We Attended Motor City Comic Con | May 16-18, 2025| Novi, Michigan

I was invited as press to attend Motor City Comic Con in exchange for this post. Any opinions expressed here are honest and my own. 

Have you ever experienced Motor City Comic Con? Keep reading if you would like to learn more!

This past November, 2024, I was invited as press to Motor City Comic Con, and it was my first time attending this amazing and popular pop culture event in Metro Detroit. And it was a pure joy sharing my experience with families alike.

This past weekend, May 16-18, I was invited again as press to attend the spring event at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi, Michigan. Before going forward on my second experience, I would like to praise Motor City Comic Con staff on how well organized everything is, from the lineup of vendors, crafters, artists, celebrity guests, comic guests, and family entertainment to food experiences and more. If you would like to learn more about Motor City Comic Con and what they are about, click here for more details.

I was excited to bring my high school daughter, also my social media intern, as press with me this time. Bethany (16), attended Friday and Sunday’s events, including celebrity panels, while I attended all three days!

If you are all about shopping and supporting local businesses and vendors, you would love shopping at all the booths at Motor City Comic Con.

Here are just some examples of vendors present:

• 3D printing
• Books and Comics
• Toys
• Collectibles
• Merch

and MUCH more!

Here are some of the fun merch I purchased this weekend from the Motor City Comic Con booth (T-shirt and brand lanyard)  and Toysbot Booth (pocket watch).

After a little bit of shopping to kick off the experience, I dove into the program guide to see which events and celebrity panel discussions I would like to attend.

Here are the celebrity panels we attended:

Sean Astin-

• Lord of the Rings
• Goonies
• Rudy

and more! He is the son of legendary actress Patty Duke and son of John Astin, from the Addams Family. That was a fun factoid that I did not know! So fun!

Jeremy Renner-

Was super pumped for this one as he’s an Avenger of course. Ha! He was a riot to listen to. I remember hearing he was in an awful accident a couple of years back. He was in a fatal snowplow accident in 2023. It was so inspirational hearing him briefly talk about it. He got a little choked up and honored his mom and sister through the whole ordeal. He also wrote a book titled “My Next Breath: A Memoir” detailing his accident. I definitely would love to read this book! It’s truly a miracle that he survived.

As for all of the Avengers, I love how he said that all of his fellow stars have stayed in touch with a family text chat for the past 13 years.

Sam Witwer-

At first, I didn’t recognize who this was, but I realized I was walking past Sam Witwer in the back parking lot on my way into Motor City Comic Con. He played Doomsday in Smallville. He’s currently known for work such as that in the Star Wars franchise. He voiced Darth Maul, etc. A fun fact is he’s working on his 3rd album. He has a band called the Crashtones. Check them out!

Shawn Ashmore-

Shawn plays attorney Wesley Evers in Rookie. Total fan of this show. He was also in X-Men as the Iceman, and other films like The Boys, and Amimorphs. He does have a twin brother, Aaron Ashmore. He played Jimmy Olson in Smallville, which was another fave of mine.

Bryce Dallas Howard-

I think this was one of my and Bethany’s favorite panel discussions. Bryce started out in theatre. She grew up with George Lucas being her family’s mentor since her famous dad, Ron Howard, was 17 years old. She said she spent time at the Skywalker ranch growing up.  Bryce has directed several episodes of The Mandalorian, live live-action Star Wars series. She helped push the technology for Baby Yoda (Grogu). She is married to actor Seth Gabel, who was also there for a panel. He actually sat 3 rows ahead of us to listen to his wife speak. Bryce Dallas Howard was in Spider-Man 3 as Gwen Stacey. She was also in the Jurassic films with Chris Pratt. Bryce was also the voice of Yaddle in Tales of the Jedi!

She was such a fun, laid-back person and very well spoken. I look forward to all of her future works.

Seth Gabel-

The husband of Bryce Dallas Howard was in his own panel discussion. I felt bad as only a small number of people were present for his. I think all of them were at Robert Picardo (Star Trek) and Bill Nye’s panel. That one was full! Seth is best known for roles in Fringe, Salem, Arrow, and The Watcher. He was in several episodes of The Rookie. I got to talk to him briefly about that. Again, so small, we didn’t need a mic. We just sat really close and shared conversations. That was fun.

