Happy Comic Con Africa Eve! The four-day pop culture celebration kicks off tomorrow, 24 September at JHB Exhibition Centre, Nasrec in Johannesburg, running through to this Sunday. At the time of writing, tickets were still available for every day except the sold-out Saturday, and full priced at R270 for a day pass. As always, kids aged 5 and under attend for free. The show is open 9am to 6pm every day.
If you’ve been to a local Comic Con before, you may be wondering what’s new. After all, the show is now in its seventh year, and at this point it could feel quite samey. Well, the CCA organisers are always freshening up the attractions; trying new things year on year.
Below you’ll find our cherry-picked CCA debuts for 2026, which join show staples like the dedicated Artist Alley and Crafters Pavilion, packed with local talent and backed by a strong no generative AI policy; all manner of activations (look out for Burger King with their latest Dragon Ball collaboration); and various competitive and casual drop-in tournaments in the Gaming Hall. The latter includes Telkom’s Masters and High School Esports Leagues, Red Bull with the Red Bull Wings Cup, and RGB Gaming hosting the finals of their school esports leagues, which focus on underprivileged schools.
But now onto the new drawcards. As a reminder, you can find the full CCA 2026 programme here (subject to change).
1. The international guest roster, with an emphasis on voice actors
While returnees do happen, every year CCA brings in a new batch of international guests from the pop culture spheres of film and TV, comics and cosplay.
In 2026, the emphasis is largely on animated and video game heroes. We’re talking the Rick and Morty trio of Ian Cardoni, Harry Belden, and Spencer Grammer, who voice Rick, Morty, and Summer respectively; Storm herself Alison Sealy-Smith (from X-Men: The Animated Series and revival X-Men 97); and Christopher Judge, who not only plays Kratos in PlayStation’s God of War games, but also, in front of the camera, is the longest-serving Stargate cast member. Cartoon Network show runners and voice actors JG Quintel, Nate Cash, Sasha Knight, and William Salyers, are also dialling in for a virtual panel on Thursday.
Other than this, you can catch The Rookie’s Richard T Jones on stage, and in the photo and autograph section, as well as a chunk of the South African cast of Netflix’s live-action One Piece, including Steven John Ward (Mihawk) and Jazzara Jaslyn (Miss Wednesday).
On the show floor, meanwhile, in Artist Alley are international comic creators like Dave McCaig, Mike Rooth, Mostafa Moussa, and returnees Jim Cheung and Sam Humphries. They’re joined by homegrown art heroes like Super Strikas’ Clyde Beech, and DC and Marvel veterans Jason Masters and Sean Izaakse, along with a roster of urban artists, including Ali Bate and Fok Alles.
Finally, on the cosplay front – so find them at Cosplay Central, at the intersection of Hall 4 and 5 – you can meet award-winning cosplayers Yugoro and Going Ape Cosplay.
2. Five stages of content
CCA 2026 features more stages than ever before. While the familiars are all there, like the Main Stage, Outdoor Stage, Pop Culture stage (now renamed Creators Corner) and Otaku Town’s always-popular Pop-Taku Stage, we’re most excited to see the addition of a dedicated KidsCon Zone Stage – which rounds out an expanded KidsCon offering for this year.
Found in the Pop Culture Hall (Hall 5), the KidsCon Stage will be home to workshops on character design and comic creation, along with a class on how to make a board game. On top of that, there are daily Padawan Lightsaber skills workshops, magic and escape artist demonstrations, KPOP dancing, quizzes (with prizes!), and appearances by My Little Pony and other beloved characters.
As a sidenote, separate to the KidsCon Stage, the Cape Town International Animation Festival (CTIAF), with the SAE Institute, will be hosting daily workshops and screenings for young aspiring animators aged 12 – 18. You can register for these free sessions here.
3. CineCentre is bringing a pop-up cinema
A couple of years ago, Nu Metro brought a pop-up cinema to Comic Con Africa. This year, it’s CineCentre treating con attendees to screenings of some of the latest films… for free. We’re talking brand-new releases like Forgotten Island, Avengers: Endgame (Encore) and Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom. And considering the cinema is being staged as part of the Otaku Town offering in Hall 5, classic anime and Japanese movies are on offer too – like The Boy and the Beast, The Adventures of Panda and Friends, and A Samurai in Time.
The full line-up, with three screenings a day, can be viewed here. You simply have to register to secure a seat, on a first-come-first-serve basis, at the same link.
4. A Maid Café experience is back on the menu
Like the pop-up cinema, 2026 won’t be the first time a Maid Café joins the CCA attractions list, but it’s been a while. And, well, short of a trek all the way to Tokyo, where else are you going to enjoy the novelty and quirkiness of a Maid Café experience? We’re talking special maid performances, table games, and kawaii crafted sweet and savoury treats of the Japanese style.
The Moe Moe Kyun Maid Café at CCA 2026 is located in the Pop Culture Hall, on the Mezzanine Level. It’s a small elevated area, and while walk-ins are available, pre-booking a 50-minute session is advised – which you can do here. You’ll be prompted at the same time to choose from one of the available six vegetarian and vegan meal sets. For the record, these range from R300 up to R450.
5. The cosplay competitions are even more epic
Whether you just want to dress up for the day, or are more competitively minded, Comic Con Africa is arguably the best place in Sub-Saharan Africa to cosplay. All are welcome to enter the twice-daily casual cosplay contests, while this year, Telkom and Toyota are running two brand-driven cosplay competitions on the Main Stage with big prize money.
Telkom’s Next Gen Squad Cosplay Competition returns for a second time, bumping its prize pool from R22,500 to R30,000 in cash prizes. The challenge is to bring to life one of the Next Gen Squad characters: S-Tech, Vibey Val, Mobile Mo, or new addition Lucky Lou. The competition takes place on Saturday, 26 September, and online registrations close at 6pm the day before.
Toyota, meanwhile, is launching its TTGE Cosplay Competition. Sorry, make that Carsplay Competition! Entrants, solo or in teams of up to 4 members, are invited to create a cosplay inspired by any Toyota vehicle. Imagination, originality and craft are the primary judging criteria, with first prize being R10,000 in cash, plus a Toyota GAZOO Racing driving experience at Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit, and CCA 2027 weekend passes. Again, the event is taking place on the Saturday, with online entries closing 25 September.
Finally, there’s the Comic Con Africa Championship of Cosplay, the regional qualifier that determines who will head off to MCM Comic Con in London the following year to represent South Africa in the Cosplay Central Crown Championships. Traditionally taking place on Sunday afternoon, the last day of the show, the CCA Championship of Cosplay is considered by many to be CCA’s grand finale, packing the Main Stage seats one last time before the crowds head home for another year.
What’s interesting in 2026 is just how many of the nation’s most well-known, well-awarded and Master’s Level cosplayers are competing side by side. With over 60 top-tier entrants (meet the contestants here), including several returning winners across the various categories, the competition is going to be intense, awe-inspiring of course, and no better way to cap this year’s geeky gathering.
