Comic Conned

To say that Comic Con Africa 2025 is underwhelming, is to give it high praise! South Africa’s premier geek-fest is a dull recreation of events from bygone years. Day One saw excited fans arrive, expectant of new and exciting things in the world of geekness and yet pretty much all of those who we chatted to had the same response – “We expected more!”.

So where to start on this years review:

The Food Villages are a who’s-who of many of SA’s most loved and recognisable brands (sans KFC) offering treats in a multitude of portion sizes and price points. The Doritos Truck offering was by far the most expensive option that we found, with the vast majority of brands offering decent menus around the R100 mark. Staying with food, and in particular drink. There seemed to be a few more craft alcoholic beverage options than in previous years along with the obligatory sprinkling of craft sauces and snacky foods, but nothing really new and mouth-watering! Have we become a boring festival for same-ol foods???

There is not much to be said for Hall 7 or Artist Alley, as it is almost exclusively focused on “hand-drawn creativity”, which includes some phenomonal artworks and tattoo offerings by some really creative people.

Hall 6 or the Pop Culture Hall offers everything from toys to games to movies, which in itself must be worrying to MNet as, while we were there, it was the least frequented stand by an absolute mile – surely that tells you something about the priorities of this market.

The trully fascinating bit was the number of non-endemic brands making their appearance for the first time. The one’s that really caught our eye were the Casio and the Sea Harvest stands – fish fingers and pop culture go together like …….interesting right!?

Hall 5 or the Experience Hall will give one the opportunity to experience another two non-endemic brands’ attempt to capture the imaginations of local geeks, namely; AXE and Checkers, who are rather poorly collabed with Krispy Kreme! The AXE experience is unique, requiring event goers to explore eight stations focused on the AXE range in order to unlock rewards. Checkers, on the other hand, are doing their utmost to sell as many Sixty60 branded items as possible mixed in with their range of gaming merchandise. For a brand that created such great feels while supporting the Boks, this definitely feels like kissing your sister! All-in-all, Hall 5 could get rather festive over the weekend but it will nontheless end up being nothing more that 4/5 announcers competing with each other for attention from the four corners.

The one bit of Comic Con that always delights is the supreme effort of the local cosplayers! Just WOW! These gals and guys are certainly upping their game this year and it should be an ongoing treat throughout the entire weekend.

In summary, this years Comic Con Africa is not worth the R202.54 (1 DAY PASS Plus Fees) and feels like something that needed doing rather than a labour of love. And the event guide sort of sums this up! Of the 20-page event “Conllector Guide”, not even a full 8 pages are dedicated to the programme and exhibitor list – in fact there is no comprehensive list of exhibitors in the event guide. So much for paying for stand space and getting exposure! That priveledge is clearly only reserved for the BIG SPENDERS!!!! The rest are ads making it a frustrating “read” that you really only complete once.

Up next is rAge on 5-7 December at their brand-new rooftop venue at Fourways Mall. Let’s hope that their new venue and the complete lack of fresh ideas from the Comic Con event organisers will inspire something truly remarkable to close out the year.