Midland Mall hosts Comic Con 2025
Carter Salley explores the wonders of Mid Michigan Comic Con
Central Michigan Life movie reviewer Carter Salley poses for a photo at the Midland Mall Comic-Con.
Midland Mall hosted its annual Comic Con in March. I had the pleasure of attending the convention and was ecstatic with what I witnessed.
In case you haven't been, compared to other comic cons, Midland puts a heavy focus on local creators and artists from around the area, rather than celebrity guests and vendors.
It was refreshing to visit a comic con that was focused on the community, instead of the ability to make as much profit as possible. The point of Comic Con is not the celebrities, food or anything about the con, it's about the likeminded people it brings together.
The crowd was a decent size this year. More than 500 attendees were present in Midland.
Food was provided through the mall's unique cafeteria area, offering pizza, smash-burgers, kosher food, Egyptian delicacies and more.
A lot of great cosplayers were present at Comic-Con as well. One in particular was a group of FNAF ("Five Nights at Freddy's") cosplayers that were a joy to chat with.
I also had the pleasure of speaking with a local 3-D printing artist named Kyle Sambor and his shop @MIGeekeasy. He uses his computer science talents and his love for geeky fandoms to make awesome trinkets through the magic of 3-D printing. On his site, you can find 3-D printed dice towers, dice and anything else you need for your roleplaying needs.
I also had the pleasure of talking to Crypt Culture and their business. It involves making patches and pins for horror fans. They also restore VHS and sell some, too.
There were a ton of local vendors selling pop culture items for your collection. They were all very pleasant to chat with, and listening to their stories of how pop culture inspired their business was really touching.
Thank you to Mid Michigan Mall for the super fun con, and cheers to another next year!
Carter Salley is Central Michigan Life's resident film reviewer and co-host of the popculture podcast "Raving Geeks." He is majoring in media arts.
