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From the creative event planning minds of Youmacon comes the next big convention in Detroit, the Midwest Media Expo! In the first year of it's birth, this convention blends fandoms together in a unique and pleasing concoction of nerdy goodness. I arrived shortly before 10am on Saturday (the 2nd day of the 3 day event) to the Renaissance Center in downtown Detroit, Michigan. Overlooking the water of the Detroit river, this huge building is the home of General Motors main offices but also has vast amounts of convention space. At first the crowds were trickling in, all completely geared up with cosplay and feverishly diving their heads into the convention guide and map. That trickle would soon spill into a steady pouring of cosplayers in various colors, infesting the four floors that the convention had been occupying.
I started my journey like any Hobbit would, with a little adventure! Finding my way into the Table Top Gaming area was not too difficult and as I entered the door, friendly convention staffers greeted me with "Hail Hydra!" I immediately felt at home. Looking around the convention room the tables were all full of seasoned veterans and novice players, seeking glory amongst friends (both old and new). The variety of games available to play was vast! A huge table towards the front of the door allowed players to reserve a table and select from a ginormous table of games. From My Little Pony Monopoly to Pokemon to Magic The Gathering to Ticket to Ride and much more! Off to my first panel I ran into several cosplay attendees that I just had to snap a photo of (with their permission of coarse).
Standing in the line for the Star Trek Continues panel allowed me the opportunity to turn to a fellow participant at the con and get a quick interview. Certainly I would not know until after further talking to him that he does LARPing in Howell, Michigan and would be the perfect person to have on a future show to discuss the ins and outs of Live Action Role Playing! The interview can be heard here, under the Midwest Media Expo section of our Out & About heading of the website.
As we filed into the Star Trek Continues panel, the cast sat towards the front of the room and looked genuinely excited to be there! That was quickly confirmed when you heard this talented group of Star Trek fans and NOW Trek superstars discuss why they decided make original fan-created episodes based off the original television series. See a clip from the panel below. The cast also gave the audience a sneak peek at episode two of Star Trek Continues with a special guest star! One hint, at one point he was mean and green!
Then it was off to find more interviews and cosplay stand outs to snap a picture of. Didn't have to look far because I ran into a representative from something called the Harry Potter Alliance, a very interesting concept that melds HP fandom with service to both the local and worldwide community! Check out the interview in the Out & About section of our website. Here are a couple more cosplay pictures from my adventure.
During my quick few minutes prior to joining the TMNT Panel, the video gaming room was calling me like a siren to the scurvy sea dogs and I had to answer her sweet electronic/8bit call. The room was lit up with tons of screens, flashing and pulsating as the masses stared in pure joy at the giant variety of video gaming options. From Pong to Dance Dance Revolution to 1st Person Shooters and Fighting Games! You name it and it most likely was there. I've never seen anything like it, not since my days of going to the arcade when I was a kid.
After my trip down time-suck lane! Isn't it amazing how quickly you can get pulled into a video game? Anyways, I decided to make my way to the TMNT panel where Ivey (from Cowabunga Corner) and Andre (Black Nerd) were setting up for the beginning of their panel. I found it extremely interesting! They gave a blow by blow narration of the history of TMNT and how it had evolved over the years. Check out some videos from the panel below.
I couldn't stop there! Vendors full of t-shirts, collectibles, original comics, swag, leather-made steam punk accessories, and a whole host of other goods were bustling with eager customers. It felt like the perfect storm of Comic Book Shop meets Exclusives, mixed with a little Fashion for the Steam-powered Artisan in you! By the end of my six hours I had realized that not only did I not stop for water or food, I had never even entertained the idea of going to the bathroom because I didn't want to miss anything. With swollen feet and a sheer curiosity of what the rest of the day had in store for these convention junkies, I slowly made my way to the parking garage and heading home. Next year I want to try and stay the entire day because only the fortunate convention goers who stayed past my six hours know what fabulous mysteries were unraveled before their eyes in the wee-hours of the night at Midwest Media Expo! E-mail us your photos from Midwest Media Expo to notsocoolkidspodcast@gmail.com Here is hoping we get invited back for 2015!
*ALL PHOTOS AND AUDIO INTERVIEWS AT THE OUT & ABOUT SECTION OF OUR WEBSITE! CHECK US OUT AT WWW.THENOTSOCOOLKIDSPODCAST.COM
