Award-winning writer Fabian Nicieza is always hesitant and wary when his work goes public.

“I don’t tend to write for other people; I write for myself,” he said. “I hope if I’m entertaining myself that you’ll be entertained, as well.”

Given his prolific body of work, it’s a safe bet that others have been entertained.

During his writing career, which goes back to 1987, Nicieza has penned many titles in Marvel’s “X-Men” franchise (including the upcoming “X-Men vs. Godzilla” one-shot), “New Warriors,” Thunderbolts,” “Avengers,” “Gambit,” “Hawkeye,” among many others. He’s also written the well-received mystery novels “Suburban Dicks” and “The Self-Made Widow.” With artist Rob Liefeld, his claim to fame is co-creating wisecracking assassin Deadpool, one of Marvel’s most recognizable characters whose popularity is arguably on par with the publisher’s flagship character Spider-Man.

“He’s a voice of anti-authoritarianism and has a total lack of respect for authority, while at the same exact time, he’s the ultimate underdog who always picks himself back up again, no matter how badly he fails or how badly he’s screwed up in social situations; he’s always willing to try again,” Nicieza said. “A lot of people gravitate towards this character because they themselves have flaws or social anxieties or depression. He’s literally a meaningful hero to them in his constant effort to try to do the right thing. Even when he’s doing the wrong thing, he still thinks he’s doing the right thing and that’s very laudable and very noble in its own tragic little way.”

Nicieza is appearing at the Motor City Comic Con at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi on May 16-18. This marks his first name at MC3 since 1990.

“I’m looking forward to driving home in the free car I was told I’d be getting,” joked Nicieza. “I enjoy the people, pure and simple. Getting to talk to them about comics and TV and movies is the best part.”

Nicieza is one of many comics creators attending MC3. Others include Jeph Loeb; who’s written for DC Comics’ “Batman” and the TV series “Heroes” and “Smallville,” as well as co-creating the Red Hulk (portrayed by Harrison Ford in this year’s “Captain America: Brave New World”); “X-Men” artist Arthur Adams; “Daredevil” artist Klaus Johnson; Phil Jimenez, artist/writer of DC’s “Wonder Woman”; Detroit native/artist Arvell Jones, who co-created Misty Knight (portrayed by Detroit native Simone Missick on Netflix’s “Luke Cage” and “Iron Fist”); “Iron Man” artist Greg Land; “Wolverine” writer Frank Tieri; and “Spider-Man” artist Alex Saviuk.

There’s also a who’s who of celebrity guests attending, including two-time Oscar nominee Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye in the Marvel Cinematic Universe), Golden Globe winner Martin Sheen (“The West Wing,” “Apocalypse Now”), Carrie-Anne Moss (“The Matrix”), Anson Mount (“Star Trek: Strange New Worlds”), Malin Akerman (“Watchmen”), Famke Janssen (the “X-Men” franchise, “Taken”), Bryce Dallas Howard (“Jurassic World,” “Spider-Man 3”), Robert Picardo (“Star Trek: Voyager”), Sean Astin (“The Goonies,” the “Lord of the Rings” franchise), Christina Ricci (“The Addams Family”), Xolo Maridueña (“Cobra Kai,” “Blue Beetle”), Steve Cardenas (“The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers”), Bill Nye the Science Guy and pro wrestlers the Hardy Boyz.

This year’s show not only marks Loeb’s first time there, but also his first time in Michigan.

“The only time I’ve ever been to Michigan was to change planes,” said Loeb, laughing. “I’m very excited. The reason why I do these shows is I get a chance to meet the fans and talk to them about my movies, my TV shows, and my comics.”

In a career spanning more than 40 years, Loeb, a two-time Columbia University alumnus, has written/co-written 1985’s “Commando” (starring Arnold Schwarzenegger) and 1985’s “Teen Wolf” (starring Michael J. Fox). He’s worked on the TV series “Lost,” “Heroes,” “Smallville,” “Daredevil,” “Jessica Jones,” “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” “Agent Carter,” “The Gifted,” et al. From 2010-19, he was the executive vice president of Marvel Television.

