Popping with Culture

The biggest pop culture event in the Mother City is shaping up to be even bigger than fans expected.

The first annual Comic Con Cape Town is around the corner and organisers have been making waves online with some big announcements. Convention-goers can look forward to seeing some well-known celebrities at the event and they might even get the opportunity to take a few snaps with them.

One of the biggest announcements so far is that Ross Marquand will be one of the main international celebrity guests. Marquand, known for his roles as Aaron in The Walking Dead and Red Skull/Ultron in the Avengers movies, is excited to join fans in Africa at the event and hopes to make lifelong friends.

Another major celebrity guest to attend is DJ Elliot. The celebrated disc jockey has been part of Comic Con Africa and has played at dozens of comic book conventions around the world. DJ Elliot will host interview segments with the other celebrities and also open the floor for some questions from the audience.

Apart from the celebrity guests, Comic Con Cape Town also invited award-winning international cosplayers. Italian cosplayer Leon Chiro will be showing off some of his hard work at the convention. He will also be part of a judging panel during a cosplay competition.

Joining him is Elizabeth Rage. She is known for her stunning cosplay creations which range from iconic movie and comic book characters to original designs. Some of her iconic work includes costumes such as Poison Ivy from the Batman movies and Triss Merigold from The Witcher

Luke Andalis, award-winning cosplayer from Cape Town, will also form part of the judging panel. Better known as Ludus Cosplay, Andalis left his daytime job to become a fulltime cosplayer. Last year he walked away as the champion of Comic Con Africa’s cosplay competition. He will also represent South Africa at C3E2 competitions later this year. Cosplaying is not just for the professionals, though. There will also be competitions for the casual cosplayers, who are free to wear whatever they like and to represent their favourite fandoms at the convention. Game developer Ubisoft will host a special competition for those dressed up as their favourite Ubisoft character.

In case you were wondering, the organisers did not forget about the gamers and streamers. There will be a dedicated space for video game enthusiasts, streamers and e-sport athletes, known as StreamerCon. This part of the convention will also host panels with full-time and casual streamers.

Still unsure what to do with your children at the event? Worry not! They will have their own special area called KidsCon. KidsCon will have its own gaming, entertainment and play areas. There will also be opportunities for the youngsters to dive into their favourite fandoms.

In addition, there will be different events and convention spaces dedicated to artists, illustrators, writers and comic book creators. Street and graffiti artists will also showcase their work at StreetCon. There will be so much going on over the four days that boredom will not be an option.

Find out more about Comic Con Cape Town at www.comicconcapetown.co.za.

Namibian journalist Barry de Klerk, also known as The Movie Guy, will report directly from the convention, as he has been invited to form part of the media team at the event.

Cosplayers can show up in whatever costumes they can come up with

Street and graffiti artists are going to showcase their work at StreetCon.