May 11, 2025 • 30 mins
BETH AND SAM SHARE THE MANY EXCITING GUESTS APPEARANCES, VENDORS AND UNIQUE ATTRACTIONS AT THIS YEAR'S MOTOR CITY COMICON WHICH IS CELEBRATING 36 YEARS AS THE LARGEST POP CULTURE EVENT IN MICHIGAN.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to Light Up to D, a focus on what's
happening in our community from the people who make it happen.
Here's your host, iHeartMedia Detroit Market President Colleen Grant.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Good morning and welcome to another episode of Light of
the D. Thanks for joining me today. I'm your host,
Colleen Grant. Boy, oh boy, am I excited about this.
We have some really fun guests today and talking about
an exciting event coming up. Joining us today are the
show managers from MotorCity Comic Con, Beth Burland and Sam Yankee.
Together these two creators put together the largest and longest
(00:34):
standing comic con in Michigan, Motorcitycomicon. It's taken place May
sixteenth through the eighteenth. Coming up here real soon. We're
talking thirty six years as Michigan's largest and longest running
pop culture event in the state. So for more information
on MotorCity Comicon before we begin, so you have it.
The web address is Motorcitycomic Con dot com. Please join
(00:58):
me and welcome into the program. Beth Burland and Sam Yankee,
thank you guys for joining me today.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
Thanks for having us. We're excited to be here.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Yeah, well, we're excited about the event coming up. Why
don't we just start by giving everybody some background on
how MotorCity Comic Con came about, how many years it's
been taking place, like, and when I say that, I
know I said thirty six years. But the development over
thirty six years that led you to the massive event
that you have going on and coming up in just
a very short time.
Speaker 4 (01:26):
He actually started in nineteen eighty nine when the promoter,
Michael Goldman, who's my brother and my dad, brought home
a comic book collection because he knew he liked comics
and he was kind of figuring out what he wanted
to do. And they started setting up at shows and realized, wow,
this is a lot of fun, and we enjoy comics
and being around all these people who enjoy the same
(01:47):
thing we do. And eventually he ended up buying his
own show and just keeps getting bigger and better every year.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Yeah, I mean it's become more than a comic show.
I mean it's really huge pop culture event.
Speaker 4 (02:02):
Yeah. Yeah. It started out like in the THEFW halls, right,
and it was just vendors and a few comic artists,
and he just kept moving to bigger and bigger places
eventually to the Suburban showplace and it just has everything
now for anybody.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Yeah, which we'll get into. Okay, excited to talk about that,
but we're talking like hundreds of thousands of people coming through.
Speaker 3 (02:24):
Yeah, it's significant.
Speaker 4 (02:26):
It's a large number.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
It's a very large number. That's great. Well, I know
we're always excited about MotorCity Comic Con, and we know
our very own Jay Towers is a massive, massive fan.
Anybody who knows him knows it's all about Superman and
all the things he loves Superman related. But who are
some of the celebrities and guests that are joining us
this coming event.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
Well from my childhood. We've got the Blues Clues Trio. Yeah,
Steve Burns and the other host obviously, but the original
Steve Burns. But we've also got Bill Andy, the science guy.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
I love him.
Speaker 3 (02:59):
He doesn't really do cons, but he is going to
be there for a few hours on Sunday, So if
you are a fan of Bill and I, make sure
you're there on Sunday.
Speaker 4 (03:07):
We have Laura Popone from that seventy show, and this
is actually her first comic con that she's ever doing,
So we're excited to be able to host her for
her first time bomb Could Jansen Mom? Could Jansen? Who?
If you're a double O seven? You know?
Speaker 3 (03:23):
Or X Men Trilogy.
Speaker 4 (03:27):
We have Rain Wilson and Angela Kinzie from the Office
and he's actually doing an after hour movie event at
Imagine Theater and Nova, so you can come and see
a panel with him and then watch the movie super
which he's really excited about that movie. It was a
favorite of his. We have Jeremy Renner who's coming.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
He's get a book coming out, so he wants to
promote that book. Martin Sheen, Goodness, Gracious, Riley Whitford, Sean Austin.
We've got some voice actors coming in Reno nine one one.
We've got Thomas Lennon and Sajac Yarborough and they're going
to be in costume and I don't know if you
guys have seen them on social media, but they they
(04:10):
are in character right from the second they walk on
to the show floor. They are in character.
Speaker 4 (04:15):
People are excited to see that and be part of that. Yeah,
Garrett Hedlin is coming.
Speaker 3 (04:20):
Oh yeah, my son's so excited about Tron Tron. The
main character's name is Sam and my name is Sam.
So he keeps saying, Samm gonna be there, like I'm
gonna be there, No Sam from San.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
So. I don't know if we did we tell everybody
what the dates are and words located. Did we go
through that.
Speaker 4 (04:38):
We can do that again, but he doesn't hurt. It's
at a suburban showplace and nova and the dates are
May sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth, and we can't wait to
see you there.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Yeah, oh my gosh. So you guys, it's like we
were saying earlier, so much more than comics. It's you know,
pop culture. All the celebrity appearances that you just mentioned,
comic book artists, vendors which we need to get into,
some of the vendors you have coming, and the events
and activities, so many things and they all come together
to make it a really spectacular weekend. And we've talked
(05:11):
together before your Fall event too. You have a fall event.
You do it twice a year now because it's so big.
What does it take to plan something like this and
what do you look for when you select guests to
feature at each of these conventions that make it unique
for everybody to experience.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
It takes a lot.
Speaker 4 (05:29):
It's a very busy. Six months between each show, not
much time.
Speaker 3 (05:33):
And sometimes we're planning for the next show, or you know,
somebody is not able to make it because of a
schedule conflict, so are you available the next show? And
you know, sometimes it doesn't end up working out. So
schedule is a big thing with how we bring in
guests and who we select. It's also who's interested in
doing cons. One of the best things I think about
the community is that the guests that come to cons
(05:55):
to meet fans want to meet the fans, right. You know,
you don't want somebody there who's not excited to meet
the fans.
Speaker 4 (06:01):
Right.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
They're excited about their favorite nerdiest fandom. They are meeting
their hero or the person who plays their hero characters.
So it helps when they are excited to come to
the show.
Speaker 4 (06:15):
We're always also open to people giving suggestions of who
they might be interested in, you know, because we always
we want to make sure that the people are fans
are excited about who's coming.
Speaker 3 (06:24):
So I cannot stress this enough. Suggestions. It's not an
order form. If that were the case, then my step
dad would have halle Berry here.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
I'd take her here too.
Speaker 3 (06:36):
She's in every time I'm on the phone with him,
he says that.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
Well, it seems like more and more people are open
to participating in con events.
Speaker 3 (06:44):
It's great to see.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Yeah, like the wide variety of people participating. Every time
I hear more of the people that are coming, it's like, wow,
that's so interesting, and that's a different person from kind
of a different genre of shows. And it just seems
like it's expanding more and more of people who are
willing to participate.
Speaker 4 (07:02):
I think the word is getting out word of mouth,
especially about our show. We're very accommodating to the people,
very family oriented. We're an independent show, so it's not
like a corporation, and people enjoy coming. Not just the
fans enjoy coming, but the celebrities and the artists and
everybody likes coming because they're treated so well by the fans,
(07:22):
so well by the staff that it's like MotorCity Comic
Con is the place to be, right, you know. And
just words getting out.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
You'll notice where the first con for a few guests,
not just the show, but we have in the past
as well, like Helen Hunt.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
We were her first show, That's what I mean.
Speaker 3 (07:37):
Yeah, So I think, like she said, it's just word
of mouth. Either you know other people in the industry
or their agents know us or have worked with us.