While he didn’t work on this year’s “Captain America: Brave New World,” the Red Hulk — the character he created with artist Ed McGuinness — was portrayed by Hollywood icon Harrison Ford.

“It’s always fun when something that you’ve made in one medium turns out in another,” Loeb said. “Let’s be honest: The man who is Indiana Jones, the man who is Han Solo is also the man who is the Red Hulk. As far as I’m concerned, I’m never gonna do better than that. Harrison Ford is one of my heroes. I never had the chance to work with him, but here he is up on the screen turning into this character that Ed and I created and it caught fire. With any luck, I’m hoping Red Hulk turns up again. If you make a deal with Harrison Ford, I’m hoping he’ll be in more than one movie.”

Loeb has written for comics since 1991, many of which have won him several awards and appeared on the New York Times bestselling list. He has penned many seminal stories featuring DC’s Superman and Batman, as well as Marvel’s X-Men, Captain America, Hulk, Daredevil and Spider-Man.

Currently, Loeb is writing “Batman: Hush 2,” the sequel to 2002’s critically acclaimed and commercially successful “Hush” storyline he collaborated on with fan-favorite artist Jim Lee, who’s also DC’s president, publisher and chief creative officer. It’s a 12-part storyline broken down into two, six-part arcs. The second part will be out in 2026.

In “Hush 2,” Batman battles the enigmatic Hush, a villain as deadly as arch-foe the Joker, who knows he’s Bruce Wayne and tries to systematically destroy his life.

“The first issue came out (in April). We were blessed with ginormous sales figures, people seem to love the book, and there’s a tabloid-size edition DC put out — they’ve never done that before — and that sold out. It’s in its second printing,” Loeb said. “At the end of the day, we think we’re telling an exciting, fun, and — in some ways — groundbreaking story. Jim Lee, Scott Williams, Alex Sinclair are the art team. Richard Starkings is the letterer. It’s all the original people from the original ‘Hush.’ We’ve all come back to do ‘Hush 2’ and we’re having a ball!”

He added, laughing: “We’re referring to ourselves as — and I’m saying this as a joke — the Rolling Stones reuniting, the OG ‘Hush’ guys.”

He attributes the success of his comics work, which has been collected in multiple formats, to the artists.

“I’ve been so incredibly lucky that the people I’m working with are just the best,” he said. “They bring out the best in me and it enables me to see the vision of my story told with the best artists. … It always surprises me that when I get the pages back from the artists, the artwork is always next level. I try to work with people who take my script and go with it. I am the architect; they are the builders. I’m giving them the plans, so they’re making a building that will last forever.”

He quipped how his fans get a workout carrying their hardcover editions written by him at cons.

“It’d be so much easier for these poor fans to bring in just the comics because these hardcovers weigh like 40 pounds. They don’t have to go to the gym the next day because they lugged these Jeph Loeb hardcovers around all day! I’m so excited and so grateful to be able to do that,” he said.

Loeb said he’s excited about MC3.

“I’m very honored when people say, ‘I want to thank you because this comic got me back into reading comics’ or ‘It’s my first comic,’” he said. “I do my best to always say the same thing: ‘This is a partnership. I can’t do what I get to do unless you do what you do. If you didn’t like my work, Marvel and DC would be happy to show me the door, believe me.’ But because I’m lucky enough to have such incredible, loyal, fun and smart — really clever fans — who’ve been reading my stuff for a long time, my career has lasted a long time. When I got asked to come to (MC3), I was honored and thrilled. When I heard about (MC3) from other professionals, they all say the same thing: ‘It’s a great show with great people who come to it.’ I’m looking forward to coming.”

There’s something for people of all ages at MC3, including plenty of kid-friendly events, a kids’ cosplay contest and an adult cosplay contest. The Great Lakes Garrison, a subdivision of the 501st Legion, the premier “Star Wars” cosplay group in the world, will also be present at MC3. There also will be panels featuring comics creators and celebrities.