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'These are my people': Motor City Comic Con welcoming thousands of fans this weekend

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NOVI, Mich. (WXYZ) — The Motor City Comic Con kicked off on Friday. The three-day convention is taking place at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi.

Whether you’re in the market for comic books, jewelry based on pop culture or want to add to your sword collection, it appears Comic Con is the perfect environment for that.

Artists are also able to showcase their talents and cash in.

Take a look at some of the costumes inside Motor City Comic Con in the video below:

VIDEO: Take a look at some of the costumes inside Motor City Comic Con

Tony Santiago is an artist and illustrator from Chicago. He has a booth at the event where he's selling his digital art.

“You can’t beat this environment for an artist, I think," he said.

“Part of the experience I had with doing sports art and trying to sell that was that a lot of fans that I ran into were not necessarily art fans. They were sports fans. They like memorabilia. The fans here (at Comic Con), they love art," Santiago explained.

"There’s so much more of an appreciation among this crowd."

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Chicago-based artist and illustrator Tony Santiago at Motor City Comic Con. (May 17, 2024)

Essentially, Santiago believes a person’s love for costumes, cartoons, movies or anything of the fantasy world can readily translate to an appreciation for his form of expression.

If you’re looking to channel your inner super hero and keep your true identity low-key, Andrew Speranza has you covered. He designs masks belonging to familiar characters in pop fiction, and he hails from Toronto.

“These are my people, and I love it," Speranza said of the crowd.

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Andrew Speranza of Toronto at Motor City Comic Con. Speranza designs masks belonging to familiar characters in pop fiction. (May 17, 2024)

“I’m expecting that the Deadpools and the Wolverines are going to do pretty good this weekend. 'Star Wars' stuff always has a great fandom. So, they always do really well," he explained.

A host of celebrities are also going to be in attendance. Actor Marty Klebba, a Troy native, appeared in the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' series.

He told 7 News Detroit, "Number one question (I get is) what’s it like to work with Johnny Depp."

"I would be stupid to say anything bad, but I wouldn't say anything bad about him anyways. He's an amazing man. Everybody on this series was... I couldn't say anything bad about him," Klebba explained.

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Actor Marty Klebba, a Troy native who appeared in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" series. (May 17, 2024)

"Orlando (Bloom is) great, Keira (Knightley), Geoffrey Rush — those are the kinda guys you can learn from at the same time as working. An actor's always perfecting his craft. You're always learning as you go," he said.

Comic Con continues Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.