So yeah, I think it's right.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Word gets out. You had a good.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
Rep putting in the work.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
So when we think about the wide variety of like
you said, blues clues, you know, everything that's available for
all different kinds of people and all different age groups.
This is an all agents event with a lot for
children to do. Can you give me some examples of
what families can expect at the event.
Speaker 4 (08:06):
We have a separate kids room that is geared all
towards kids, and we have activities on Saturday and Sunday
all day long. We have the Ghostbusters that come in
and they make slime with the kids and you. This
year they're going to be making marshmallow men, so we're
excited to see how that goes. We have the Star
Wars group comes in and does a story time with them,
(08:29):
and then there's a meet and greet with the characters.
We have games and crafts and all kinds of fun.
Speaker 3 (08:36):
My gosh, the Kids Causeway contest. It is so cute.
I haven't been able to make it to one yet,
just because you know, it's the middle of the day
on Sunday when everyone's at the show. But I have
seen pictures each time, and it is my bucket list
it to try and go see.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
You got to get to that this year.
Speaker 4 (08:51):
I actually went to it. One year, I hadn't been
to it, and it was on the room and the
show floor and I walked in and then the room
was packed to get there to wall and I'm like, Okay,
next year, I'm going to put this in a bigger room.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
I just think it's funny that you're talking about something
you can't even get to at your own event because
you're so busy.
Speaker 3 (09:09):
Yeah, I mean, I don't know if I've ever seen
a panel at our show. Wow, I've been able to
like work the after hours events because you know, we
don't have as much staff working that late. But yeah,
it's just a NonStop whirlwind of fun, but work all.
Speaker 4 (09:24):
Right, making sure that everybody's got what they want and
taking care of them.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
Having the best time. Let's talk about the cosplay that
you have going on at the event. It's fan favorite
for sure, and you were talking about the kids one
was absolutely packed. Give us a little background on what
that is, including the details and some of the contests
that are taking place.
Speaker 3 (09:44):
So the Cosplay Contest this year we're trying to start
branching more into the craftsmanship of it. We have a
craftsmanship competition and we also have like a showcase. So
the showcase is more what I think people are used
to when they think cosplay if they haven't met before.
You know, it's costumes, and part of it might have
been made by them, but a lot of it is,
(10:04):
you know, stuff that they've either purchased or put together
through I don't know, maybe going thrifting. But then the
craftsmanship contest is over fifty percent of the costume is
handmade by the person who is wearing it.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (10:17):
Yeah, it's incredible stuff. And we have some professional cosplayers
who are judging the contest, and I mean they are
able to really, I mean judge these things so intricately,
Like I look at them and I think they're all incredible.
I don't know what's handmade, what's molded, how much hours
and dedication goes into this. It's they're really incredible.
Speaker 2 (10:39):
Right.
Speaker 4 (10:39):
This is the first year that we're kind of doing
the two different types of cosplays, trying to more focus
into the craftsmanship of it. You know, looking at people
who are really spending six months creating their costume and
doing all of that and acknowledging that and.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
You can absolutely still go and do the showcase with
your friends. We get a lot of people that they
do a group costume, or maybe they bought a costume,
but it's really creative. You know, they put something together
that they thrifted and it's either gender bending or mixing
two different fandoms together, but it's not handmade. You can
still show that off.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
Those are just.
Speaker 4 (11:15):
Fun to see too. Yeah, so we want to acknowledge
both people come out in costume, oh the show itself.
Speaker 3 (11:23):
At least half of them. And I think it also
depends on what you mean by in costume, because we
have people who are you know, have spent the entire
year building their costume, maybe bring it to a bunch
of different shows. But then there's people who just haven't
already t shirt on or buy something there to wear.
There's a spectrum of costume wearing.
Speaker 4 (11:42):
And it's a comfortable setting, so people feel comfortable coming
in and whatever costume they have, if they just you know,
kids come in with their Halloween costume, or you just
have a funky hat that you're wearing. It's just a
place to just kind of relax and be yourself.
Speaker 3 (11:57):
Yeah, and if you feel like you're missing that, like
one piece of your cosplay, odds are that we are
selling it there one of our vendors, one of our crafters,
one of our artists, they have a missing piece.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
That's a great, great piece of information, just in case
you common you're missing something. I love that. How many
people are you expecting to participate in the handmade part
of that?
Speaker 3 (12:17):
So we're really not sure. This is the first time
that we've specified that that is our focus. Last I checked,
I think we had maybe thirty people in that category,
but I don't know for sure. I haven't checked in
a little bit. The applications do close on May second.
Speaker 4 (12:32):
We take up to about seventy five people.
Speaker 3 (12:34):
Okay, and that's in both categories for this year.
Speaker 4 (12:37):
Okay, So if you're interested in being in the cosplay,
jump on it.
Speaker 2 (12:42):
Let's talk about the question and an answer sessions you
have in the panels. Do all celebrity guests host panels?
What takes place during those panels?
Speaker 4 (12:51):
So all of the celebrities do participate in a panel.
So if you see somebody on our list and you
want interested in going to their panel. Our schedule comes
out soon. It usually starts with and they're all moderated,
So it usually starts with a moderator who kind of
just has a discussion about, you know, with the celebrity
about different things that they do, and then it is
(13:13):
open to Q and A where people in the audience
fans can come up to the mic and ask questions.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
How long do the panels usually last?
Speaker 4 (13:21):
Anywhere from thirty minutes to an hour.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
Oh wow, that's a long time for a celebrity to
be sitting, you know, at just being asked questions. But
really it gives you a chance to get to know
them and ask those things you've always wondered and hear
them live and in person. I mean that's so exciting
for you know, when you really have that interest in
a celebrity.
Speaker 4 (13:40):
Right it is one of the top things that people
like to do. And as Sam said before, we don't
haven't really gotten to go to see a panel. It's
on my bucket list to do that.
Speaker 3 (13:49):
There's always ones that we have like Okay, if I've
got time, I'm going to go to this one and
this one and this one and next thing, you know
the day's over.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
Are they usually individual celebrity panels or do they ever
join up with multiple people on the panels both.
Speaker 4 (14:00):
So, like the Blues Clues group, the three of them
will do their panel together. If they come from the
similar fandoms, then we will group them together. It is
a lot, you know, the fans like to see the
grouping and they've.
Speaker 3 (14:12):
Worked together, so they're comfortable together, and a lot of
their behind the scenes stories either have to do with
each other or they at least we're there or know
about it.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
Right sure.
Speaker 4 (14:21):
Some of the panels that are taking place, we have, well,
any of the celebrities all have panels, so all those
celebrities you mentioned, like Laura Propone will do her panel.
We have Sean Ashmore and Vamka Jansen who will do
their panels together. Because of the X Men, there's some
of the other group. Bill and I will be doing
a panel with Bob Cardo because they're both kind of
(14:44):
science geeks, so they're going to do theirs together the
way right.
Speaker 3 (14:50):
We also have a lot of comic guest panels, you know,
that is where we started, and I think one of
the ones that I've always wanted to see, but I've
never been able to make it. Too has been skechedules.
They are so cool. They do live art there at
the end of the panel, somebody gets the piece of
art that they make.
Speaker 2 (15:06):
Yes, really, I mean that's a whole other, really cool aspect.
Speaker 4 (15:10):
We're doing a different skechedule this time. That actually came
from the comic artists. They wanted to do one because
they all deal with drawing aliens. So the theme of
that is aliens. So if you're into the different aliens,
you know what you're getting.
Speaker 2 (15:26):
And it's a sketch duel oh yeah, yeah, as.
Speaker 4 (15:29):
Well as a panel at the time, so the audience
will the moderator will ask the audience do you want
them to be in the forest or in the beach,
you know, and the audience will vote for what they want,
and then they start sketching, and why they're sketching. They're
answering questions and you know, talking about their experience as
(15:50):
a comic artist.
