This past weekend (April 15-17), I had the good fortune of attending my second Midwest Media Expo, this time in Dearborn, Michigan. Thousands of other fans of movies, television, anime, video games, comic books, and more seemed to be just as jazzed as I was to participate in an event that capably represented so many different types of fandom.
I’m certainly no stranger to attending and covering conventions, but this one was particularly special because it was the first that I had been able to attend for three consecutive days. My colleagues and I spent the weekend experiencing some of the finer points: we dropped by artists’ alley, checked out the wares of various local vendors (thanks go to Detroit Leather Company for the cool Batman key chain), attended a couple raves. made a few cool new friends along the way, and so much more.
Below are some of the more memorable moments of M2X (that’s the correct acronym for those asking), at least from what I was able to experience. They really did have something for everyone, so I encourage those in the Metro Detroit area to join the fun in 2017.
MEDIA GUESTS
As with any con, one likes to get up close and personal with some of their favorite celebrities. I was thrilled to meet actors such as horror legend Jeffrey Combs (stay tuned for an exclusive interview with him) and Duke Nukem himself, Jon St. John. Master cosplayers Kawaii Besu and Rufflebutt were also a pleasure to meet and any Young Justice fan in attendance missed out if they didn’t get the chance to speak with the one and only Greg Weisman.
THE PANELS
Despite having a lot of ground to cover, we were able to attend two panels. On Friday night, we dropped by one dubbed “Run! The Zombies are Coming!” It obviously explored how these horrific creatures are enjoying an extended pop culture boom. It was fun to openly discuss my love for Resident Evil and iZombie. Although I have to admit, I was vocal about my displeasure of where the Resident Evil franchise has headed. I must have sounded like Frank Costanza during the Airing of Grievances on Festivus.
Saturday night brought the Supernatural Trivia Game, which saw me take home the grand prize. Hey, I did show up that day dressed as Sam Winchester, so it was only natural that I proved myself to be a true Man of Letters. Hopefully I will successfully defend my title next year.
THE COSPLAY COMPETITION
Last year, M2X impressed me with their costume contest and this year’s didn’t disappoint. While I do wish that more superheroes stepped up to the challenge, there were some rather impressive entrants. Kawaii Besu, Rufflebutt, Chad Evett, and We are Cosplay served as judges. Below are some of our favorites, along with a gathering of the big winners.
THE COSPLAYERS
Now we arrive at what may be my favorite part of convention recaps – the gallery featuring cosplayers in the wild! I came across many great folks who adopted the look of their favorite DC character, but I couldn’t stop there. You will no doubt see various other characters included because I had to acknowledge the awesome job those people did on their costumes.
If you liked the banner at the top featuring the Bombshells, then you should enjoy the handful of shots we got of those gals. Each did an incredible job recreating the looks of said characters featured in DC’s recent reimagining of some of their most iconic female heroes and villains.
We will see you all next year! Enjoy!
Photos taken by Alexander Leo Carr.