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An impressive life-size bust of Thanos from the Marvel comics, Avengers: Endgame, brought in by a local company, SymbioteComic-Con, short for “Comic Book Convention”, has become a cultural phenomenon, drawing fans from all walks of life. And the brand is fast gaining traction in South Africa, too, judging by attendance at the Comic-Con event held in Johannesburg at the weekend.
Comic-Con’s roots trace back to the early days of fan gatherings, where enthusiasts of literary science-fiction would come together to discuss and celebrate the imaginative worlds created by sci-fi authors. These early conventions were also the birthplace of cosplay, where attendees would dress up as their favourite characters.
The first official comic book convention, known as New York Comicon, took place on 24 July 1964 at the Workman’s Circle Building in New York City.
However, the most famous Comic-Con, San Diego Comic-Con, or SDCC, began as a one-day event called San Diego’s Golden State Comic-Minicon in March 1970. Due to its success, a full three-day event was held in August of that same year.
Comic Con Africa (without the dash) made its debut in Johannesburg in September 2018. Organised by ReedPop, the same team behind New York Comic Con and Star Wars Celebration, Comic Con Africa was designed to bring the excitement and community spirit of international comic conventions to the continent.
People cosplaying as characters from the anime Naruto
Fans of the Star Wars franchise lining up to get a photo opportunity
The Comic Con Africa main stage where all headlining guests spoke. It also included cosplay competitions for all guests that dressed up
Left is a person cosplaying Adam from the show Hazbin Hotel and right is the character Hellboy from the Hellboy books and movies
There were some tabletop card games that people could play. The hall was set up with a several different games. Here we have a Star Wars tabletop card game
A couple of fans playing the most popular trading card game in the world, Pokémon
The Netflix show, Squid Game, had a mini setup of the show, where fans got to participate
The fictional character with a big sword and triangle head is Pyramid Head from the Silent Hill video game and film seriesThe first Comic Con Africa was held at the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit in 2018 and was initially expected to attract around 15 000 fans. However, the event far exceeded expectations, drawing more than 47 000 attendees. This highlighted the strong and growing fan base for comics, manga and pop culture in Africa.
This year, Comic Con Africa returned from 26-29 September to celebrate its fifth year of live shows. TechCentral’s Tadek Szutowicz attended the event and filed these photos. — (c) 2024 NewsCentral Media