Speaker 3 (15:52):
And the art is being projected the whole time, so
you get to see the process, which is really cool,
you know, especially if you don't do any sort of
if you're notartistic at all. Right, being able to see
something come from nothing, it's really cool.
Speaker 2 (16:04):
Yeah, and being somebody who has zero talent are absolutely not.
I would just think that's so like, Wow, what a gift.
Speaker 3 (16:14):
Literally, if you get the.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
And by the way, being able to do it while chatting,
oh my god, draw, I.
Speaker 3 (16:22):
Would be stopping. I'm sorry, what did you say?
Speaker 4 (16:24):
Yeah, but all of our comic artists also do a panel.
So if you're interested in learning about the process of
of how you create a cover, the cover art, you
can go to a panel that deals with the cover art.
If you're interested in the process of the actual writing
piece we have, you know, people who do the writing.
Speaker 3 (16:43):
How to get published is always something that comes up.
You know, there's a lot of people that started going
to cons as an independent artist and artist Alley or
you know, they just had the right connections, or they
just put in the work, maybe self published. They got
a couple of people like that who are going to
be doing some panels.
Speaker 2 (16:58):
You mentioned artist Ali. What's that?
Speaker 3 (17:00):
Artist Alli is my favorite part. That's where I started
in the industry. I started exhibiting an artist ally, and
I started going to other shows and ended up looking
into this job. But it's where we have either semi
professional or amateur artists and they set up a booth
and they have their original artwork there. A lot of
them do digital art, but a lot of them do
(17:20):
physical as well, so they'll have prints, they might have originals,
they might do commissions. And then we also have in
our artist alley areas where our comic guests are, so
those people who are semi professional and maybe got a
table here get to intermingle with the professionals who are
in the industry. Some of those are like maybe right
on the line and things happen.
Speaker 2 (17:42):
Right, that's how things happen. Look what happened to you?
Speaker 3 (17:44):
Exactly.
Speaker 4 (17:45):
We have a couple of big comic artists that are
coming that people are excited about. Arthur Adams has been
in the industry for over forty years. He's a big name.
Jeff Loeb Class Chance and I'm excited about him.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
No relation to Fomka Jansen.
Speaker 3 (18:02):
No, So yeah it is. Every time I have to
check because i know I'm gonna spell it the other way.
Speaker 4 (18:08):
Yeah, So something for everybody. If you're not really into
the celebrities, we've got to come a guess for you.
Speaker 2 (18:14):
Wow, what other unique attractions and events are happening this year.
I know, a night out with Hardy's event and super
Movie screening it imagine, no vie, tell me a little
bit about those so everybody understands well.
Speaker 3 (18:26):
First, we also have a Watchman screening, which if you
are willing to dedicate Oh see, you perked up a
little bit there, if you're willing to dedicate the two
and a half three hours to the movie, which is
an amazing movie. Malan ac again Watchman? Okay, Malan Ackerman
is going to be doing the intro for that screening
on Friday night.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (18:45):
So the Hardy Boys is a very interesting one. You've
got these two wrestlers who people are so excited for
them to be coming. Matt Hardy is going to be
doing a podcast about his extreme life, and then there'll
be a little intermission and Jeff Hardy is going to
do concert, a music concert.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
Wow. Who would think?
Speaker 4 (19:03):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (19:03):
Yeah, like what kind of music concert?
Speaker 3 (19:06):
It's it's kind of like a folk rock I would
call it dad rock music, acoustic dad rock.
Speaker 2 (19:13):
Acoustic tad rock.
Speaker 4 (19:15):
Go online and look it up.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
Yeah, all right, where are we selling telling everybody to
go again?
Speaker 3 (19:21):
I would just go on Spotify. That's what I did.
He's on Spotify with his music and with Matt with
his podcast. Yep, yeah, so you could there. Once you
start looking at it, you're like, oh my god, that
you have this whole other career.
Speaker 4 (19:31):
Yeah, by a night. And it's interesting to listen to
the how they have branched out from just being wrestlers.
Speaker 3 (19:38):
Wow, but they are still very much wrestlers. I don't
know if you guys saw that they are back in it.
Speaker 4 (19:43):
Wow?
Speaker 2 (19:44):
How about that?
Speaker 4 (19:46):
And then of course the two movie events, and then
we also have after hours. We have a company coming
in to do Dungeons and Dragons and tabletop gaming and
that will go all day.
Speaker 2 (19:58):
What kind of table cup top games?
Speaker 3 (20:00):
Yes, so it's tabletop role playing games. Dungeon Dragons is
obviously the most recognizable one. But we actually also have
a pain intake which will be painting minifigures. And I
haven't asked you yet, but I'm wondering if we can
have people paint their minifigures and then bring it to
the tabletop games and use their brand new minifigures.
Speaker 4 (20:16):
Don't see why not they go?
Speaker 5 (20:19):
Yeah, you can bring the whole day plans, right, on
the whole evening because the Dungeon, the tabletop games, and
the D and D goes from the from about ten
thirty in the morning to about ten thirty at night,
and then we have computer video tournaments that will go
from the start of the show to about eight nine
(20:41):
o'clock at night.
Speaker 2 (20:42):
What kind of computer video tournaments, Well.
Speaker 4 (20:44):
You could do like Smash Brothers.
Speaker 3 (20:46):
Or I think they got Street Fighter as well. Yeah,
they've got a whole schedule, a web schedule and tell
everybody the website Citycomic Con dot com.
Speaker 2 (20:56):
Yeah, today we have Beth Berlin and Sam Yankee from
MotorCity Comic Con share in all the exciting things that
are taking place. Obviously, guests get to meet celebrity guests,
which is a huge part of what you've already been
speaking about. And the celebrity lineup is absolutely enormous. Talked
about some of the Q and A and panels that
are going on, But there are photographs and autographs that
(21:17):
can take place too. Can you tell our listeners a
little bit about the process with regard to autographs and
photographs too.
Speaker 4 (21:24):
There's two different ways. Some of the celebrities will pre
sell theirs and you just go on the website to
buy tickets and you can look to see who you
can pre sell their autographs and selfies. All photo ops,
professional photo ops are pre sold okay, and we have
a company pose that does that for us, and you
just go onto the website and select what you would like.
(21:46):
We have individuals, we have duos, and we have trios
that you can select from.
Speaker 3 (21:51):
We also have one large group which we haven't finalized
the number yet, but we have Unknown Comics bringing in
a lot of the voice actors for X Men and
they are going to They're not going to do individual
photos because that would just take a very long time.
But we've got at least six right now, maybe eight
who will be doing a group photo. Oh wow, that's
a big group photo.
Speaker 4 (22:11):
That's a big one.
Speaker 2 (22:12):
We talked about earlier, like if you were wearing your
costume and you're missing something from your costume, you know
there's probably a vendor there who can help you out.
Talk to us about all the vendors that are going
to be present that people really look forward to.
Speaker 3 (22:24):
So my personal favorite section is going to be the
crafters because it's kind of in between the two Crafters
are going to be people who hand make their items,
and we have one person wood turn Magic and they
use local wood and antlers to make handspin wands. Wow,
that whole booth just of ones, that's all it is.
So when I say, maybe you're missing the extra piece,
(22:45):
maybe the one needs to choose the wizard, right.
Speaker 4 (22:49):
Maybe.
Speaker 3 (22:50):
Then we also have plenty of vendors who have t
shirts or hats. There's somebody who like knits their own hats,
artists and props and signs for your room. Three D
printed items. My husband has a little Buddha Cuthulhu that
he has on his dash that comes from three D
Mucky Chris, who's one of our vendors.
Speaker 4 (23:09):
See, there's place people that sell the lightsabers, and obviously
a couple of comic dealers if you want to get
some old or new comic books.
