Southfield, Michigan, comic book retailer Michael Goldman, owner of Motor City Comics, staged the first Motor City Comic Con at the Dearborn Civic Center and
Gary Reed's
King Kon, held in the area from 1984 to 1986. Show promoter Goldman brought on Gary Bishop in 1989 to manage the convention; Bishop worked for Motor City Conventions until 2007. From 1992–1998, the Motor City Comic Con was the site of the
Compuserve Comics and Animation Forum's Don Thompson Awards (also known as the Thompsons). From 1993–2004, the convention was held twice a year, once in the spring and once in the fall. Typically the larger three-day spring convention was held in Novi and the smaller two-day fall show was held at the Dearborn Civic Center. The fall 1998 show hosted the convention's fourth annual
Red Cross blood drive and the seventh annual charity art auction to benefit of the
Muscular Dystrophy Association. By this point, the Motor City Comic Con had raised nearly $35,000 to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association. In 1999, Goldman claimed the Motor City Comic Con was the third-largest comic convention in the United States. By 2003, the most popular elements of the Motor City Comic Con were the appearances of celebrities from the world of film, television, and other media; rather than the comic book creators who were the namesake of the show. and later canceled the fall 2010 show altogether. The 2020 edition of the show was cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 edition was held in October of that year, but COVID precautions were put in place so guests, VIPs, and artists would be safer until the pandemic began to slow down. The 2022 edition was held back in its original month of May.
Dates and locations == References ==