This upcoming long weekend most South Africans will be celebrating Heritage Day on 24th September. One of the events aiming to capitalise on the celebrations will be Comic Con Africa 2023 – the Johannesburg Edition.

From 22nd to 25th September, the Joburg Expo Centre (formerly Nasrec) will once again be playing host to the event, which is back for its second in-person iteration following a short hiatus due to the pandemic.

Last year’s Comic Con Africa proved a solid return, and it looks like this year’s edition is promising even more.

With that in mind, we’re highlighting five things you should definitely do, or at the very least check out, during one of your days spent at Comic Con Africa 2023.

Play upcoming games

Gaming is a big fixture at Comic Con Africa, whether it be console, PC, or mobile, there will be stands setup to cater to all types of playing styles. While there will be the usual bevvy of consoles setup with fan favourites like FIFA, Call of Duty, and Fortnite, those attending Comic Con this year will also be able to play some upcoming titles.

One of these will be Super Mario Bros. Wonder, as a Nintendo Stand (B521) will be located in Hall 5 of the Expo dedicated purely to this game, which officially releases on 20th October.

Along with being able to play a Nintendo exclusive, there will be something special in store for Assassin’s Creed fans during the first day of Comic Con Africa (22nd September). Here, exclusive footage for Assassin’s Creed Mirage will be presented on the main stage at 11:00, with a chance to win a copy of the game that releases on 5th October available too.

Eat exclusive food

A notable fixture at last year’s Comic Con Africa, KFC is once again one of headline sponsors for this year’s iteration. Along with selling its signature fried chicken at the event, KFC has also prepared a few exclusive meals.

To that end it has themed meals inspired by the Barbie movie, the Hulk, and Boba Fett from the Star Wars universe. Pricing for the meals have not been shared right now, but seeing as how they are indeed exclusive to Comic Con Africa, picking them and snapping pictures might be worthwhile for the FOMO they’ll induce in others.

Explore Otaku Town

One of the new elements of Comic Con Africa 2023, and a fixture throughout every day of the long weekend event is Otaku Town. As you may have guessed by the name, Otaku Town is focused on all things related to Japanese pop culture.

While there will be plenty to explore when it comes to anime, manga, and associated merchandise, Otaku Town will also be of interest to those wanting to travel to Japan.

Here representatives from the Japanese embassy and Japanese language club will be holding sessions and workshops in Otaku Town, as well as hosting pop culture-related quizzes where prizes can be one. There will even be workshops where you can learn how to make sushi, along with watch parties, lessons on how to draw.

Daily cosplay contests

Another fixture at Comic Con Africa, cosplay will feature heavily at the event, and is encouraged by organisers.

This year, the main stage will host competitions daily to select the best cosplay showcased at the event. As such, even if you’re not a professional, but wish to showcase your at-home creations that you spent hours perfecting, there will be a chance to do so.

Comic Con Africa has also partnered with Cricut for the event in the form of workshops for attendees to sit in on. The company specialises in arts and crafts, particularly for hobbyists wanting to get into cosplay, so it is well wroth swinging past its stand to check out its DIY machines.

Learn in Artist Alley

The last aspect we’re highlighting is another fixture at events like Comic Con Africa – Artist Alley.

Normally these portions of the Expo floor are dedicated to stalls for artists, and while that is still the case for the 2023 iteration of the Con, this year more sessions and workshops are planned where artists will be highlighting specific techniques and skills.

There will be chances to purchase original artwork as usual, but the chance to learn from people in the comic book and creator industry could prove invaluable for those wanting advise on how to break in themselves, not to mention the fact that you could learn something along the way.