Motor City Comic Con 2014 – Day 1
Day one at the Motor City Comic Convention was superb. Everyone I met, whether it was a celebrity guest, comic guest, cosplayer, artist, or fellow Nerd, was friendly and excited to be a part of the convention. Even though the costume contest is on day two, there were still some elaborate costumes on display up and down the aisles of the Suburban Collection Showcase in Novi, Michigan.
My day started with getting my press badge from the CKC agency from a courteous and smiling staff. Alanna, who was in charge of guest relations asked me what guests I would like to request for an interview. She noted that I had already requested William Shatner, Karl Urban, and John Barrowan, and Alanna was kind enough not to dash my pipedreams of actually getting a chance to interview one of these mega-stars. Like I said, very courteous.
Next I traversed the building to find the lay of the land. As exhibitors and artists were scrambling about, getting their booths set up, I stopped and talked to a few on occasion. I dropped by a couple of booths where I knew the artists personally and met new ones. I window shopped a little but promised not to buy anything until tomorrow. I then scoped out where the media guests would be located and then went back to tell the smiling Alanna who else to add to my list of requests.
Before the clamoring crowd outside was let in, I made sure to buy a ticket to get Karl Urban’s autograph. As Karl is a man-crush of mine, I intended to keep this autograph for myself, but my wife texted me no later than ten minutes after purchasing said ticket asking that I get her a Karl Urban autograph. I thought to myself, “My wife must have some kind of man-crush-spidey-sense. Perhaps she was bitten by a radioactive DiCaprio. That would explain why she married me. I am quite handsome. And I have a fine musk. I’m no Karl Urban though.” After shaking this absurd internal monologue, I went back to the booth and chose the Eomer 8×10 to get signed, because my wife cares nothing for Star Trek, Judge Dredd, or Almost Human.
Next I head over to the comic guests to see if I can spy Chris Claremont or Mark Waid as I have a backpack full of goodies to get autographed. Discovering they shant appear before 2 PM, I make small talk with Scottie Young and determine that I shall return to his booth Sunday with my daughter who adores his cute lil’ heroes.
When 2 o’clock hits, I slide in line to get some books signed by Chris Claremont. Yeah, Stan Lee created the X-Men, but Chris Claremont made them what they are today. I was super excited to ask him questions about his being a pioneer for female superheroes as complex characters and pick his brain about the new Days of Future Past movie coming out. Sadly, the wonderful Alanna had told me that he wasn’t doing any interviews. So I was content to get a handful of comics signed. Unfortunately, Claremont charges $5 per autograph. Since I’m not made of money, I cut it down to two issues – a cover featuring Doctor Doom and another featuring Magneto. Claremont was a gentleman and certainly worth the $10, but I really, really wanted to ask him about ten questions.
Mark Waid signed all my books – that guy has written everything. I got him to sign Hulk, Daredevil, and X-Men as well as my two favorite Waid stories: Kingdom Come and JLA “The Tower of Babel.” I requested an interview with him through the cheerful Alanna so I’m hoping it comes through.
I headed back over to the media guest side of the convention, stopping to take pictures of awesome costumes along the way, and tried to find out if there was anyone else I should request. Seeing that the line had died down for J. August Richards, who plays Deathlok in the new Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., I decided to approach the table and see if he would be amenable. Then about eight people lined up behind me. Not wanting to feel like a big dufus for standing in line just to say hi, I paid $10 to get my picture taken with him and struck up a brief conversation. Richards was very genuine and I hope that the glorious Alanna can get me an interview with him as well.
Probably the guest who was having the most fun was Ernie Hudson. Before he went behind his booth to sign autographs in front of the Ecto-1, he mingled amongst the crowd shaking hands, chatting, and even giving hugs. Hudson is from Detroit, so he found quite a welcoming crowd and you could tell he was sincerely appreciative. It was cool to see him work the crowd.
Later in the evening I got a voicemail from Alanna. It was like the song of an angel (Do you think I’m laying it on thick enough to land Urban?). Her message said that she had lined me up with an interview with the lovely Kyla Kenedy from The Walking Dead. I found Alanna at the press booth and she walked me over to Kyla. You can hear the interview HERE. Kyla was awesome! She was incredibly professional and gave very thoughtful answers. Urban shmurban, right? Seriously, though, she was a great interview.
After interviewing Kyla, I tooled around for awhile and flipped through my press packet. Then I noticed that Jane McNeill had done theatre in North Carolina. I love live theatre, so I decided to see if I could chat with her for a bit. We had an awesome conversation about how important theatre is in our lives and that theatre people are the best people. It was very cool to have such a low key conversation with someone who shares an interest.
I finished the day seeing John Barrowman buy fudge. A good way to end any day, fudge.
That was what made the 2014 convention so cool. Everyone was there to have a good time and we all treated each other like good friends or at least welcome acquaintances. Theatre people are the best people, but Nerds – especially comic convention Nerds – are basically theatre people too. They dress up, play a part, and appreciate good art.
Here’s to an awesome Day two. I wonder if Alanna likes fudge…
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