Greetings Fellow WizKids Fans!
I know that many of the HeroClix and Dice Masters players out there are also fans of the superheroes that are represented in those two amazing games. If you’re following me on Twitter, Instagram, or both, then you’ll see lots of crossover content; everything from my weekly comic book haul and cosplay pictures all the way up to celebrity meet and greet photos. On occasion, I find the need to write an article about my experiences whether they’re good, bad, or both.
This past weekend was the 39th annual Superman Celebration in Metropolis, Illinois.
2017 marks the 45th year that Metropolis, IL has been designated as the adopted “Home of Superman.” – About Us on the Superman Celebration website.
Metropolis is almost two hours from my home in Tennessee, and since we knew we couldn’t attend Origins this year, we thought we’d take a one day road trip to visit Metropolis to experience the celebration, and hopefully get to meet Dean Cain (best Superman in history – in my opinion). There was a nice line up of artists that were scheduled to attend, as well as a few other big stars of Superman related media, such as Margot Kidder (Lois Lane) and Sarah Douglas (Ursa) from the classic Christopher Reeve Superman movies.
The Superman Celebration allows for free entry into the celebration, but many of the attractions will cost you a little bit. The Superman Museum has a $5 entry fee, which I didn’t do this year due to time constraints. I want to be able to look at everything and enjoy all of the museum and not rush through it. I have plans to venture into it next year!
There are lots of food trucks that line the streets along with many outdoor vendors. I saw several of the shops that are located on Market Street had their doors open and signs on to attract some of the celebration attendees. There are plenty of things to do besides shops and food. There were lots of free panels with the artists and celebrity guests that you could attend. There were costume contests, inflatable playgrounds, and so much more! There was even a fair offsite that was there for the celebration.
But our day started out long before any of the vendors or attractions were open. We left home at 3:00 am, because there were going to be free tickets to meet Dean Cain handed out at 7:00 am. We really wanted to be sure we gave ourselves a good chance to get at least one ticket. Leaving that early got us there at 5:00 am, and put us in line behind roughly 50 other folks. We were very fortunate to have gotten there when we did, because shortly after, lots of folks started rolling in. At 7:00 am, they started handing out the tickets and all five of us got into the same session time!
Once the tickets were acquired, we took Market Street to browse the booths! But none were open… I think that’s my only complaint. They scheduled a ticket handout at 7:00 am and nothing was opening until 9:00 or 10:00 am. We all just sat around together for about two hours, taking a few pictures of the local scenery, until the gift shop opened up.
The street began to bustle with cosplayers and celebration-goers somewhere around 9:00 am. Hannah and I were darting off at every opportunity to snap pictures of cosplayers. Not all of the pictures below were taken early in the morning, but these were most of the cosplayers that I had a chance to see. A few pictures were taken by North or Hannah – which I’ll note.
Once we were able to grab some of that awesome carnival style food, we headed to Artist Alley around 10:00 am. The artists were happy to sign the program book for free and many artists were signing several books for free too. I even saw a few giving out some quick sketches!
And speaking of sketches, I knew that Mr. Todd Aaron Smith didn’t work on Batman Beyond, but I still wanted him to do a sketch on my blank Terry McGinnis card.
I’ve heard more than my fair share of artists say that these cards are not easy to sketch on. I hate asking for sketches knowing the difficulty they face with the gloss finish on the cards. WizKids – this definitely needs to be fixed so that the artists can do sketches they’re proud of. I love that he was able to get some pencil work on the card and I love that he did the Bat shadow. It feels like he’s watching over Terry!
There was a large building that they called the ‘Super Con’ on Market Street, around the corner from Artist Alley and down from Thor’s Gym (yes, there is a gym there called Thor’s Gym). There were lots of vendors with lots of awesome goodies for sale. There were comics, collectibles, toys, Pops, memorabilia, gaming items, and so much more! It was such a great place to browse and I didn’t get to spend near as much time in there as I wanted to.
The official Superman of Metropolis had just finished with his photos at the statue around 11:00 am, but I was lucky enough to catch him for a quick shot before he left.