Speaker 3 (23:18):
Oh and if you're new to Dungeons and Dragons and
you're trying it out the show, try and add to
your new obsession by buying some dice. Because we got
lots of people who sell dice. You will not be
able to stop. I've got like three or four sets.
They're pretty.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
The comic artists, you know, there's such a big draw
as well. What are some of the big artists that
are coming and how can guess interact with them the
same way that they do for the autographs and photos
or is it different?
Speaker 4 (23:45):
So the comic guests don't do the professional photo ops,
but you can go to their tables. They have all
their art displayed, you can purchase that, you can get
their autographs. Many of them will do selfies and you
just can go up there and have a conversation with them.
They're very open to sharing and talking and they want that.
They want to be able to let people know what
they do and encourage people to be part of the industry.
Speaker 3 (24:08):
Yeah, they're pricing and we don't have like a set
rates or anything like we have for these celebrities, So
unfortunately for that, you're going to have to go and
find out for yourself. Go to their tables. Some of
them include a free autograph with a purchase, some of
them with a conversation. Some of them just be like, hey, here,
please sign that's great.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
You guys. There's so much to do to people come
for the whole weekend. What is the U or do
they come for a day and spend the whole day?
Speaker 4 (24:31):
Well, there's different levels of tickets that you can purchase.
We have VIP tickets, which they're almost sold out, so
if you want a VIP ticket, I'd advise you to
do that quickly.
Speaker 3 (24:40):
And they might be sold out already. Yeah, and by
the time you hear.
Speaker 4 (24:42):
This, those give you like for the celebrity area, there's
a special VIP line so you don't have to wait
in such a long line. You get a special poster,
you get a special bag, you get a lanyard, lanyard,
a certificate to get something at our merch booth, of
which our t shirt design is done by one of
(25:06):
our comic artists that's coming in, David Peterson, who's local
to Michigan.
Speaker 2 (25:11):
I love that.
Speaker 4 (25:12):
Then we have our three day tickets that obviously our Friday, Saturday, Sunday,
and then you can buy individual tickets for whichever day
you would prefer.
Speaker 3 (25:19):
But mostly people like to come the whole weekend. That's
our biggest ticket seller, is a three day right, even
if like you can only stop in Friday, maybe after work.
Friday is definitely our slowest day, So if you want
to take in some of the vendors, because not all
the celebrities are there on Friday, Maybe you want to
just do a walk through plan the rest of your weekend.
That's the day to do it.
Speaker 2 (25:39):
Do you have the dates for your fall event already?
Speaker 4 (25:42):
Yes, we do, November fourteen, fifteenth, and sixteenth.
Speaker 2 (25:44):
November fourteenth or sixteenth. And if somebody you were saying
that the VIP tickets may already be sold out, how
far an advance do you sell those kinds of tickets?
Speaker 3 (25:51):
Usually about five months or so. Okay, we need a
month to get our bearings.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
But and then right back at it, right.
Speaker 4 (25:57):
And we make an announcement of social media anounced and
letting people know the tickets are now on sale.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
Okay, what are your social media handles? So somebody is like, hey,
I need to be in the know.
Speaker 3 (26:06):
A great question. So I think on Instagram and Twitter
we are mot City Comic Con. And then I think
on Facebook, we're just MotorCity Comic Con.
Speaker 2 (26:17):
And the website again is.
Speaker 3 (26:19):
Motorcitycomicon dot com.
Speaker 2 (26:21):
Okay, okay, we'll.
Speaker 3 (26:22):
Synchronize that next time.
Speaker 4 (26:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:24):
How do you decide what new to add? How do
you decide how you're going to keep growing?
Speaker 3 (26:28):
That is the question. There's so much, right.
Speaker 4 (26:32):
A lot of times they just it's ideals like or
people write into us, Like we had somebody write in
one of our other new ideas that is coming is
are you a voice actor? And this woman and her
sister created a handmade voice booth both sound booth, and
you come in and you get to go in the
(26:52):
sound booth and record a couple lines of from a
dialogue from a script. She's got over sixty different scripts
that you can pick form and then she will add
music and back and sound effects to it and then
you get a copy of that. And they contacted us,
So a lot of times it's people contacting us with
(27:14):
different really cool ideas and we kind of go wow,
and then contact them and set something.
Speaker 2 (27:18):
Up that's a good fit and we'll bring in. And
how many vendors do you guys think you'll have it
at this show?
Speaker 3 (27:24):
Is exhibitors total, We've got maybe four hundred.
Speaker 2 (27:29):
Wow, yeah, four hundred.
Speaker 3 (27:31):
Because it goes into a couple categories. You've got the
vendors who are people who maybe have retail items or
have grown out of their artist alley space or their
crafter space. And then you've got the crafters with their
handmade items and artists with their art. It's a lot.
We got a lot of people, a lot of talented people,
a lot of local people.
Speaker 4 (27:47):
That's why they need to spend the whole weekend.
Speaker 2 (27:49):
That's say, it's like going to a massive like art
museum that you can't do in one day. You have
to go back, and you go back and go back.
Speaker 4 (27:56):
Yep.
Speaker 2 (27:57):
Absolutely, So how do you get tickets again? And what
are the different ticket levels?
Speaker 4 (28:02):
You have VIPs, you have three day passes and then
you have individual day passes and.
Speaker 2 (28:07):
You get them online or can you get them at
the door.
Speaker 4 (28:09):
You can do both. You can go to our website
and Motorcitycomic Con dot com and you can get them there,
and you can get them at the door. At the door,
there is a they are five dollars increase at the
door pricing FI.
Speaker 2 (28:22):
I'm in advance, and those VIP tickets may be gone,
but you can certainly get them for the fall event.
Speaker 3 (28:27):
Yeah. The thing to remember about the tickets though, is
kids twelve and under are free on Sunday. Oh wow,
and then kids five and under are free Friday and
Saturday as well.
Speaker 2 (28:36):
Oh that's great.
Speaker 3 (28:37):
Yeah, So Sundays our kid Day that's when we have
most of our kids programming. We do have it on
Saturday as well, but really more kid focused.
Speaker 2 (28:45):
That's great. Why do you guys love what you do?
Speaker 3 (28:48):
Why not? You don't even get to play for work?
Are you kidding me?
Speaker 2 (28:53):
It's the best job ever. Yeah, it's the best job ever.
Speaker 3 (28:56):
I love that it gets to be surrounded by cosplay
and video games and dungeons and dragons and yeah, she's
so happy.
Speaker 2 (29:05):
I love it.
Speaker 3 (29:07):
No, I hate it?
Speaker 2 (29:08):
What about you, Beth? But I don't know.
Speaker 4 (29:12):
I mean, I agree with everything that she's saying. It's
just such a different being part of such a different world.
But the bonus for me is that I get to
be doing it with my family.
Speaker 2 (29:23):
How many family members do you have involved?
Speaker 4 (29:25):
Now? It's my brother and myself and my husband and
my sister and our son and our other son and
our grandkids to come out there. My parents used to
be involved, but not anymore.
Speaker 2 (29:41):
That's so great. So it's truly a family event. It is, right,
all right? Well you heard it here. It is May
sixteenth through eighteenth at the.
Speaker 4 (29:51):
Suburban Showcase in Novae, Michigan and no Vye, Michigan.
Speaker 2 (29:55):
Beth Burland and sam Yankee from MotorCity Comic Con, Thank
you so much for joining us today. Have a great event.
It's going to be awesome. Looking forward to seeing you
guys there or not seeing you there. It sounds like
it'll be so busy. It'll be so busy, but everybody's
going to be having a great time, right Thanks for
joining us.
