Thursday, May 21, 2015

Motor City Comic Con and back again


Motor City Comic Con has been a landmark event since before Great Lakes Base even existed.  Some of my earliest and fondest memories of trooping have involved a roadtrip up to Michigan for the annual comic book convention and assembly of Rebel Legion and 501st members.  The convention has grown significantly over the years and Great Lakes Base has had to grow along with it.

Because of travelling for Star Wars Celebration, for budget reasons Snips and I elected to attend this year’s Motor City in a single day-trip on Saturday; like in the old days.  Early on a Saturday morning, we loaded up the car and plotted our “navicomputer” for the Novi (just outside of Detroit) system.  Driving with a GPS for Motor City Comic Con is somewhat ironic, because after so many years of making this pilgrimage up to the Suburban Collection Showcase (home of MCCC) would be something we could do on memory alone? We probably could… but as a Luke Skywalker fan, “I like to keep it on Manual Control for a while.” 

photo by: Anna Rossman
Once we found parking and get inside the convention hall, the thing that struck me the most is how jam-packed the show floor is with vendors, artist and celebrity guests.  Motor City has always been known for booking a wide selection of guests from your favorite TV shows, movies and even wrestling.  This year, Jeremy Bulloch -- Rebel Legion Honorary Member and “Boba Fett” from the Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi – was in attendance.  I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Bulloch and his wife at several events over the years; but it’s fun to watch the NEW members get to meet him for the first time.  There was even a significant number Ohio Mercs from Rancor Clan who drove up just to see the original Mandalorian bounty hunter.

In addition to meeting some of your favorite sci-fi/comic book stars, another great thing about Motor City Con is the Star Wars fan group area – which Great Lakes Base shares with Great Lakes Garrison, R2-Builders and Suumpir’ade Clan.  Motor City Comic Con has always been one of the largest assembly of Star Wars costumers from Michigan and Ohio – but also nearby Garrisons and Bases from other states.  The group picture on Saturday has become something of an event in it’s own right.  They almost need to include it on the event program schedule.  Anytime you bring close to 50+ Star Wars costumers together in one place, it tends to draw a large crowd of people with cameras.  

photo by: Kristie Johnson

Even after all these years, the Star Wars groups remain a BIG HIT with fans attending Motor City Comic Con!

In between photo shots and running to get in line for your favorite guest autograph or panel, the other great thing about Motor City Comic Con is that it is a chance to meet fellow GLB and GLG members that you normally only interact with on the boards or facebook.  As I talked with some of our newest GLB members, it occurred to me that many of the people I remember from past MCCC conventions have long since retired from Star Wars costuming.  I don’t mention this as a “sad” thing (quite the opposite) because it means these NEW generation of Rebel Legion members are just beginning to build their own “Motor City Comic Con” memories!  And that is something I look forward to driving up next year to hear about.

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