Around 11:15 am, Dean Cain was going to be at the Superman statue for folks to take pictures. This was one of the many free events taking place. We rushed over a little before 11:00 am, just to be sure we got a good spot. There were some timing issues, from what I was told and Dean Cain didn’t make it to the statue until about 11:45 am. Thankfully, the temperature wasn’t too high, but being in the sun without shade was brutal. But he made it up to the statue and posed and chatted with fans for a few minutes before heading to his Q&A.
We walked around for a little while longer, trying to see as much as we could, take what photos we could, and just taking in everything before we needed to head over to the Dean Cain signing. We ventured back to Artist Alley to finish collecting some of the autographs that I showed earlier, and found ourselves in some pretty long lines. I had planned to talk to Gwenda Bond again and purchase some books, but I was only able to get those few autographs I still needed before we needed to head down to the Baymont Theater to meet Dean Cain.
I searched all over north west Tennessee for a copy – any copy – of her Lois Lane books. Since I began writing my blog, I’ve become more appreciative of the character, Lois Lane. I used to not like her at all, but that was before I truly understood her. Many of us are lucky to have an role model or idol fall into our laps at an early age. I had Helen Slater as Supergirl and Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman to admire and idolize. They helped me grow into the person I am today. But since I found a side of myself that I didn’t know was there in journalistic type writing, I wanted something else – and I found it in Lois Lane. But because I wasn’t able to make it back to see Gwenda Bond again, I had to take my search to Amazon. I did secure a paperback copy of Fallout, the first in the Lois Lane series, and I patiently await its arrival.
It’s definitely a good thing that we left early for the Baymont. It’s was an offsite location for Dean Cain and James Marsters to do their signing and table photos in a large, air conditioned atmosphere. There were already folks there lining up at 1:45 pm. The line moved rather quickly, even though he was taking time to talk to folks and interact with them in a personal fashion. I’ve been to several celebrity signings in my day, and hiss appreciation of his fans shows. We paid for our autograph and we got to choose a print from the huge selection that was available. I even got to snap a photo with one of his assistant folks that was dressed as Supergirl.
When we approached the table, Dean Cain was very outgoing and polite. He asked our names instead of just reading them off of the paper they handed him, and made quick, but meaningful conversation with us. I apologized for the little one being asleep and that I wish she hadn’t passed out so quick. I got to tell him how I always ‘knew’ when it was time for Lois and Clark to come on the TV (no DVR back then!) and I would make a break for the living room to watch it. And now my little one, no matter where she is in the house, if she hears the theme music start up, she comes running for the TV. He thought that was incredible and told us to take a picture of them together. He signed our print and then knelt down next to her stroller and gave us a picture for her to see later.
I asked for a hug and when he gave me a hug, I couldn’t hold back the waterworks. I started crying! I had done so well until that point, too. I cried my eyes out when I met my hero, Robert Englund. I didn’t cry when I met Robin Lord Taylor, Sean Pertwee, David Mazouz, John de Lancie, or Rory McCann. I did cry when I spoke to Michael Cudlitz about my friend that I was getting his autograph for, but that’s a special circumstance. I also cried when I met artist Ed Beard Jr. but it’s because of his art that I’m a gamer.
But I thought I would hold it together better, but when I meet someone who helped shape my childhood and some of my best memories, I tend to get a little emotional. He hugged me again when he saw I started crying and didn’t let me walk off until he knew I was okay. This will go down as one of the best moments in my celebrity greeting memories.
After our adventure with one of the greatest Superman actors of my lifetime, we headed to the vehicle and began the trek home. If we weren’t so exhausted from having to leave so early, we probably would have stayed longer. I think we’re going to try for VIP tickets next year, depending on who the guests are of course. I want to spend more time there next year as well. It was so worth the trip and I can’t wait for next year! We also get to go to Origins the week after the Superman Celebration next year (hopefully!).
The trip cost us a half tank of gas, $50 for an autograph, $5 for some cute buttons, and $8 in food. Not bad for so many memories if you ask me!
Taken any cool trips recently?
Have you met any actors/artists/writers/etc?
Leave me a comment and let me know about your experiences!
As always, thanks for reading and remember to like/follow my social media!