Speaker 4 (30:11):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (30:12):
This has been light Up the D, a community affairs
program from iHeartMedia Detroit. If your organization would like to
get on the program, email Colleen Grant at iHeartMedia dot com.
Here are all episodes on this station's podcast page.
Welcome to Light Up to D, a focus on what's
happening in our community from the people who make it happen.
Here's your host, iHeartMedia Detroit Market President Colleen Grant.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Good morning and welcome to another episode of Light of
the D. Thanks for joining me today. I'm your host,
Colleen Grant. Boy, oh boy, am I excited about this.
We have some really fun guests today and talking about
an exciting event coming up. Joining us today are the
show managers from MotorCity Comic Con, Beth Burland and Sam Yankee.
Together these two creators put together the largest and longest
(00:34):
standing comic con in Michigan, Motorcitycomicon. It's taken place May
sixteenth through the eighteenth. Coming up here real soon. We're
talking thirty six years as Michigan's largest and longest running
pop culture event in the state. So for more information
on MotorCity Comicon before we begin, so you have it.
The web address is Motorcitycomic Con dot com. Please join
(00:58):
me and welcome into the program. Beth Burland and Sam Yankee,
thank you guys for joining me today.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
Thanks for having us. We're excited to be here.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Yeah, well, we're excited about the event coming up. Why
don't we just start by giving everybody some background on
how MotorCity Comic Con came about, how many years it's
been taking place, like, and when I say that, I
know I said thirty six years. But the development over
thirty six years that led you to the massive event
that you have going on and coming up in just
a very short time.
Speaker 4 (01:26):
He actually started in nineteen eighty nine when the promoter,
Michael Goldman, who's my brother and my dad, brought home
a comic book collection because he knew he liked comics
and he was kind of figuring out what he wanted
to do. And they started setting up at shows and realized, wow,
this is a lot of fun, and we enjoy comics
and being around all these people who enjoy the same
(01:47):
thing we do. And eventually he ended up buying his
own show and just keeps getting bigger and better every year.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Yeah, I mean it's become more than a comic show.
I mean it's really huge pop culture event.
Speaker 4 (02:02):
Yeah. Yeah. It started out like in the THEFW halls, right,
and it was just vendors and a few comic artists,
and he just kept moving to bigger and bigger places
eventually to the Suburban showplace and it just has everything
now for anybody.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Yeah, which we'll get into. Okay, excited to talk about that,
but we're talking like hundreds of thousands of people coming through.
Speaker 3 (02:24):
Yeah, it's significant.
Speaker 4 (02:26):
It's a large number.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
It's a very large number. That's great. Well, I know
we're always excited about MotorCity Comic Con, and we know
our very own Jay Towers is a massive, massive fan.
Anybody who knows him knows it's all about Superman and
all the things he loves Superman related. But who are
some of the celebrities and guests that are joining us
this coming event.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
Well from my childhood. We've got the Blues Clues Trio. Yeah,
Steve Burns and the other host obviously, but the original
Steve Burns. But we've also got Bill Andy, the science guy.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
I love him.
Speaker 3 (02:59):
He doesn't really do cons, but he is going to
be there for a few hours on Sunday, So if
you are a fan of Bill and I, make sure
you're there on Sunday.
Speaker 4 (03:07):
We have Laura Popone from that seventy show, and this
is actually her first comic con that she's ever doing,
So we're excited to be able to host her for
her first time bomb Could Jansen Mom? Could Jansen? Who?
If you're a double O seven? You know?
Speaker 3 (03:23):
Or X Men Trilogy.
Speaker 4 (03:27):
We have Rain Wilson and Angela Kinzie from the Office
and he's actually doing an after hour movie event at
Imagine Theater and Nova, so you can come and see
a panel with him and then watch the movie super
which he's really excited about that movie. It was a
favorite of his. We have Jeremy Renner who's coming.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
He's get a book coming out, so he wants to
promote that book. Martin Sheen, Goodness, Gracious, Riley Whitford, Sean Austin.
We've got some voice actors coming in Reno nine one one.
We've got Thomas Lennon and Sajac Yarborough and they're going
to be in costume and I don't know if you
guys have seen them on social media, but they they
(04:10):
are in character right from the second they walk on
to the show floor. They are in character.
Speaker 4 (04:15):
People are excited to see that and be part of that. Yeah,
Garrett Hedlin is coming.
Speaker 3 (04:20):
Oh yeah, my son's so excited about Tron Tron. The
main character's name is Sam and my name is Sam.
So he keeps saying, Samm gonna be there, like I'm
gonna be there, No Sam from San.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
So. I don't know if we did we tell everybody
what the dates are and words located. Did we go
through that.
Speaker 4 (04:38):
We can do that again, but he doesn't hurt. It's
at a suburban showplace and nova and the dates are
May sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth, and we can't wait to
see you there.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Yeah, oh my gosh. So you guys, it's like we
were saying earlier, so much more than comics. It's you know,
pop culture. All the celebrity appearances that you just mentioned,
comic book artists, vendors which we need to get into,
some of the vendors you have coming, and the events
and activities, so many things and they all come together
to make it a really spectacular weekend. And we've talked
(05:11):
together before your Fall event too. You have a fall event.
You do it twice a year now because it's so big.
What does it take to plan something like this and
what do you look for when you select guests to
feature at each of these conventions that make it unique
for everybody to experience.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
It takes a lot.
Speaker 4 (05:29):
It's a very busy. Six months between each show, not
much time.
Speaker 3 (05:33):
And sometimes we're planning for the next show, or you know,
somebody is not able to make it because of a
schedule conflict, so are you available the next show? And
you know, sometimes it doesn't end up working out. So
schedule is a big thing with how we bring in
guests and who we select. It's also who's interested in
doing cons. One of the best things I think about
the community is that the guests that come to cons
(05:55):
to meet fans want to meet the fans, right. You know,
you don't want somebody there who's not excited to meet
the fans.
Speaker 4 (06:01):
Right.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
They're excited about their favorite nerdiest fandom. They are meeting
their hero or the person who plays their hero characters.
So it helps when they are excited to come to
the show.
Speaker 4 (06:15):
We're always also open to people giving suggestions of who
they might be interested in, you know, because we always
we want to make sure that the people are fans
are excited about who's coming.
Speaker 3 (06:24):
So I cannot stress this enough. Suggestions. It's not an
order form. If that were the case, then my step
dad would have halle Berry here.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
I'd take her here too.
Speaker 3 (06:36):
She's in every time I'm on the phone with him,
he says that.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
Well, it seems like more and more people are open
to participating in con events.
Speaker 3 (06:44):
It's great to see.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Yeah, like the wide variety of people participating. Every time
I hear more of the people that are coming, it's like, wow,
that's so interesting, and that's a different person from kind
of a different genre of shows. And it just seems
like it's expanding more and more of people who are
willing to participate.
Speaker 4 (07:02):
I think the word is getting out word of mouth,
especially about our show. We're very accommodating to the people,
very family oriented. We're an independent show, so it's not
like a corporation, and people enjoy coming. Not just the
fans enjoy coming, but the celebrities and the artists and
everybody likes coming because they're treated so well by the fans,
(07:22):
so well by the staff that it's like MotorCity Comic
Con is the place to be, right, you know. And
just words getting out.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
You'll notice where the first con for a few guests,
not just the show, but we have in the past
as well, like Helen Hunt.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
We were her first show, That's what I mean.
Speaker 3 (07:37):
Yeah, So I think, like she said, it's just word
of mouth. Either you know other people in the industry
or their agents know us or have worked with us.
So yeah, I think it's right.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Word gets out. You had a good.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
Rep putting in the work.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
So when we think about the wide variety of like
you said, blues clues, you know, everything that's available for
all different kinds of people and all different age groups.
This is an all agents event with a lot for
children to do. Can you give me some examples of
what families can expect at the event.
