Have Geek Will Travel

On Saturday, June 11th, 2022 my wife Nicki and I took a day trip up to Metropolis, IL for the 44th Annual Superman Celebration.

We’ve been attending for many years, and the weather was just too nice to not get out of the house. The higher gas prices had us think twice about going, but thankfully Nicki has a new hybrid that gets between 50-60mpg.

I don’t think the same can be said for Optimus Prime– but it was pretty awesome seeing this Transformer in person on Superman Square.

We weren’t the only Memphians in town. Nicki and I ran into fellow MSCA’ers the Easterling Family.

They’ve been attending the Superman Celebration for years, too! (Check out Lonnie’s cartoons at www.spudtoons.com.)

Also saw Memphians Christina and Jim Hall in Artists Alley. Mama Wanda was keeping watch over the room as usual. Unfortunately we didn’t get to see Papa Cliff.

Artists Alley/Writers Way was located in the bank building on 8th street again, but the entrance had been moved around to the back of the building. It was like entering a speakeasy! Thankfully the A/C was working this year. The last couple it was actually cooler outside than inside.

We talked to several folks while we were there, including artists Matthew Clark and Rick Burchett, and writer Sean Dulaney. We saw cartoonist Guy Gilchrist‘s table, but he had stepped away from it while we were there. We did see actor George Newbern (voice of JLU Superman) there behind his table.

He and actors Tom Welling and Michael Rosenbaum were there as celebrity guests. We got to see them all pose together with official Superman of Metropolis Josh Boultinghouse out in front of the giant Superman statue. It’s the most frequented photo-op spot in town.

Just up from the statue we had a bit of a Supergirl Radio podcast reunion when we ran into co-host Rebecca Johnson and fellow listener Dr. Nicole Green and her family. We got to meet them last year in AA/WW for the first time.

Lots of great costumes were spotted around town while we were there.

Including many Superpets that were in attendance as well, like Stephanie Perrin’s doggy Scooby!

Our boy Lex was adopted at the 2015 Metropolis Superman Celebration. He and two siblings had been abandoned at the carnival there. All found furever homes, and Lex has been part of our family for 7yrs now..! He currently lives with adopted siblings Lena and Jarael.

The animal shelter in Metropolis is the Project Hope Humane Society, and is located off Hwy45 next to the Metropolis welcome sign. We saw a few strays hanging out near the front of the building. Looks like they have some shelters built for them. We missed the fund raising tent they had up during the celebration, but now that we know where they are we can drop off some donations the next time we are in town.

While in town we stopped by Fat Edd’s Roadhouse for lunch and had a couple bacon cheeseburgers, fries, and some ice cold Kryptonite.

It’s become a Metropolis tradition. Oh, and trust me- Kryptonite and a yellow sun can affect Earthlings, too! You might want to order a glass of water to go with it  to help stay hydrated.

Unfortunately due to some problems with the venue there was no Save The Massac Theatre auction this year during the Celebration. Hopefully they can do one next year and/or do a virtual one online. I’ve got a few items to donate to it.

Dates for next year’s Superman Celebration are June 9-11, 2023. Unfortunately it’s the same weekend as the return of Con Kasterborous (ConK) in Huntsville, AL. It had been cancelled the last few because of the pandemic, but will be back for one last time.

You can see and/or hear more of our adventures in Metropolis on the latest Supergirl Radio podcast. It’s available on YouTube, on their website, or most anywhere you like to download and listen to podcasts.

Also, we were sad to hear of the passing of artist Tim Sale. He was known for his work on the “Heroes” TV show and many comics collaborations with longtime friend Jeph Leob, including “Batman: The Long Halloween” and “Superman for All Seasons” (my favorite Superman story). Got to meet him once at the Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle when he was one of our table neighbors. Hard to believe we’ve lost George Pérez, Neal Adams, and Tim Sale so close together this year…

Lin

www.supermancelebration.net

info@supermancelebration.net