Comic Con Africa 2025, being hosted at the Johannesburg Expo Centre in Nasrec, has been buzzing with colour, creativity and gaming spirit.
Fans from across the country showed off their outfits, tested new games and hunted down collectibles at the event, which started on Thursday and wraps up on Sunday.
This year's line-up featured international and local talent from Misha Collins, known for his role as Castiel in Supernatural and appearances in The Boys and Gotham Knights to Dan Fogler, recognised for his roles in Fantastic Beasts and The Walking Dead, who brought his comedic flair to the event.
On Thursday attendees had the opportunity to experience more than 30 titles from 19 Japanese companies.
At the artist alley, more than 150 local and international artists showcased their work with live drawings and sketch battles.
For young gamers like Thandolwethu Mabaso, Edmond Shange, Linnah Msiza, Zainap van Blerck, Zaheer Emeran and Bokamoso Pitso from Tshumolong digital innovation hub, the event wasn't just about play.
The students explained that while they don't play games for money, they create them for income and future partnerships.
“We create games for money, in a sense that people would purchase stuff from the game and through advertisements,” said Mabaso.
The team created a game called Anele, which tells the story of a girl from an impoverished background who fights villains in a gritty, home-grown arena setting.
“It's about a girl who's from the slums, fighting people, villains and all that.”
We create games for money, in a sense that people would purchase stuff from the game and through advertisements.
— Gaming enthusiast Thandolwethu Mabaso
The game is free to play and while the team is not making money yet, they receive a stipend through the Tshumolong digital innovation hub.
Among the attendees was 14-year-old Kiash J Mango, who came dressed as a Prussian soldier from the Napoleonic Wars, inspired by the Roblox game Guts and Black Powder.
Mango's outfit cost more than R1,000 and took about four days to put together.
“I planned it, the jacket is my father's, my friend Tariq gifted me a spear that he bought here to complete the look.”
Cosplayer Isabella Dawson, who introduced herself as Maria, showed off an outfit inspired by Mao Mao from The Apothecary Diaries.
“I like that you can buy so many things here and see other costumes that people took forever to make or buy. It's inspiring,” she said.
Friends Michael Fourie, Sam Tarboton and Momo Smith turned heads with elaborate DIY and store-bought outfits.
Jinx from Arcane, Soraka from League of Legends and Isaac Foster from Angels of Death were all brought to life.
“Last year we felt FOMO because we didn't go all out with our cosplays. This year we had to amp it up,” Fourie said.
Their outfits ranged in cost from R700 to R1,500.
Aimee Horne also kept it creative, dressing as Miku, a Vocaloid character.
“It's a software character where you put in words and it sings.
“Comic Con is such an inviting place. Everyone here gets what you're into. It's a nice community,” Horne said.
For others, the day was about family. Valencia Senomadi brought her daughter for the first time, telling TimesLIVE she wants her daughter to have a different life than the one she did.
“I grew up in the village and never experienced things like this. Now I want my daughter to explore and have options of her own, outside the bubble.”
On the competitive side, esports stars were in the spotlight. Logan Mac Intosh, better known as Wee-Casper, captain of White Rabbit Gaming, led his team in Rocket League.
Mac Intosh told TimesLIVE that he built his team from scratch, picking players he thought would fit best.
His team, known as the “rabbit team” includes players Galaxy, BananaCat and Appelsous.
He said the highlight was finally meeting teammates in person after six months of online competitions.
The passionate gamer, said gaming for him is both passion and profession as they generate revenue from tournaments.
“Depending on how you place, you can earn anything from R1,200 to over R30,000.” .
Another group of e-gamers by the name of Synthesis and led by Thendo Mukhavhuli also attended the event.
Mukhavhuli described Synthesis as a South esport, entertainment and gaming brand.
For Mukhavhuli, the highlights from Thursday were seeing all the support from fans and seeing his team play.
“What stood out most for us is Telkom VS Gaming deciding to upgrade the Rocket League stage. They made the stage much bigger, which is to our benefit as a team.”
According to Mukhavhuli, there are many ways to make money in gaming.
“One of the major ways to generate revenue would be sponsorships. We would get sponsors which would either give us merchandise or money to promote their brand. Other ways would be through esports-sports tournaments that we enter or selling our own merchandise.”
Mukhavhuli said in smalltournaments they can make R500 to R1,000, and much more in bigger tournaments.
TimesLIVE
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