Speaker 4 (08:06):
We have a separate kids room that is geared all
towards kids, and we have activities on Saturday and Sunday
all day long. We have the Ghostbusters that come in
and they make slime with the kids and you. This
year they're going to be making marshmallow men, so we're
excited to see how that goes. We have the Star
Wars group comes in and does a story time with them,
(08:29):
and then there's a meet and greet with the characters.
We have games and crafts and all kinds of fun.
Speaker 3 (08:36):
My gosh, the Kids Causeway contest. It is so cute.
I haven't been able to make it to one yet,
just because you know, it's the middle of the day
on Sunday when everyone's at the show. But I have
seen pictures each time, and it is my bucket list
it to try and go see.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
You got to get to that this year.
Speaker 4 (08:51):
I actually went to it. One year, I hadn't been
to it, and it was on the room and the
show floor and I walked in and then the room
was packed to get there to wall and I'm like, Okay,
next year, I'm going to put this in a bigger room.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
I just think it's funny that you're talking about something
you can't even get to at your own event because
you're so busy.
Speaker 3 (09:09):
Yeah, I mean, I don't know if I've ever seen
a panel at our show. Wow, I've been able to
like work the after hours events because you know, we
don't have as much staff working that late. But yeah,
it's just a NonStop whirlwind of fun, but work all.
Speaker 4 (09:24):
Right, making sure that everybody's got what they want and
taking care of them.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
Having the best time. Let's talk about the cosplay that
you have going on at the event. It's fan favorite
for sure, and you were talking about the kids one
was absolutely packed. Give us a little background on what
that is, including the details and some of the contests
that are taking place.
Speaker 3 (09:44):
So the Cosplay Contest this year we're trying to start
branching more into the craftsmanship of it. We have a
craftsmanship competition and we also have like a showcase. So
the showcase is more what I think people are used
to when they think cosplay if they haven't met before.
You know, it's costumes, and part of it might have
been made by them, but a lot of it is,
(10:04):
you know, stuff that they've either purchased or put together
through I don't know, maybe going thrifting. But then the
craftsmanship contest is over fifty percent of the costume is
handmade by the person who is wearing it.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (10:17):
Yeah, it's incredible stuff. And we have some professional cosplayers
who are judging the contest, and I mean they are
able to really, I mean judge these things so intricately,
Like I look at them and I think they're all incredible.
I don't know what's handmade, what's molded, how much hours
and dedication goes into this. It's they're really incredible.
Speaker 2 (10:39):
Right.
Speaker 4 (10:39):
This is the first year that we're kind of doing
the two different types of cosplays, trying to more focus
into the craftsmanship of it. You know, looking at people
who are really spending six months creating their costume and
doing all of that and acknowledging that and.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
You can absolutely still go and do the showcase with
your friends. We get a lot of people that they
do a group costume, or maybe they bought a costume,
but it's really creative. You know, they put something together
that they thrifted and it's either gender bending or mixing
two different fandoms together, but it's not handmade. You can
still show that off.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
Those are just.
Speaker 4 (11:15):
Fun to see too. Yeah, so we want to acknowledge
both people come out in costume, oh the show itself.
Speaker 3 (11:23):
At least half of them. And I think it also
depends on what you mean by in costume, because we
have people who are you know, have spent the entire
year building their costume, maybe bring it to a bunch
of different shows. But then there's people who just haven't
already t shirt on or buy something there to wear.
There's a spectrum of costume wearing.
Speaker 4 (11:42):
And it's a comfortable setting, so people feel comfortable coming
in and whatever costume they have, if they just you know,
kids come in with their Halloween costume, or you just
have a funky hat that you're wearing. It's just a
place to just kind of relax and be yourself.
Speaker 3 (11:57):
Yeah, and if you feel like you're missing that, like
one piece of your cosplay, odds are that we are
selling it there one of our vendors, one of our crafters,
one of our artists, they have a missing piece.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
That's a great, great piece of information, just in case
you common you're missing something. I love that. How many
people are you expecting to participate in the handmade part
of that?
Speaker 3 (12:17):
So we're really not sure. This is the first time
that we've specified that that is our focus. Last I checked,
I think we had maybe thirty people in that category,
but I don't know for sure. I haven't checked in
a little bit. The applications do close on May second.
Speaker 4 (12:32):
We take up to about seventy five people.
Speaker 3 (12:34):
Okay, and that's in both categories for this year.
Speaker 4 (12:37):
Okay, So if you're interested in being in the cosplay,
jump on it.
Speaker 2 (12:42):
Let's talk about the question and an answer sessions you
have in the panels. Do all celebrity guests host panels?
What takes place during those panels?
Speaker 4 (12:51):
So all of the celebrities do participate in a panel.
So if you see somebody on our list and you
want interested in going to their panel. Our schedule comes
out soon. It usually starts with and they're all moderated,
So it usually starts with a moderator who kind of
just has a discussion about, you know, with the celebrity
about different things that they do, and then it is
(13:13):
open to Q and A where people in the audience
fans can come up to the mic and ask questions.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
How long do the panels usually last?
Speaker 4 (13:21):
Anywhere from thirty minutes to an hour.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
Oh wow, that's a long time for a celebrity to
be sitting, you know, at just being asked questions. But
really it gives you a chance to get to know
them and ask those things you've always wondered and hear
them live and in person. I mean that's so exciting
for you know, when you really have that interest in
a celebrity.
Speaker 4 (13:40):
Right it is one of the top things that people
like to do. And as Sam said before, we don't
haven't really gotten to go to see a panel. It's
on my bucket list to do that.
Speaker 3 (13:49):
There's always ones that we have like Okay, if I've
got time, I'm going to go to this one and
this one and this one and next thing, you know
the day's over.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
Are they usually individual celebrity panels or do they ever
join up with multiple people on the panels both.
Speaker 4 (14:00):
So, like the Blues Clues group, the three of them
will do their panel together. If they come from the
similar fandoms, then we will group them together. It is
a lot, you know, the fans like to see the
grouping and they've.
Speaker 3 (14:12):
Worked together, so they're comfortable together, and a lot of
their behind the scenes stories either have to do with
each other or they at least we're there or know
about it.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
Right sure.
Speaker 4 (14:21):
Some of the panels that are taking place, we have, well,
any of the celebrities all have panels, so all those
celebrities you mentioned, like Laura Propone will do her panel.
We have Sean Ashmore and Vamka Jansen who will do
their panels together. Because of the X Men, there's some
of the other group. Bill and I will be doing
a panel with Bob Cardo because they're both kind of
(14:44):
science geeks, so they're going to do theirs together the
way right.
Speaker 3 (14:50):
We also have a lot of comic guest panels, you know,
that is where we started, and I think one of
the ones that I've always wanted to see, but I've
never been able to make it. Too has been skechedules.
They are so cool. They do live art there at
the end of the panel, somebody gets the piece of
art that they make.
Speaker 2 (15:06):
Yes, really, I mean that's a whole other, really cool aspect.
Speaker 4 (15:10):
We're doing a different skechedule this time. That actually came
from the comic artists. They wanted to do one because
they all deal with drawing aliens. So the theme of
that is aliens. So if you're into the different aliens,
you know what you're getting.
Speaker 2 (15:26):
And it's a sketch duel oh yeah, yeah, as.
Speaker 4 (15:29):
Well as a panel at the time, so the audience
will the moderator will ask the audience do you want
them to be in the forest or in the beach,
you know, and the audience will vote for what they want,
and then they start sketching, and why they're sketching. They're
answering questions and you know, talking about their experience as
(15:50):
a comic artist.
Speaker 3 (15:52):
And the art is being projected the whole time, so
you get to see the process, which is really cool,
you know, especially if you don't do any sort of
if you're notartistic at all. Right, being able to see
something come from nothing, it's really cool.
