Show Recap: CGC at Motor City by Brad Bradley, CGC Pre-Grader
Sure, there are great conventions in San Diego, Chicago, New York, and many others, but you can't forget the Motor City, and this year saw some great celebrity guests and comic book professionals at Detroit's annual show, which was held May 16–18.
Just the program for the show itself was a sight to see, with an awesome Iron Man illustration by Marc Wolfe on the cover, and an amazing Indiana Jones drawing by Matt Busch on the back. Both artists were on-hand on the convention floor to sign their handiwork, which made the program a perfect book to submit for CGC's prestigious Signature Series.
While plenty of other hot artists and writers of the modern age were on-hand for signings and conversations like Arthur Suydam, Chris Claremont, Daniel Way, Billy Tucci, and David Finch, there were some nice opportunities to talk with industry legends like Al Feldstein, Dick Ayers, and Berni Wrightson.
As for celebrity guests, attendees gathered together to meet and talk with such stars as Billy Dee Williams, better know as "Lando Calrissian" from the Star Wars movies; Star Trek's Walter Koenig and Avery Brooks, who rose to fame as "Pavel Chekov" and "Benjamin Sisko," respectively; Margot Kidder, from the first four Superman movies; Erik Estrada, who's best known as officer "Ponch" from the 70s show CHiPs; Monkees drummer Micky Dolenz and his daughter, actress Ami Dolenz; and the Incredible Hulk himself — Lou Ferrigno.
With so many opportunities for cool signatures — not to mention a host of dealers, including Dale Roberts, Harley Yee, Nelson Dodds, and "Crazy" Ed, who had plenty of Golden and Silver Age books on hand alongside hot moderns — CGC had no problem amassing a great number of submissions from customers looking to have their books graded. By the time the show ended Sunday evening, CGC had roughly 1,500 books to bring home for grading. An impressive amount for what is often considered a "mid-sized" show.