Blue’s Clues Panel: Steve Burns, Donovan Patton, and Josh Dela Cruz-

This panel discussion was our ultimate favorite! I mean Steve from Blues Clues!! He was on the scene when I was a senior in high school and babysitting my 3 cousins. This show was a staple and a must. I actually enjoyed the show myself as I would watch with my young cousins.

All 3 guys get along very well and have worked together on previous projects for the show.

Parents, you may be wondering, is there stuff for the kiddies too?

Absolutely! There is a Kids’ Program Guide outlining events available at different times during all 3 days of the event. Here are some examples of activities listed in the program guide:

• MC3 Bingo Card
• 501st Star Wars Story Time & Character Meet
• Arts N Crafts & Friendship Bracelets
• Slime Time & Marshmallow Men with Ghostbusters
• Deflecting Blaster…Fun
• Game Time (dance freeze, musical chairs, Simon Says, etc.)
• Kids Choose-Your-Story Adventure Game
• Cosplay for Kids (Ages 12 and under)

Speaking of “Cosplay”…Adults, you can dress up too! There were multiple events available, including “Multiverse Got Talent.” This was a cosplay stand-up comedy show designed to unite fandom through laughter. Sounds awesome, right? This was one event I wanted to catch to share with you, but it was slated at the same time as the Blue’s Clues panel.

Ultimately, if you are solely into comics, check out just some of the featured guests present at Motor City Comic Con:

• Arthur Adams
• Klaus Janson
• Fabian Nicieza
• Jeph Loeb
• Alessandro Vitti
• Benjamin Percy
• Alex Saviuk
• Charles P. Wilson

and many more!

There were also other special events throughout the event that required MC3 admission to attend:

• You are a Voice Actor- Step into a recording booth and bring a character to life.
• Rough Magic Games: D&D & Tabletop Games
• Hoplite Event: Paint and Take- Paint your own free miniature figure
• ICON Gaming Tournaments- Showcase your gaming with open play and tournaments
• Swordsmanship: New Dawn Kyber Squad- Flex Your sword skills with LED saber classes and demonstrations
• Fandomadness- Interactive gameshow experience.
• Anime Room- The Anime Club of Michigan shows rare, classic, and modern anime
• Cosplay Contest- Two exciting contest divisions

Are you a night owl and don’t want the fun to end?  Motor City Comic Con also offered a few after-hours events to attend:

• Watchmen Screening with Malin Akerman- Live Q & A with Malin followed by a big-screen showing of Watchmen.
• Night out with the Hardys- Podcast and concert
• After Party at the Hub Novi- Check out the HUB Stadium Novi for food, drinks, music, axe throwing, and more!

As you walk around the showroom, it was so much fun seeing the amount of cosplay going on. I bumped into my friends practicing their lightsaber skills:

And of course, bumped into this guy…(and R2D2 as seen above)

And this little guy (BB8)

If you have never experienced Motor City Comic Con and would like to attend (the next one is this fall), here’s a little tip on my end. Parking is $10 per car. Be sure to get there early to get a good parking spot. When you first walk into the showroom, you may be slightly overwhelmed (in a good way) of what to look at and do first! I highly suggest just walking around and seeing all the vendors and exhibitors to see what’s available. Check out the celebrity guests and see if you would like to get in line to pay for selfies, autographs, and more. Price sheets are at the front of the line.  Also, take note of the food available throughout the event. For the spring one, food trucks were outdoors. For the fall one, they are indoors along with concessions. *The program guide has detailed maps inside so that you can find everything!

Once you get acclimated, look through the program book and pick times for events you may want to attend, from panel discussions to contests, there’s just so much to do. On my way to one of the panel discussions, the friends at State Farm were making customized Bobbleheads. So much fun!

I’m looking forward to the next Motor City Comic Con this fall. Hope to see you there!

*I would like to thank my friends Katrina, Dawn, Rachel, and Heather from Expand Marketing Group for the opportunity to showcase my experience at Motor City Comic Con here on Michigan Mama News. You are all amazing!