Speaker 2 (16:04):
Yeah, and being somebody who has zero talent are absolutely not.
I would just think that's so like, Wow, what a gift.
Speaker 3 (16:14):
Literally, if you get the.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
And by the way, being able to do it while chatting,
oh my god, draw, I.
Speaker 3 (16:22):
Would be stopping. I'm sorry, what did you say?
Speaker 4 (16:24):
Yeah, but all of our comic artists also do a panel.
So if you're interested in learning about the process of
of how you create a cover, the cover art, you
can go to a panel that deals with the cover art.
If you're interested in the process of the actual writing
piece we have, you know, people who do the writing.
Speaker 3 (16:43):
How to get published is always something that comes up.
You know, there's a lot of people that started going
to cons as an independent artist and artist Alley or
you know, they just had the right connections, or they
just put in the work, maybe self published. They got
a couple of people like that who are going to
be doing some panels.
Speaker 2 (16:58):
You mentioned artist Ali. What's that?
Speaker 3 (17:00):
Artist Alli is my favorite part. That's where I started
in the industry. I started exhibiting an artist ally, and
I started going to other shows and ended up looking
into this job. But it's where we have either semi
professional or amateur artists and they set up a booth
and they have their original artwork there. A lot of
them do digital art, but a lot of them do
(17:20):
physical as well, so they'll have prints, they might have originals,
they might do commissions. And then we also have in
our artist alley areas where our comic guests are, so
those people who are semi professional and maybe got a
table here get to intermingle with the professionals who are
in the industry. Some of those are like maybe right
on the line and things happen.
Speaker 2 (17:42):
Right, that's how things happen. Look what happened to you?
Speaker 3 (17:44):
Exactly.
Speaker 4 (17:45):
We have a couple of big comic artists that are
coming that people are excited about. Arthur Adams has been
in the industry for over forty years. He's a big name.
Jeff Loeb Class Chance and I'm excited about him.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
No relation to Fomka Jansen.
Speaker 3 (18:02):
No, So yeah it is. Every time I have to
check because i know I'm gonna spell it the other way.
Speaker 4 (18:08):
Yeah, So something for everybody. If you're not really into
the celebrities, we've got to come a guess for you.
Speaker 2 (18:14):
Wow, what other unique attractions and events are happening this year.
I know, a night out with Hardy's event and super
Movie screening it imagine, no vie, tell me a little
bit about those so everybody understands well.
Speaker 3 (18:26):
First, we also have a Watchman screening, which if you
are willing to dedicate Oh see, you perked up a
little bit there, if you're willing to dedicate the two
and a half three hours to the movie, which is
an amazing movie. Malan ac again Watchman? Okay, Malan Ackerman
is going to be doing the intro for that screening
on Friday night.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (18:45):
So the Hardy Boys is a very interesting one. You've
got these two wrestlers who people are so excited for
them to be coming. Matt Hardy is going to be
doing a podcast about his extreme life, and then there'll
be a little intermission and Jeff Hardy is going to
do concert, a music concert.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
Wow. Who would think?
Speaker 4 (19:03):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (19:03):
Yeah, like what kind of music concert?
Speaker 3 (19:06):
It's it's kind of like a folk rock I would
call it dad rock music, acoustic dad rock.
Speaker 2 (19:13):
Acoustic tad rock.
Speaker 4 (19:15):
Go online and look it up.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
Yeah, all right, where are we selling telling everybody to
go again?
Speaker 3 (19:21):
I would just go on Spotify. That's what I did.
He's on Spotify with his music and with Matt with
his podcast. Yep, yeah, so you could there. Once you
start looking at it, you're like, oh my god, that
you have this whole other career.
Speaker 4 (19:31):
Yeah, by a night. And it's interesting to listen to
the how they have branched out from just being wrestlers.
Speaker 3 (19:38):
Wow, but they are still very much wrestlers. I don't
know if you guys saw that they are back in it.
Speaker 4 (19:43):
Wow?
Speaker 2 (19:44):
How about that?
Speaker 4 (19:46):
And then of course the two movie events, and then
we also have after hours. We have a company coming
in to do Dungeons and Dragons and tabletop gaming and
that will go all day.
Speaker 2 (19:58):
What kind of table cup top games?
Speaker 3 (20:00):
Yes, so it's tabletop role playing games. Dungeon Dragons is
obviously the most recognizable one. But we actually also have
a pain intake which will be painting minifigures. And I
haven't asked you yet, but I'm wondering if we can
have people paint their minifigures and then bring it to
the tabletop games and use their brand new minifigures.
Speaker 4 (20:16):
Don't see why not they go?
Speaker 5 (20:19):
Yeah, you can bring the whole day plans, right, on
the whole evening because the Dungeon, the tabletop games, and
the D and D goes from the from about ten
thirty in the morning to about ten thirty at night,
and then we have computer video tournaments that will go
from the start of the show to about eight nine
(20:41):
o'clock at night.
Speaker 2 (20:42):
What kind of computer video tournaments, Well.
Speaker 4 (20:44):
You could do like Smash Brothers.
Speaker 3 (20:46):
Or I think they got Street Fighter as well. Yeah,
they've got a whole schedule, a web schedule and tell
everybody the website Citycomic Con dot com.
Speaker 2 (20:56):
Yeah, today we have Beth Berlin and Sam Yankee from
MotorCity Comic Con share in all the exciting things that
are taking place. Obviously, guests get to meet celebrity guests,
which is a huge part of what you've already been
speaking about. And the celebrity lineup is absolutely enormous. Talked
about some of the Q and A and panels that
are going on, But there are photographs and autographs that
(21:17):
can take place too. Can you tell our listeners a
little bit about the process with regard to autographs and
photographs too.
Speaker 4 (21:24):
There's two different ways. Some of the celebrities will pre
sell theirs and you just go on the website to
buy tickets and you can look to see who you
can pre sell their autographs and selfies. All photo ops,
professional photo ops are pre sold okay, and we have
a company pose that does that for us, and you
just go onto the website and select what you would like.
(21:46):
We have individuals, we have duos, and we have trios
that you can select from.
Speaker 3 (21:51):
We also have one large group which we haven't finalized
the number yet, but we have Unknown Comics bringing in
a lot of the voice actors for X Men and
they are going to They're not going to do individual
photos because that would just take a very long time.
But we've got at least six right now, maybe eight
who will be doing a group photo. Oh wow, that's
a big group photo.
Speaker 4 (22:11):
That's a big one.
Speaker 2 (22:12):
We talked about earlier, like if you were wearing your
costume and you're missing something from your costume, you know
there's probably a vendor there who can help you out.
Talk to us about all the vendors that are going
to be present that people really look forward to.
Speaker 3 (22:24):
So my personal favorite section is going to be the
crafters because it's kind of in between the two Crafters
are going to be people who hand make their items,
and we have one person wood turn Magic and they
use local wood and antlers to make handspin wands. Wow,
that whole booth just of ones, that's all it is.
So when I say, maybe you're missing the extra piece,
(22:45):
maybe the one needs to choose the wizard, right.
Speaker 4 (22:49):
Maybe.
Speaker 3 (22:50):
Then we also have plenty of vendors who have t
shirts or hats. There's somebody who like knits their own hats,
artists and props and signs for your room. Three D
printed items. My husband has a little Buddha Cuthulhu that
he has on his dash that comes from three D
Mucky Chris, who's one of our vendors.
Speaker 4 (23:09):
See, there's place people that sell the lightsabers, and obviously
a couple of comic dealers if you want to get
some old or new comic books.
Speaker 3 (23:18):
Oh and if you're new to Dungeons and Dragons and
you're trying it out the show, try and add to
your new obsession by buying some dice. Because we got
lots of people who sell dice. You will not be
able to stop. I've got like three or four sets.
