You wind back the clock by a decade, and cosplay still felt as if it was in its infancy here on the local scene. Sure, there’s been established cosplayers long before the scene began to take root here, but the talent was still finding its feet at the time. Take a jump to the left and return to 2019, and cosplay has reached that point on the local calendar where it isn’t just admired and bigger than ever, it feels like a mainstream evolution that every convention wants a part of.
South Africa’s cosplayers are the Jack and Jills of all trades, able to climb into any niche and carve a visual identity out for themselves across all manner of pop culture. Whether you’re dressing up as your favourite anime character, comic book superhero or braving the heat in a fursuit, the local cosplay community is now a mature and seasoned beast with numerous heavyweights showing the world how it’s done.
As usual, Comic Con Africa brought out the best of the country for a celebration of fandom. Whether they were battle-hardened veterans showing off their latest gear, newcomers being welcomed into the fold or even casual observers looking to experience the joy of cosplay for a single weekend, everyone was welcome.
Thanks to Glenn (Hit that subscribe button on his Instagram yo!), Noelle (Same for her!) and that guy (I’m writing this while looking into a mirror curse you Darryn the Dingus), we got plenty of snaps of what went down across those four days of Comic Con Africa. And even with a huge gallery to share, I’ve got a feeling that we’ve only begun to scratch the surface of the cosplay majesty that was on offer. So here it is, the 2019 Comic Con Africa cosplay gallery!
And here’s a great video by Primal Nerdz!
South African cosplay is:
- NukuNukuDash (She Ra and Furiosa)
- Pfangirl (Carmen Sandiego, Gentleman Jack, Catra and Nux)
- Darrangedd (Batman)
- Chaotic Good Cosplay (Moze from Borderlands 3)
- FredWolf Cosplay (Spawn mini gun)
- Julian Jay (Future Trunks Super Saiyan from Dragonball Z)
- Troubadour Cosplay (Triss Merigold from The Witcher 3)
- Mittel Elf Cat Cosplay (Foxy from Five Nights at Freddy’s)
- Bites Cosplay (Rathalos from Monster Hunter)
- Kelga Creations (Dark Souls knight)
- Jarid FX (Predator)
- Gammablast Cosplay (Arthas from World of WarCraft)
- Akasha Rojee (Angela from Spawn)
- BlueCat Cosplay (Captain Amelia from Treasure Planet)
- Whiskey in a Teacup Cosplay (Katniss Everdeen from the Hunger Games series)
- Chia Riku (Izuku from My Hero Academia)
- FredWolf Cosplay (Spawn)
- JinxKittie Cosplay (Priestess Bathory)
- Pepperpufff Cosplay (Sally Whitemane)
- Jax Cosplay (Elrond)
- Phwlofthenow (Jester)
- Thazin Htwe (Natsu)
- Marc_On_The_World (Tiefling Caleb)
- Tactical Nugget Cosplay (Velma Dinkley and Wonder Woman)
- Tactical Nugget Cosplay (Velma Dinkley)
- Crystall Voges (Corpse Bride)
- Cashmere Tart (Harley Quinn, Kitana and Lollipop Chainsaw)
- Psycadillo (Wonder Woman)
- Nifty_Smithy (Spartan Warrior)
- Naughty Dragon Creations (Erza, Melisandre and Granny Weatherwax)
- nicodemus6111 (Hawkman)
- Just_Plain_Chris (Prince Adam)
- Black Lily Cosplay (Catra)
- Wesley Jade (Bow)
- DoomCookie Cosplay (D.Va)
Last Updated: September 30, 2019
Admiral Chief
September 26, 2019 at 13:01
Jinkies
Admiral Chief
September 26, 2019 at 13:01
Old Man Logan!
HairyEwok
September 26, 2019 at 14:39
You know, In an different universe Batman cosplays as Darryn every year.
HairyEwok
September 26, 2019 at 14:39
You know, In an different universe Batman cosplays as Darryn every year.
Angel Conradie
September 26, 2019 at 17:07
Naughty Dragon Creations as Maleficent! ?
Original Heretic
September 26, 2019 at 13:11
Cool Batmite cosplay, D!
HairyEwok
September 26, 2019 at 14:39
You know, In an different universe Batman cosplays as Darryn every year.
The D
September 26, 2019 at 15:07
Star of the world’s worst yet strangely profitable film franchise.
Original Heretic
September 26, 2019 at 15:07
So…your alternate self is Adam Sandler? Or is it Leon Schuster? Tyler Perry?! Pauly Shore?!?
The D
September 26, 2019 at 15:57
I’m thinking Earth-2 Darryn is basically Bobcat Goldthwait.
https://media.tenor.com/images/e2d55e8958006ec7131776001e37424f/tenor.gif
Original Heretic
September 26, 2019 at 15:57
Voice included?!
Just got me thinking. I know Gilbert Godfrey did a 50 Shades reading.
Has Bobcat ever done it? Would be some funny shit…
Original Heretic
September 26, 2019 at 15:07
Nice one. That just made me grin.
Talynn Kel
September 26, 2019 at 21:48
How is there a Comic-Con in Africa and most of the cosplay pics still be of white people?
The D
September 27, 2019 at 10:57
It’s not easy to answer, but I think the gist of it is that Cosplay is still very much mostly done by white people down here in South Africa. That’s not to say that there wasn’t cosplay by people of colour, because this is just our gallery and if you check other sites that covered it you’ll see a whole lot more variety as well.
That being said, every year I’m seeing more and more people of colour hop into cosplay, showing that the hobby is gaining more and more traction every year 🙂