Comic Con Cape Town (CCCT) has been a long time coming. Initially announced back in 2019 with a 2020 date, pandemic restrictions delayed the debut of Comic Con Africa (CCA)’s coastal sibling for three years. Had the pop culture celebration happened then or this year, though, the question would always be the same. Is Comic Con Cape Town a simple copy-paste, or even cannibalisation, of the Johannesburg event for people who can’t make it to Gauteng?

You might expect that outcome, given that the Mother City’s four-day convention (held from 27 – 30 April) included StreetCon and StreamerCon, and once again lugged over international cosplayers Leon Chiro and Elizabeth Rage. All of these elements were part of CCA 2022 in September last year. However, Comic Con Cape Town definitely has its own identity, and in some ways is superior to its Joburg big brother.

Helping matters is the unique CCCT partnership with former rival FanCon Comic Con (South Africa’s original, comic-centred convention), and the Cape Town International Animation Festival. The dedicated focus of these smaller events on the comic and animation industries, respectively, plus their in-depth explorations and stage sessions, added something fresh and distinctly professional to the comic con formula. While they were regularly drowned out by the eardrum-perforating music on the main stage, they never felt like secondary attractions to the other, arguably more mainstream programme events – like celebrity guest interviews and cosplay contests.

CCCT 2023’s venue, at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC), also made a strong impression. Well-lit and airy, there was never an aisle crush, or a struggle to find food, drink or sitting spots, as has been the case at every inland CCA (three to date). The longest queues at CCCT were always around the Cricut stand, which seemed to be a particular Capetonian idiosyncrasy.

Speaking of characteristics distinct to CCCT, the convention definitely seemed to skew to a different demographic than Johannesburg. Joburg’s CCA is marketed as a family day out, and attendance – with multiple generations arriving in costume – reflects that. Families were present at CCCT, many dressed up as well, but there seemed to be far more teens and college-agent attendees who continually came and went throughout the day. And, honestly, with no KidsCon, which has become a key area at CCA, there was little for very young children to do at this year’s Cape Town event. Their options were limited to exploring a sweet stand and an on-site Build-a-Bear experience.

CCCT is definitely a smaller and more intimate affair than CCA. There were no towering booths and dazzling interactive experiences from the likes of Disney+, Netflix and Xbox, which you will find in Johannesburg in September. However, the trade-off is a far more focused, and far less overstimulating event that hasn’t had to pad the show floor with vendors hawking braai accessories, and shoe polish. Almost everything present made perfect sense for a pop culture expo.

And while a good chunk of media releases centred on the gaming portion of CCCT, this aspect was very much secondary to pop culture, limited to a smaller, but still roomy, space upstairs. Along with shopping electronics and gaming merch, here the public could try out board games, and participate in more accessible console-based tournaments (involving the likes of FIFA, Tekken and racing titles). The ultra-serious esports finals, competed on a bank of PCs with celebrity commentators looking on, have evidently been saved for CAA.

The flipside again, though, is that CCCT – at least at its current scope – makes more sense as a three- rather than four-day event. Especially if you plan to be there daily from 9am to 6pm. Certainly the vendors were looking frazzled by lunchtime on the final day.

It’ll be interesting to see where CCCT goes from here. Will the event expand to take over more space in the CTICC, or flirt once more with migrating to the Greenpoint Stadium? Both of these potential moves would make the local comic con more like CCA in scale, but could also cause the event to lose what makes it special right now – the grass-roots passion, camaraderie and talent that shines bright wherever you look, and welcomes in everyone to share the love.

Now check out our gallery of select images from the weekend below.