They're pretty.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
The comic artists, you know, there's such a big draw
as well. What are some of the big artists that
are coming and how can guess interact with them the
same way that they do for the autographs and photos
or is it different?
Speaker 4 (23:45):
So the comic guests don't do the professional photo ops,
but you can go to their tables. They have all
their art displayed, you can purchase that, you can get
their autographs. Many of them will do selfies and you
just can go up there and have a conversation with them.
They're very open to sharing and talking and they want that.
They want to be able to let people know what
they do and encourage people to be part of the industry.
Speaker 3 (24:08):
Yeah, they're pricing and we don't have like a set
rates or anything like we have for these celebrities, So
unfortunately for that, you're going to have to go and
find out for yourself. Go to their tables. Some of
them include a free autograph with a purchase, some of
them with a conversation. Some of them just be like, hey, here,
please sign that's great.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
You guys. There's so much to do to people come
for the whole weekend. What is the U or do
they come for a day and spend the whole day?
Speaker 4 (24:31):
Well, there's different levels of tickets that you can purchase.
We have VIP tickets, which they're almost sold out, so
if you want a VIP ticket, I'd advise you to
do that quickly.
Speaker 3 (24:40):
And they might be sold out already. Yeah, and by
the time you hear.
Speaker 4 (24:42):
This, those give you like for the celebrity area, there's
a special VIP line so you don't have to wait
in such a long line. You get a special poster,
you get a special bag, you get a lanyard, lanyard,
a certificate to get something at our merch booth, of
which our t shirt design is done by one of
(25:06):
our comic artists that's coming in, David Peterson, who's local
to Michigan.
Speaker 2 (25:11):
I love that.
Speaker 4 (25:12):
Then we have our three day tickets that obviously our Friday, Saturday, Sunday,
and then you can buy individual tickets for whichever day
you would prefer.
Speaker 3 (25:19):
But mostly people like to come the whole weekend. That's
our biggest ticket seller, is a three day right, even
if like you can only stop in Friday, maybe after work.
Friday is definitely our slowest day, So if you want
to take in some of the vendors, because not all
the celebrities are there on Friday, Maybe you want to
just do a walk through plan the rest of your weekend.
That's the day to do it.
Speaker 2 (25:39):
Do you have the dates for your fall event already?
Speaker 4 (25:42):
Yes, we do, November fourteen, fifteenth, and sixteenth.
Speaker 2 (25:44):
November fourteenth or sixteenth. And if somebody you were saying
that the VIP tickets may already be sold out, how
far an advance do you sell those kinds of tickets?
Speaker 3 (25:51):
Usually about five months or so. Okay, we need a
month to get our bearings.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
But and then right back at it, right.
Speaker 4 (25:57):
And we make an announcement of social media anounced and
letting people know the tickets are now on sale.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
Okay, what are your social media handles? So somebody is like, hey,
I need to be in the know.
Speaker 3 (26:06):
A great question. So I think on Instagram and Twitter
we are mot City Comic Con. And then I think
on Facebook, we're just MotorCity Comic Con.
Speaker 2 (26:17):
And the website again is.
Speaker 3 (26:19):
Motorcitycomicon dot com.
Speaker 2 (26:21):
Okay, okay, we'll.
Speaker 3 (26:22):
Synchronize that next time.
Speaker 4 (26:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:24):
How do you decide what new to add? How do
you decide how you're going to keep growing?
Speaker 3 (26:28):
That is the question. There's so much, right.
Speaker 4 (26:32):
A lot of times they just it's ideals like or
people write into us, Like we had somebody write in
one of our other new ideas that is coming is
are you a voice actor? And this woman and her
sister created a handmade voice booth both sound booth, and
you come in and you get to go in the
(26:52):
sound booth and record a couple lines of from a
dialogue from a script. She's got over sixty different scripts
that you can pick form and then she will add
music and back and sound effects to it and then
you get a copy of that. And they contacted us,
So a lot of times it's people contacting us with
(27:14):
different really cool ideas and we kind of go wow,
and then contact them and set something.
Speaker 2 (27:18):
Up that's a good fit and we'll bring in. And
how many vendors do you guys think you'll have it
at this show?
Speaker 3 (27:24):
Is exhibitors total, We've got maybe four hundred.
Speaker 2 (27:29):
Wow, yeah, four hundred.
Speaker 3 (27:31):
Because it goes into a couple categories. You've got the
vendors who are people who maybe have retail items or
have grown out of their artist alley space or their
crafter space. And then you've got the crafters with their
handmade items and artists with their art. It's a lot.
We got a lot of people, a lot of talented people,
a lot of local people.
Speaker 4 (27:47):
That's why they need to spend the whole weekend.
Speaker 2 (27:49):
That's say, it's like going to a massive like art
museum that you can't do in one day. You have
to go back, and you go back and go back.
Speaker 4 (27:56):
Yep.
Speaker 2 (27:57):
Absolutely, So how do you get tickets again? And what
are the different ticket levels?
Speaker 4 (28:02):
You have VIPs, you have three day passes and then
you have individual day passes and.
Speaker 2 (28:07):
You get them online or can you get them at
the door.
Speaker 4 (28:09):
You can do both. You can go to our website
and Motorcitycomic Con dot com and you can get them there,
and you can get them at the door. At the door,
there is a they are five dollars increase at the
door pricing FI.
Speaker 2 (28:22):
I'm in advance, and those VIP tickets may be gone,
but you can certainly get them for the fall event.
Speaker 3 (28:27):
Yeah. The thing to remember about the tickets though, is
kids twelve and under are free on Sunday. Oh wow,
and then kids five and under are free Friday and
Saturday as well.
Speaker 2 (28:36):
Oh that's great.
Speaker 3 (28:37):
Yeah, So Sundays our kid Day that's when we have
most of our kids programming. We do have it on
Saturday as well, but really more kid focused.
Speaker 2 (28:45):
That's great. Why do you guys love what you do?
Speaker 3 (28:48):
Why not? You don't even get to play for work?
Are you kidding me?
Speaker 2 (28:53):
It's the best job ever. Yeah, it's the best job ever.
Speaker 3 (28:56):
I love that it gets to be surrounded by cosplay
and video games and dungeons and dragons and yeah, she's
so happy.
Speaker 2 (29:05):
I love it.
Speaker 3 (29:07):
No, I hate it?
Speaker 2 (29:08):
What about you, Beth? But I don't know.
Speaker 4 (29:12):
I mean, I agree with everything that she's saying. It's
just such a different being part of such a different world.
But the bonus for me is that I get to
be doing it with my family.
Speaker 2 (29:23):
How many family members do you have involved?
Speaker 4 (29:25):
Now? It's my brother and myself and my husband and
my sister and our son and our other son and
our grandkids to come out there. My parents used to
be involved, but not anymore.
Speaker 2 (29:41):
That's so great. So it's truly a family event. It is, right,
all right? Well you heard it here. It is May
sixteenth through eighteenth at the.
Speaker 4 (29:51):
Suburban Showcase in Novae, Michigan and no Vye, Michigan.
Speaker 2 (29:55):
Beth Burland and sam Yankee from MotorCity Comic Con, Thank
you so much for joining us today. Have a great event.
It's going to be awesome. Looking forward to seeing you
guys there or not seeing you there. It sounds like
it'll be so busy. It'll be so busy, but everybody's
going to be having a great time, right Thanks for
joining us.
Speaker 4 (30:11):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (30:12):
This has been light Up the D, a community affairs
program from iHeartMedia Detroit. If your organization would like to
get on the program, email Colleen Grant at iHeartMedia dot com.
Here are all episodes on this station's podcast page.
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