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NOVI — The Motor City Comic Con will return this weekend for a fall show for the second year in a row, bringing many special treats to fans of pop culture and in particular to those who are into the horror genre.
The convention will feature an Edgar Allen Poe-themed escape room and a special showing of the new “Nosferatu” film.
“We definitely try to lean a little bit more into the horror. I think as we build this fall show up, it is going to lean further and further into it,” said show manager Sam Yankee.
“I think the people who come in the fall are looking for a little bit more of a spooky theme,” said show manager Beth Burland.
Doug Jones, the actor who portrays Count Orlok in the remake of “Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror,” will be a celebrity guest at the fall MC3. Jones will have a limited number of tickets to a special screening of the film at the Emagine theater to give out to those who pay him a visit at the con. The screening will be held at 8 p.m. Nov. 11 and will be followed by a question-and-answer session. Attendees of the film session will be given a free poster.
The fall horror theme is also entwined in the theme for the escape room, called “The Last Masquerade — Escape from the Red Death.” Its storyline is a followup to the Edgar Allan Poe short story “The Masque of the Red Death.”
In the escape room, Prince Prospero, the character in Poe’s story, is having a masquerade ball that has turned into a nightmare, according to a press release. The Red Death has snuck into the ball, and partygoers are slowly succumbing to the plague. In order to survive, participants must find the masks of those who tragically died, learn their stories and earn their favor. The escape room will be offered in hourlong sessions for attendees. Tickets for the escape room cost $20 per person, with the exception of early-bird pricing at half off for the first session of each day.
Burland said they hope to incorporate more and more horror-themed elements into the fall show, which will be held annually during the second weekend of November. She said that many people choose to come to comic con in costume, and she feels the horror theme might increase the number of people in costume, as many people will have their Halloween costumes ready.
“I think just Halloween in general has just kind of grown and people are starting to celebrate it the week leading up to it or on Halloween. I personally love Halloween, and I would celebrate it right up until December, if I could,” Yankee said. “We have a really great fan base that dresses up in cosplay. I’m not sure we’re going to have more elaborate costumes, but I think we are going to have more people dressed up, because they have Halloween costumes ready. So those who might not have dressed up in full-out cosplay before might be like, ‘Well, I might as well wear my Halloween costume.’ So, I think we’ll have a higher percentage of our attendees dressed up.”
To coincide with her theory, so many people entered the show’s costume contest that they had to stop taking entrants. Yankee said this is the first time that has happened. She said people can typically sign up for the contest until a couple of days prior to the show, but this year it filled up fast.
The decision to bring the show back in the fall was a result of the timing of the end of the pandemic. Burland said that when conventions were allowed to reopen again, it was in the fall, and they did not want to wait until spring to have another MC3.
“So, that’s why we started doing shows in the fall, and it was successful. So we thought, ‘OK, let’s do two shows a year,” Burland said.
“If there’s a demand, why not provide it?” said Yankee.
She said that this show is going to be a little different, as they did not do a lot of specific shows and reunions and things like that. However, she said that they still have numerous horror guests, including Marty Grabstein, the voice actor from “Courage the Cowardly Dog”; Scott Patterson, from the “Saw” movies; and Dermot Mulroney, from the “Scream” series.
The fall show is traditionally smaller than the spring show. Burland said they saw approximately two-thirds of their May attendance last fall and are hoping for the same this year. The three-day show runs Nov. 10-12 at the Suburban Collection Showplace, located at 46100 Grand River Ave. in Novi. It will feature many other celebrity guests and comic artists representing a wide range of fandoms, including “Harry Potter,” “The Karate Kid,” “Resident Evil,” “The Mummy,” “My Little Pony” and many more.
The show will also feature gaming tournaments and open-play gaming.
“Last (spring) we had Hado (AR), which was like the virtual dodgeball, and it went over very well as far as having a video game aspect, so we decided to widen it out a little bit and have a company come in and start doing tournaments,” said Yankee.
The kids section will return this fall as well, along with the opportunity for kids to make slime with the Ghostbusters. Members of the Michigan Ghostbusters will be on hand Saturday to make “Slimer Slime” with kids for no additional cost. Many other kid-friendly activities will also be available, including a scavenger hunt and a costume contest.
Yankee said that comic con has grown so much over the years.
“I think the reason is that it is just socially acceptable to just let your weirdness out,” said Yankee. “And to be able to share that with so many like minds is just a can’t miss opportunity.”
Burland recommends that attendees wear a comfortable pair of shoes, as there is so much to see that at the end of the day your feet will be tired. Yankee suggests that attendees bring a bag to carry all the stuff they purchase at the show.
Tickets for the show, along with celebrity autograph and photo packages, are on sale now at motorcitycomicon.com. Admission to the show varies depending on the day and whether tickets were purchased in person or online. It can range from $30 to $50 for adult admission. Weekend passes are also available.
