2024 was always going to be a hard act to follow in terms of things to see and do at annual pop culture celebration Comic Con Africa. That said, now in its sixth year, the show’s organisers are confident that they’re delivering the biggest and best experience to date.

CCA 2025 kicks off today at the JHB Expo Centre in Johannesburg, running four days from 28 to 31 August. If you have plans to attend and haven’t got your tickets yet, well, you better get on that ASAP. It’s likely by the time you read this that both Saturday and Sunday will be sold out, leaving just Thursday and Friday day passes available. As a further note, the show is open 9am to 6pm every day, and tickets will not be available at the door on sold-out days.

Now onto the fun stuff. Here are our personally selected reasons to get hyped for CCA 2025 (although there are many, many more if you check out the programme).

A fresh batch of celebrity guests

This year, Comic Con Africa 2025 has managed to attract some familiar faces (and voices) from some of the biggest franchises, including Supernatural, The Boys, Star Trek, Star Wars and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

Misha Collins, who plays Supernatural’s angel Castiel, is arguably CCA’s most popular celebrity guest ever, and this accomplished actor, writer and activist has a further After Dark appearance at Movies@Monte, Monte Casino on the Saturday night, where he will be performing his one man show It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time.  

It’s not just about Collins, of course. Fans can also interact with Jessie T. Usher, best known as A-Train from The Boys; while Dan Fogler, from the Fantastic Beasts film series, has kept his word after work commitments led to his 2024 appearance cancellation. Adding to that line up is Star Trek veteran Julie Caitlin Brown (on the Sunday only), and the last-minute appearance of Star Wars Rebels voice actor Taylor Gray. Catch these stars on the Main Stage for interview sessions, or secure a paid autograph and photograph interaction. Just be aware that not everyone is around for all four days.

Away from on-screen stars, CCA has attracted numerous other celebrated creators, like award-winning international cosplayers Yuji Koi (read our Comic Con Cape Town interview with her) and Majed Cosplay. On the comics front that includes celebrated artists out of Italy and Ireland: Carola Borelli, Cian Torney, Eleonora Carlini, Declan Shalvey, and Elisabetta D’Amico; plus South African royalty like Sean Izaakse, Anand Ramcheron, and Jason Masters. Finally, there will be virtual guests from the animation industry on Saturday, including Avatar: The Last Airbender’s head writer and The Dragon Prince creator Aaron Ehasz. Phew.

A new layout and new activations

Comic Con Africa is always evolving and mixing things up from a layout perspective. In 2025, that means Artists Alley is back in its own dedicated space (downstairs in Hall 7), swapping out with KidsCon Zone, which returns to the main Pop Culture arena (Hall 6). 

Along with the local and international comic creator guests, Artists Alley is where you’ll find over 130 homegrown artists and vendors peddling their wares (expect a ton of bootleg KPop Demon Hunters merch), tattoo studio pop-ups, and the area for photo and autograph opportunities. 

Out of interest, Cosplay Corner, which last year sat atop the stairwell bridge between Hall 6 and Hall 7 – suffering from some poor lighting in the process – has shifted over to the opposite side of the Pop Culture Hall. On entering the hub, you’ll find it there in the back right corner, while its 2024 spot is occupied by the new Book Nook.

While we’re talking Hall 6, look out for new activations from the likes of Sea Harvest (last seen at Comic Con Cape Town) and Kellogg’s, plus huge presences from Nintendo to showcase the Switch 2, and Disney+, complete with a themed ice cream/milkshake booth.

Over in Hall 5, which is home to all things Gaming and Tech, the stylish AXE Experience makes a return, while Doritos wows with a double storey arena for fighting tournaments and casual players.

Debut of the Book Nook

This all-new zone is a celebration of everything, you guessed it, reading related. Whether you’re a bookworm or an aspiring writer, some of the biggest publishers and book sellers have pooled their resources to create an all-in-one space that includes panels, dress-up opportunities, an escape room, a taste of Magicon, games (with prizes), karaoke and other activities. Oh, and on-site book sales, of course.

Best of all, the Book Nook includes twice daily meet-ups for literary fandoms, old and new, at its social Tavern section. These include The Lord of the Rings, Discworld, Dune, Fourth Wing and A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR).

2025 is considered Chapter One for the Book Nook, so expect it to only grow from here.

Welcome to the Tabletop Emporium

Talking new things, for the first time ever, CCA has a Tabletop Emporium – two dedicated rows of booths for tabletop gaming publishers to show off their board game and card game titles. The fan-favourite Tabletop section is right next door in the Black Eagle Room, run by UnplugYourself. Just note that a second paid ticket may be required for certain activities and tournaments there.

Otaku Town adds Japanese games to its drawcards

Popular themed CCA Zone Otaku Town, rebranded Poptaku Town in 2025, is expanding its Asian pop culture offering to gaming. You’ll still be able to enjoy things like K-Pop dancing, language lessons, anime art workshops, a Dub It Out challenge and martial arts demonstrations on the dedicated Poptaku Stage, but now you can also get hands on with 37 indie games thanks to a Made in Japan Gaming Station facilitated by The Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO).

P.S. Asian food store Market Kokoro is back as well to ensure you can taste Japanese and Asian pop culture as well as see, feel and hear it.

A super-charged collectibles focus

In 2025, Comic Con Africa is leaning hard into the collectibles side of pop culture, whether it be art, comics, toys, statuettes or nostalgic memorabilia. Then there’s the matter of picking up great show exclusive deals. A Media Walkthrough of the CCA 2025 set-up revealed a first-time heavy retail presence in the Gaming Hall, so you can browse and buy hardware from big name sellers then and there.
 
Aside from that, this year Comic Con Africa is launching The CONllector’s guide, a printed and digital guide to show-exclusive offers and deals on everything from rare collectibles to comics, gaming accessories, stationary, blind boxes and even board games. Finally, Bob Shop is bringing a Battle of the Bids live auction to the CCA Main Stage daily. People can sell and bid on coveted pop culture memorabilia… if they have the nerve.

A new cosplay showdown

Next to its Cape Town sibling, Comic Con Africa is regarded as the top local event for South African cosplayers to strut their stuff. Twice daily, free-to-enter Casual Cosplay Competitions encourage everyone to take to the stage and enjoy audience applause, with a chance of prize hampers. Then of course there’s the show-ending Comic Con Africa Championships of Cosplay, a serious competitive event where the overall winner will head overseas to represent South Africa, typically at C2E2 in Chicago.,

This year there’s a third intriguing cosplay competition in the form of Telkom’s Next Gen Cosplay Showdown. By bringing to life Telkom VS Gaming’s Next Gen Squad characters, participants are vying for their portion of R17,500 in prize money (First Place is a cool R10,000). This contest is taking place on the Saturday, 30 August, on the Main Stage at 12:40.