Hypertext is once again on the ground at Comic Con Africa for its 2024 iteration. After hours walking the various halls of the events and scouring every stall, we’re here to bring you a short list of the most interesting items that we saw, what they cost and where you can find them.
What: KFC Limited Edition Sauces
Where: KFC | Hall 6 | Stall H618
How much: R70 per 500ml bottle
Every year KFC is an official Comic Con Africa partner and every year we recommend that everyone tries out the Limited Edition sauces that bring some of the restaurant into your home.
Unfortunately this year the selection of sauces has been cut down from three to two, and the price has been raised. Just last year you could get three sauces: Zinger, Colonel and Dunked with each costing R60. That price is now R70 per bottle and the Zinger sauce is not available.
Despite the lower selection and higher price, we still recommend getting these, especially if you haven’t had them before. The Colonel sauce is a great alternative to mayo on sandwiches and burgers alike, and the Dunked sauce goes on everything. If you only get one get Dunked and for those coming to stock up for the year, take note: each customer can only buy two of each sauce.
What: Pokémon Trick or Trade Booster Bundle
Where: Toys r Us | Hall 7 Mega Booth
How Much: R480
As Halloween becomes more popular in South Africa, Pokémon is offering an amazing alternative to giving out candy in the form of trading cards.
The Trick or Trade Booster Bundle comes with 35 mini boosters. Each booster contains a few cards which are all special reprints from other sets featuring a special Pikachu jack-o’-lantern stamp in the corner.
This is the perfect gift for kids already obsessed with Pokémon and the TCG, or the perfect gateway to get them started.
Collectors and even competitive TCG players who are too old to trick or treat should still consider picking these up as they’re very collectible and even have some new versions of staple cards for decks.
What: HG RX-78-2 Gundam
Where: Readers Den Comic Shop | Hall 6 | Booth H604
How Much: R499
If you’ve ever wanted to get into Gunpla then Comic Con Africa is the place to be with a huge number of sets from multiple vendors available.
We chose this product to highlight given that its the most popular Gundam and comes priced relatively decently.
If you want to spend more (or less), or you want to get a different Gundam, make sure to look around. There’s a lot on offer for every taste, budget and level of proficiency with model kids.
What: Mew buildable figure
Where: Bandai x Gunpla SA | Hall 6 | Booth C610
How Much: R279
As Gunpla becomes more popualr in South Africa, we’re seeing more model kits from other franchises including Pokémon.
We picked out Mew here because it looked like the best of the bunch, but the Gunpla South Africa booth had a few options for fans to pick their favourite Pokémon.
As you may have guessed by the name, Gunpla South Africa also have the biggest selection of Gunpla at Comic Con Africa.
What: Manga boxsets
Where: Exclusive Books | Hall 6 | Booth G601
How Much: [Varies]
We’re suckers for boxsets which give you entire arcs or complete sagas all with one purchase and packed into a collectible box, usually with some added extras to make the purchase more worthwhile.
Comic Con Africa 2024 was awash with manga boxsets for all the big franchises, especially at the Exclusive Books booth.
Unfortunately the pricing of these is ludicrously high. We understand that books are big and heavy and expensive to bring into South Africa, but any given manga boxset will cost you several thousand Rand each. We saw several in the R4 000 and R5 000 ranges so just keep that in mind to avoid disappointment.
What: Honourable mention – 1:1 props
Where: Toys r Us | Hall 7 Mega Booth
How much: Too much
Hasbro releases a slew of 1:1 scale props from multiple franchises and at the large Toys r Us stand we found several from Marvel and Star Wars. The equally “life size” blaster from The Mandalorian, made by Nerf, was also on offer.
Unfortunately these are priced even worse than the manga boxsets. The Mandalorian Blaster is R3500, the Nano Gauntlet is R3999, the Trapper Wolf Helmet is R4 799 and the Boba Fett Helmet is R3 999.
Even for the rich these prices are high but they are really cool pieces that stand out in a collection.
