dressed up as all of the characters and this is my favorite so far.”
“I wanted to come as Sailor Moon,” Aubrey said as she sported her Poison Ivy attire.  “I settled for my second favorite, as any time a strong female role can be portrayed I’m all about it.” She said Comic Con is fun, and “everyone is loved here.”
Many of the vendors had handmade wares for sale.  Rob and Diana of Livonia make swords and other cosplay accessories for their business Odd Man Out Props.  Rob said he’d been coming to the event for about 25 years before getting a booth of his own a couple years ago.  “I started getting into (prop-making) about 2006 when I joined the 501st Legion,” he said.  The 501st Legion is a Star Wars cosplay group.
On our merry way, our eyes find a beautiful array of items made of glass. It was Jeri- Lynn of Phoenix, Arizona who runs the Firechilde Glass Studio.”We do all of the glass-work ourselves…some of the little Dragons can take 6 minutes; some can take 6 hours,” she said.
So many Families were there, with children dressed up as well as the parents. A great Mom- Daughter team from Madison Heights was Staci and Cadence- channeling a “Thunder Cat” & “Sans” from Undertale.
Cadence said “I like to be a powerful Cosplay Character- I like to do my own female version of a male character…People approach you and it’s a compliment if you can pull it off.”
We also ran across Luke and David of Flint, who came with David’s daughter Laveda. The men have a booth here and are Graphic Artists. But they also wanted to walk around in their cosplay outfits. “Me and David, every Wednesday have a Guys Night and this is what we do; we make these,” Luke said as he showed off his Knight costume.
The place was busy with media people as well, like Joshua of Chicago. He is a reporter with “The CCC Broadcast” and “Pop Culture HQ.Com”
“This Convention for my first out-of-state convention as a press agent is blowing my mind; everyone here is really sweet and wonderful.  I could not wish for a better experience, honestly…it’s great to get over to the Artist, Inkers and Pencil-ers who make Comics what they are- if it weren’t for Comics we wouldn’t be here at this point; there wouldn’t be the TV Shows, Movies or Video Games…it’s all because of the men and women who slave over a pad to make this stuff come to life”.
The Comics are still the basis of these events, and there were booths filled with valuable and hard-to-find editions of the classic comic stories. This was one of Comic Con’s busiest years and it only gets better from here. That means bigger Stars, Bigger Vendor participation and the sky is the limit, well for those of us who can’t fly like Superwoman!
Keep up with interesting events throughout Oakland County on our OC Times Event Page!