Comic Con 2024: Art, Cosplay, and Community
By Nonku Mncube
Art, community, creativity and cosplay. That is why I enjoy Comic Con. It is a space for people from all walks of life to meet people with similar interests and fully express themselves. I spent most of my time during the two days I attended in Artist Alley. I was with a friend and she had brought with her a pre-determined list of all the artists’ stalls she wanted to stop by. Thirty-five artists made it on to this list and we stopped by all of their stalls and then some. Artist Alley is a space on the first level of the convention dedicated to celebrating local and international artists. From comic book artists and local jewellery makers to custom dye makers and so much more.
Over 120 artists were featured in this year’s artist alley; so, I had a tough choice deciding who I wanted to buy from. The stalls I found myself stopping at the most were: Turkey Dimples, The Cosmic Fae and Estelle Sketched. All the jewellery at The Cosmic Fae was handmade, a common theme among many other stalls. The whimsical and witchy aesthetics of the stall instantly caught my eye. As I write this, I am wearing one of their necklaces and I can say I am definitely channelling an extra level of whimsy today. I had a quick chat with the owner of The Cosmic Fae who attends Comic Con every year, in Cape Town and in Joburg, and has built a loyal customer base who visit her stall every year. This is the case for many of the other artists as well. It seems that at Comic Con, community is the name of the game.
A few artists collaborated in Stamp Rallies, a mini game for attendees in which they were given stamp cards with various requirements to complete for a range of different prizes. The requirements for the stamps differed with some requiring the participant to spend a minimum of R50 or R100 at a participating stall or proof that they followed the artist on Instagram. My friend managed to complete three cards, collecting all the stamps. Unfortunately, most of the prizes were finished once we had completed them all. Her goal then was simple: support as many artists as possible and collect all the stamps! It was special to see the artists collaborating with each other and a fun way to interact with them as an attendee. A few stalls also hosted raffles and giveaways.
Cosplay was the next big event for me. Everywhere I went, I spotted characters and creatures from my childhood, my so-called “young adulthood”, and many that I didn’t recognise at all. I was in awe at the effort and creativity that cosplayers, young and old, had put into their costumes. A daily casual cosplay competition was hosted every day of the convention and on the last day, the Comic Con Africa Championships of Cosplay finals took place. The winner of this competition took home R5000 and a trip overseas to present Africa on a global stage. The craftsmanship and creativity of the finalists were truly unmatched. However, my favourite cosplayers that I spotted were definitely the families in matching outfits. There was a kid’s casual cosplay competition in the Kidscon area upstairs as well. It was very sweet to watch. There were a lot of mini princesses and superheroes. It felt good to know that our streets are safe, all the poison apples have been eaten, and that party shops in Cape Town won’t be going out of business anytime soon.
My final stop was the mini Toys”R”Us on the second floor of the convention. I got a picture with Goffrey the Giraffe, complained about the price of Legos, and very seriously considered buying a far-too expensive (R1700) special edition 65th anniversary Barbie. Barbies will never go out of style for me and if I didn’t live on a student budget, I think I may have bought her. I hope Barbies didn’t cost that much when I was of “Barbie-playing age”, otherwise I owe my parents a lot of money.
I hope to attend Comic Con again next year, with better shoes and bigger pockets.