One of the biggest expos on the continent, Comic Con Africa has come and gone, and just like previous years, it has left us wanting more.
Over the last 10 years, the growth of Comic Con has been exceptional. If I were to compare it to my first visit to the multi-day event a number of years ago, I would say it has become a bountiful beast!
From the Artist Alley and Crafters Pavilion, to the five stages of content, gaming and tech shopping, activations and shopping specials there was an abundance of things to do with the whole family.
I was so interested in seeing parents patiently sitting in Hall 6 watching their kids compete in e-games. Hall 6 was massive and gamed up with free-to-play zones where fans tried out the latest titles and consoles. I visited the Hall on the first day of the event, Heritage Day and you could just tell that it would stay jam packed the whole weekend through.
My nephew, who attended with me, was a little late to register for some of the competitions but thoroughly enjoyed his time competing against other gamers for fun. There were exciting competitions, tournaments, champs, and interactive experiences.
Telkom hosted their Masters and High School Esports Leagues. Red Bull held their Red Bull Wings Cup, and Toyota brought their Load the Hilux game. I don’t think there was ever a time Hall 6 was not busy.
RGB Gaming school esports leagues gave opportunities to underprivileged schools.
Over in Hall 5, I ended up stuck in KidsCon Zone for a while because the littles were obsessed with everything! I am just happy that it was super close to the main stage so I could zoom in and out often.
The 1,200sqm zone had its own stage, and Solarpop brought tons of fun paid and unpaid activities. This included an arts and crafts station and a huge Collectibles Arcade with exciting brands like Pembe the Cat, My Little Pony, and K-pop Demon Hunters and Pokémon (celebrating 30 years). Zuru X Shot brought their popular foam dart target range, which my niece and daughter tried out and were rather impressive at shooting targets. The Takealot retail experience for kids with brands like Barbie, Hot Wheels, Uno, Nerf, Star Wars, and LEGO was a big hit.
While Kids Con was super cute, my daughter was still hoping for an actual full play area outside that had rides and all sorts of fun for kids, so maybe that can be included in the next one.
When I did get time to sit through the conversations at the Main Stage, I found myself immersed in the back stories, interesting quips, fan competitions and overall great times people were having there.
Some of the celebrities that were at the four-day expo included Christopher Judge, the voice behind the blockbuster game God of War’s character Kratos and Stargate SG-1’s Teal’c. Richard T Jones’ interview was particularly fun to watch. While he was primarily there for his role as Wade Grey in The Rookie, audience members couldn’t help but ask him about his infamous role as Mike on the popular Tyler Perry franchise “Why Did I Get Married?”.
Ian Cardoni, Harry Belden, and Spencer Grammer, the voices behind Rick, Morty, and Summer from the animated series Rick and Morty, were in attendance, as well as the voice behind X-Men’s Storm, Alison Sealy-Smith.
South African actors from the live adaptation of One Piece included Alexander Maniatis, Jazzara Jaslyn, Martial T. Batchamen, Nahum Hughes, Richard Gaue, and Steven John Ward. The number of fans who came dressed as characters from One Piece was impressive! It has certainly become a fan favourite since its initial release on Netflix.
Guests who could not attend in person graced fans with their presence virtually. Cartoon Network’s JG Quintel, Nate Cash, Sasha Knight, and William Salyers brought the energy needed for a great conversation.
Hall 4 was an artist’s dream with over 200 artists and crafters gathered together in the Artist Alley and Crafters Pavilion.
The international spotlight comic guests in attendance were Dave McCaig, Jim Cheung, Mike Rooth, Mostafa Moussa, and writer Sam Humphries. Homegrown spotlight guests included Clyde Beech from local comic Supa Strikas among others, and Jason Masters and Sean Izaakse who have also worked internationally for Marvel and DC.
Imagine five stages, all packed with all the fun and cool stuff you can get.
This year Comic Con gave us the chance to really go wild.
In addition to the Main Stage, there was the Creators Corner stage in the Artist Alley which hosted content about creative disciplines like art, writing, and cinematography. The KidsCon Zone stage had exciting content for kids like comic workshops, how to build a boardgame, and magic lessons. The Outdoor Stage had live music performances including from a J-POP idol. The Pop-Taku stage in Otaku Town (the con’s anime central) has content including the Dub It Out comp, anime game shows, and Japanese lessons and calligraphy demonstrations.
A lot of families ended up in the queues over at the brand activation stations. I can definitely say this was one of the not so fun parts as the queues were so, so long. People who were dedicated to getting free merchandise from different brands like Kelloggs, M&Ms, Rascals and Manhattan (who all had really dope activation areas) spent hours waiting for their turns. I would say many of them spent most of their days at those activation stands rather than actually exploring the different halls.
Headline sponsor Capitec had a great Fandom Force HQ, the Kellogg’s giant breakfast bowl was a really big hit, Disney+ station also had a ball game to win prizes but that queue was not worth the prizes and the wait. Other not so big stations were the Sea Harvest Captain Crisp activation which was a whole lot of fun for the kids and the wait was not long at all. They had games and cute prizes including activity books we are still using to this day. Their holistic experience – good fish, games and prizes was a winner for parents and children. Burger King brought to life their collab with Dragon Ball Super. My daughter is now officially a Goku fan thanks to this activation zone.
Indomie had their spin-to-win wheel with merchandise that had people coming back for more, definitely a stand out.
CineCentre brought a pop-up pop culture cinema, so dope! And there was so much more.
Heritage Day weekend is always a busy time in South Africa and if you spent yours immersed in all things Comic Con Africa, you made the right choice!
If you are yet to experience Comic Con, be on the lookout for it next year as tickets sell out fast. It is so worth the experience. Bring your best dressed up self, the kids and everyone who loves a good comic book with you.
