Comic Con Africa 2025 pulled in tens of thousands of fans to the Joburg Expo Centre, filling halls with cosplay, gaming, panels, and celebrity encounters.
On the surface, it’s all bright lights and fandom. We had an A-list lineup consisting of Misha Collins, Jesse T. Usher, Julie Caitlin Brown, Dan Fogler, and many more.
Behind the scenes, it’s a machine that takes more than a year to plan, and it is powered by a team that lives and breathes the Con.
The organisers call it a “labour of love.” They say it’s not just a job but a lifestyle, one that runs on late nights, endless coordination, and the adrenaline of pulling off the biggest pop culture event on the continent.
Comic Con Africa: A labour of love
When asked to describe the work, Clair Wright didn’t hesitate: “It is definitely a labour of love. There are so many late nights and hours that go into it. It’s a piece of art, it’s an expression of so many different emotions that go into it. We just live and breathe it”.
The team spends months in planning, balancing logistics with creativity as they organise not one but two events a year.
“It’s late nights, it’s living and breathing the brand. And at the end of the day it is a lot of fun. That’s also why we do it. It’s so great to be with the fans, see everyone have a good time and be able to express themselves in a safe and inclusive space”.
This was probably the biggest Comic Con Africa event since its launch. The Sunday crowd this year proved it. I usually attend Saturdays and Sundays, and this was the first year the size of the Sunday crowd matched the Saturday crowd.
The halls were packed, with energy usually reserved for Fridays and Saturdays. Competitions, panels, and fan meetups drew people in all day, with steady turnover as others cycled through.
Behind the scenes of a mega Con
Comic Con Africa doesn’t come together overnight. Planning begins more than a year in advance, sometimes stretching to 18 months, with multiple events running in parallel. PR, design, and marketing all pull in different directions, yet it has to come together seamlessly.
The details matter. Wider aisles are built into the floor plan to give cosplayers space to move. Safety checks run constantly, from fire extinguishers to water spills to exposed cables.
“The ops side of things is fascinating. Is there a pole here? Is there a fire extinguisher there? Can someone trip over this? Is there a wire exposed, is there water on the floor? You’ve got to be so careful and make sure there’s enough space to keep everyone safe,” Clair explained.
Crowd management is its own science. Capacity inside the halls is capped at 14,500 at a time, though the total attendance stretches into the tens of thousands. As people leave, others are allowed in, keeping flow steady.
READ: A-Train at Comic Con: Jesse T. Usher talks bees, blood, and 17 zippers
The PR juggle that is Comic Con Africa
For the communications team, Comic Con is organised chaos. Journalists press for time slots, talent agents guard schedules, and access is a constant negotiation.
Caryl Kolk, who led media coordination this year, described the thrill of it: “You’ve only got 5 minutes and the agents are breathing down your neck.”
Sometimes that means scaling fences or sprinting between halls to make things happen. True story. “I was climbing over a gate,” she laughs.
“Today was especially great because we were able to interview Julie Caitlin Brown. It’s not often that I’m coordinating an interview where the person being interviewed actually has me sitting there, going, ‘WOW’.”
No exaggeration there! I interviewed Julie and it was probably one of the best chats of my life.
READ: Stardust and self-belief: In conversation with Julie Caitlin Brown
There’s an entire team working tirelessly behind the scenes, but one of the striking things about 2025 was how visibly women led the event. Since TechNation News is proudly women-owned and -led, of course I wanted to talk about this…
Women leading Comic Con Africa
The leadership team put a strong stamp on the Con. From the media briefing to the show itself, women were at the front. For the team, it was proof of what leadership looks like when women are steering one of the biggest fan events in Africa.
Renee Staack as content director and Carla Massmann as show director. From RX Africa, Carol Weaving as MD, Clair Wright as marketing manager, and Caryl Kolk as communication specialist.
Caryl was part of the original team who brought Comic Con to Africa in 2018. She’s been in the industry for 22 years and has worked with both international and local brands. “I can honestly say, Comic Con has been one of my favourite clients throughout my career.”
“It’s been amazing working with people like Carla and Renee, [they are] just the most incredible people. And then getting to work with someone like Clair has just been fantastic.”
Why they do it
Comic Con Africa 2025 drew more than 70,000 attendees over four days. For the organisers, that number represents months of stress and late nights.
But also the joy of seeing fans take over the space. And the “go big or go home” marketing strategy for 2025 definitely paid off!
The event is usually held in September but was moved to August to make way for the G20 summit, which will be held at the same venue later this year.
The next stop for fans is Comic Con Cape Town, running from 30 April to 3 May 2026.
