Thousands upon thousands of people–whether they came from near or far, whether they were guests or fans–converged on the Motor City Comic Con at Novi’s Suburban Collection Showplace the weekend of Nov. 14-16 and had a blast.
Lindsy Weyrick journeyed all the way from New Jersey to attend MC3 for the first time.
“I came all this way just to see Alan Tudyk,” she said. “I’ve met him before. I’m a huge Tudyk fan. I’m a big ‘Firefly’ fan. I’m a big ‘Resident Alien’ fan. There’s just something about his acting. I got into ‘Resident Alien’ first, then ‘Firefly,’ so I’m kinda backwards. But I’ve watched all of his filmography and he’s one of the most talented actors in my opinion and extremely underrated.”
Weyrick attended the “Firefly” panel called “Can’t Stop The Signal: A Firefly Reunion,” which was moderated by Joe Deckelmeier of Screen Rant. Tudyk and “Firefly” co-stars Gina Torres and Sean Maher answered questions from the fans. During one point in the panel, Torres and Maher revealed they were fans of the 1976-79 “Wonder Woman” TV series starring Lynda Carter.
“I’m Wonder Woman all the time,” said Torres.
When Maher agreed, she and him got up and did the “Wonder Woman” spin and spun themselves in a circle, imitating how Carter’s Diana Prince would transform into Wonder Woman.
Tudyk would sign whatever was in his bag for fans who asked questions, which included sketches from the totally cool–“Resident Alien” sketches and script pages–to the totally absurd–old hotel keys, slippers, a plastic fish, even an empty Halls bag.
Weyrick, who was the first person to ask a question, got the slippers signed by Tudyk, Torres, and Maher.
“This is really cool. (Tudyk) signed them twice!” she said. “I loved this panel. It was funny. They were great.”
Despite having starred in many movies, TV shows, and Disney animated features–most notably 2013’s “Frozen”–the photos Tudyk signs the most is “Firefly,” which is “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” creator Joss Whedon’s short-lived western/sci-fi mashup that aired on FOX in 2002. After being abruptly cancelled, it achieved a new life on DVD and fan outcry brought it back in 2005 on the big screen as “Serenity.” Fans have been clamoring for it to return, but there’s nothing concrete, despite rumors to the contrary.
“There is power to it having been taken away–it was snatched away. I think I would be lying if I said that wasn’t a factor of the fans’ loyalty. There is this notion like, ‘We wanted more. We’re not getting it. It was taken from us’… Maybe it’s perfect the way it is. Don’t touch it. Let’s just let it be this beautiful work that we all did,” said Maher.
Sarah Green, of Hudson, has been coming to MC3 for 10 years. She wanted to see the “Firefly,” “Twilight,” and “Scream” actors, along with Catherine Bell (“JAG”) and Robin Tunney (“The Craft”).
“My go-to question every time I meet a celebrity is if they got to keep something from the film or TV show they were on. Those stories have been fantastic!” said Green. “Alan Tudyk kept the button (his character Wash) pressed to call everybody back in the (‘Firefly’) episode, ‘Out of Gas,’ and he gave it to Joss Whedon–this was before ‘Serenity’–and said, ‘If you need us to come back, just press the button.’ I was like, ‘Oooo, I love that!’ It’s those outside-the-scope-of-normal questions I love to hear their responses to! Their interactions are why I think people love coming to cons because you can tell how much they love and appreciate us and our silly questions as we love hearing their silly answers.”
Writer/producer/director Marc Guggenheim–who’s done work for TV series “Law & Order,” “Eli Stone” (his creation), “Tales of Arcadia,” as well as “Arrow,” “Supergirl” and “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow” attended MC3 for the first time and was very impressed. This was also his first time in Michigan.
“It’s been great! My only regret is I haven’t had much of a chance to see Michigan outside of the convention center and the hotel. Everyone’s really lovely. It’s a warm, fun crowd,” he said. “(The fans) are really great. They got that Midwestern hospitality going. Everyone’s super friendly and really positive. I enjoyed my interactions with everybody. I would totally come back next year!”
As would fan-favorite writer Mark Waid, who has worked on Marvel’s “Captain America,” “Fantastic Four,” “Daredevil,” “Deadpool,” various “Spider-Man,” “Avengers,” and “X-Men” titles, as well as DC Comics’ “Superman” titles, “Batman” titles, “The Flash,” “Justice League of America” and the seminal best-selling “Kingdom Come.”
RELATED: “Scream,” “Firefly,” “Twilight,” “Arrow” actors to reunite at Motor City Comic Con
“It’s been great. The convention’s terrific. I do 6-8 shows/year, and they treat us very, very well here. I’m really impressed. The next time they invite me, I’ll come back. It’s a good show. Maybe next year, hopefully,” said Waid.
Matthew Lillard, Skeet Ulrich, Jamie Kennedy and Rose McGowan–all of whom starred in 1996’s “Scream”–appeared at the horror movie’s “No Really–What’s Your Favorite Scary Movie?” panel, which was moderated by journalist Edward Pevos of MLive. Lillard briefly spoke about being born in Lansing and raised in Brighton until his family moved to California when he was 8.
“I still hold on to my roots in an incredibly profound way. My whole life, I’ve felt like an outsider and found acting when I was 14,” he said. “I love that I’m from the Midwest. I love that I’m from Michigan.”
Lillard and Ulrich interacted with the crowd, walking around the room and giving fans the microphone to ask questions.
“There’s a deep appreciation we have for the fans,” said Lillard. “The reality is we’re at these cons all the time. We enjoy these interactions. I think some people shrug it off, but we understand the value you have in it and we respect it… We know this movie has weight for so many people. I think we honor and protect this fandom. It’s so valuable to so many people; we’re here to lift it up, not (expletive) on it.”
The fans erupted in applause.
At the end, Lillard expressed his heartfelt appreciation.
“Thank you for being here. Thank you for supporting everyone in the (con),” he said. “You’re giving your hard-earned dollars to support people’s families and feed their kids. If you don’t hear it enough, thank you, thank you very much. God bless.”
MC3 will return the weekend of May 15-17, 2026. Save the date!
