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NOVI — The 2025 Motor City Comic Con is set to take over the Suburban Collection Showplace May 16-18. This year, the show will be flying in with all the superpower aspects it’s known for, but with an additional nostalgic punch.
The biannual convention, which caters to everything pop culture, has become synonymous with special celebrity and comic guests, events, attractions, and a welcoming atmosphere for all.
“I wouldn’t say that we ever really go for a theme. Pop culture is so encompassing that it’s hard to really nail it down to just one theme,” said Samantha Yankee, show manager. “But there is definitely a lot of nostalgia for this show.”
The show this year will feature many celebrities, some of whom are known for iconic roles, such as Bill Nye and the “Blue’s Clues” team.
“All these people who you watched when you were a kid, now they’re coming in and you can meet them,” said Beth Burland, show manager. “I would agree nostalgia’s definitely there.”
Yankee said that show guests are not chosen necessarily at random, because they try to get people who are not filming or working anymore as well as actors who are currently working. She said the latter definitely makes scheduling more of a challenge. It’s all about the timing, she said.
“So, a lot of the guests are people we have maybe been trying to get for a few shows now, but the schedules finally lined up,” Yankee said.
Jeremy Renner, known for his roles in “Mission Impossible” and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, where he plays Hawkeye, was among them. The timing of the con worked out well with the release of his memoir, “My Next Breath,” on April 29. The show will provide an opportunity for Renner to meet fans and promote his book, Yankee said. Renner will be appearing at MC3 on Saturday, May 17, only.
Burland said she doesn’t think there are specific challenges with putting the show together, but she always questions “if they are bringing in the right guests that the fans will enjoy.”
“There’s a lot of different moving pieces to go through the whole time and keeping juggling all those pieces to come out with a great convention for the fans is always a goal that we want to reach,” Burland said.
The public is able to suggest guests on MC3’s website and social media. Yankee said that guest suggestions are always taken into account when they are trying to decide what guests to seek for the con.
“We like to make sure that we are listening to our fans and if there is a specific person that somebody is wanting us to bring in, then it lets us know if maybe we have a handful of people requesting that celebrity guest or maybe we have a hundred people requesting them,” Yankee said. “ When we are making our decisions on who to bring in, that definitely helps.”
New to MC3 this spring is Rough Magic games, which Burland said she is exited to have. The group will be hosting free Dungeons & Dragons games throughout the entire weekend. Burland said the group will also host panels on what D & D is all about and how to get into it.
Also new to the con this year is “Do You Want to be a Voice Actor.” The group will bring in a soundproof booth where guests will be able to record one to three lines of script. The group will edit it and add music and give a copy to the guests.
“Those two are very original and I’m looking forward to having those,” said Burland. “Something completely different that we haven’t had before.”
Another group that piggybacks off Dungeons & Dragons is Thunderforge Studios, which offers show attendees the chance to paint miniatures that can be used to play D & D games and other role-playing games. There is no cost for the miniatures.
As usual, authentication services for autographs will be available for MC3 attendees to purchase through JSA, but this year they have partnered with CGC, which specializes in comic book grating. So the show will have both autograph authentication and comic book, trading card and memorabilia grading services available to attendees.
The show is known for providing the opportunity for guests to experiment with and or partake in cosplay. This year the show is expanding to feature several cosplay guests, three of whom will be judging the cosplay contests and one of whom is a professional cosplayer.
“We have always had cosplay as a thing at our show, but because it has become such a big thing that people are turning this into a profession, we have expanded what are the guests that we bring in,” Yankee said. “We might expand this even further, but we are really trying it out for the show.”
The show will also include the traditional MC3 cosplay contests for both adults and children, and numerous panels, vendors and children’s activities.
“One of the things we are striving for each show is to bring in new attendees who are maybe a little bit timid about going to a comic con or maybe have the wrong idea about what a comic con is,” Yankee said. “It’s not just comic books. We have a lot of nostalgic guests that we are bringing in hoping to reach a new audience. So they understand there’s a lot more than just comic books at our show. We have local artists, we have vendors from all over the country, we’ve got activities and panels and after-hours events. There’s a lot going on that I think maybe people going to their first comic con might really enjoy.”
