Holly Caldwell had a great time attending the Motor City Comic Con at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi over the weekend.
Thus was her first time attending MC3. In fact, Caldwell – who cosplayed as Princess Leia from “Star Wars” – recently moved to Michigan from Connecticut and attends Central Michigan University.
“I spent just about every summer of my life here. I fell in love with Michigan and the Great Lakes… I’ve loved Michigan since I was little and wanted to live here ever since,” said Caldwell, of Mt. Pleasant. “I’m really here (at MC3) for the community. I think that’s the most important aspect of a comic con. There is a bit of a camaraderie in being a nerd. I’m mainly into ‘Star Wars.’ Comics-wise, I go with DC Comic mainly over Marvel. Movie-wise, I’ll go with Marvel over DC.”
Leia is Caldwell’s favorite character “100%!”
“‘Star Wars’ was one of the first movies I saw growing up and I have been absolutely infatuated with it ever since,” she said. “Leia represents so much more than a female in ‘Star Wars.’ She rescues her rescuers. She’s a symbol of strength and resilience, and Carrie Fisher (the late actress who played Leia), as an individual, was much more than an actress, much more than a mental health and drug addiction advocate, she was a symbol of what femininity should be. I have admired Carrie Fisher and Princess Leia since I was little.”
Madison “Mo” Grimes, of Argentine, has been attending MC3 with her father, Dan, since 2021. She cosplayed as Dorothy Gale, the character brought to life by Judy Garland in 1939’s “The Wizard of Oz.”
“Everyone I’ve met here is super nice,” said Grimes. “Dorothy is a cosplay you don’t see much. It’s a classic movie everyone knows. Dorothy is a classic character everyone knows. I plan to dress as Dorothy when ‘Wicked’ (based on ‘The Wizard of Oz’) comes out (Friday, Nov. 22).”
For many, MC3 was a welcome distraction from work, school, and last week’s polarizing election. Artist/writer Tim Seeley was one of the creators who worked on the “G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero” comic book series after it was resurrected at Image Comics in 2001, seven years after the series ended at Marvel.
“I remember it was released on Sept. 12, 2001 (the day after the 9/11 terrorist attacks). The timing was tragic. It mirrored real life,” recalled Seeley. “But we needed a real American hero then, we need a real American hero now. We need some good men. We need to reward men for being good guys.”
A who’s who of celebrities attended MC3, including Barry Bostwick (“The Rocky Horror Picture Show”), John Cusack (“Grosse Pointe Blank”), John Rhys-Davies (“Indiana Jones”), Andy Serkis (“Lord of the Rings”), Robert Englund (“A Nightmare on Elm Street”), George Takei (“Star Trek”), Kevin Grevioux (“Underworld”), Alan Ruck (“Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”), John Cleese (“A Fish Called Wanda”), Karan Ashley (“Mighty Morphin Power Rangers”), Ron Perlman (“Sons of Anarchy”), among others.
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There were also plenty of notable comic book creators, including writer Ron Marz and artist Ron Lim, the seminal creative team of Marvel’s “Silver Surfer” in the early 1990s, who reunited on the character in 2022; artist Michael Golden, who co-created Rogue of “X-Men” fame; Christopher Priest, who’s written both DC’s Superman and Marvel’s Spider-Man (which he also edited in the mid-1980s); Ann Arbor native Steve McNiven, the artist of Marvel’s “Civil War” and “Wolverine: Old Man Logan”; Ann Nocenti, best known for her 1986-91 run on Marvel’s “Daredevil” and co-creator of Longshot of “X-Men” fame.
“I’m meeting a lot of great fans and they’re telling me wonderful stories,” said Nocenti. “I just met someone else who recommended places to go in downtown Detroit to hear music and see art. Then they’re just talking comics, which I love to do.”
She spoke about working 1985-86’s “Longshot” mini-series with fan-favorite artist Arthur Adams. Longshot would later join the X-Men.
“Longshot is like my puppy-dog. He’s my first comic; I created the character with Arthur Adams. We were so young. We didn’t know what we were doing, but we did it anyway and had a blast!” recalled Nocenti. “Working with Art Adams was a total hoot.”
Nocenti, Priest and Grevioux – who also is a comic book writer and has created the Blue Marvel for Marvel, as well as written Marvel’s “New Warriors” – spoke about their methods on writing comics on a panel. This marked Grevioux’s first time at MC3.
“I had a great time at (MC3). They had phenomenal fans and good energy. I’d love to make it part of my annual convention tour.”
Caldwell is looking forward to returning MC3, which will be May 16-18, 2025.
“It’s just nice that there’s other likeminded people out there who are looking to uplift the community, support each other, and bring positivity to being a nerd. It’s nice to know we have each other’s backs,” she said.
