Imagine heading all the way to the Comic Con Africa and not leaving with anything. Sure, you can have a good time at all the gaming setups, Artists Alley and the hundred other things to do. But you probably (hopefully) have money burning a hole in your pocket. We’re here to make that hole a little bigger.
Bear in mind, some of these items can be pretty expensive. But good luck finding these outside of a place like Comic Con — which is sort of the point.
Funko Dance Music
One of the most popular collector items out there? The big-headed almost-bobbleheads, Funko! Pops. The trouble usually is that choice is limited, each store having the same Kabuto figurine that never seems to go out of stock. At Comic Con Africa, Funko themselves showed up to represent, along with the other 50 stores that sell them here.
If you make your way to the Funko booth at any of the four days of Comic Con (22-25 September), you’ll find yourself plenty of Comic Con Africa-exclusive pops to get your hands on. Unlike the previous year’s in-person events, you won’t struggle to get one. You can just walk right in, pay R350, and voila! You have an exclusive Funko Pop in your hands. Some of them actually look pretty cool too. There are also a couple of R200 deals you can grab while you’re there.
Collector’s Heaven
If you’re looking for stuff with real value, you can’t go wrong at the Get Memorabilia stand. Here you will find signed, authentic items like posters, sports boots, and movie props. All are signed by members of the cast, or the sports player in question. This stand is home to one of the more expensive items of the entire Con — the Lionel Messi-signed match-worn shirt will set you back R150,000.
Thankfully not all the items here are quite as expensive. A boxing glove signed by Mike Tyson will only cost you a measly R15,000. Chump change by comparison. Expect items from Stan Lee, Pele, Diego Maradona, Michael Schumacher, and several others.
Sneakin’ around
If you’ve ever watched TikTok you’ve surely come across some accounts that custom paint pairs of Vans. The shoes, not the car. If you make your way to the Dark Carnival Stand you’ll find a lady that sells custom-painted Vans. And who, upon request, will design a shoe to your liking. Pricing can vary based on the shoe type and the intricacy of the design. Expect to pay between R1,200 and R1,600.
Arcade Fires
Here’s something you don’t see every day: High-quality arcade and pinball machines you can actually buy. If you felt like playing the original Pac-Man the way it was intended to be played, you’ll need to have R10,500 just lying ’round. Some cheaper machines like Street Fighter IV will set you back R7,900. Yes, it’s not cheap. But it’s awesome.
Hot Toys
True nerds everywhere know what Hot Toys are – some of the most intricate and frankly large figurines out there. These aren’t the ones you play with when you’re five years old. These are collectibles, Mom! If you make your way over to the Hobby Island stand (it’s hard to miss) you’ll find plenty on display. We asked around, and only three of the 40 or so statues are in stock and ready to go. The rest… well… you’ll need to just wait until Hobby Island has them in stock.
The three statues on sale are Iron Man, Thanos, and Captain America which you can find down below. For the Mad King, you’re paying R7,900. To own the Infinity Stones Iron Man, get ready to fork over R6,900. The cheapest of the lot is Captain America, who goes for R4,200.
More sneakers
Yes, we’re back with more shoes. The ones from Bathu SA aren’t custom, but that doesn’t stop them from being rad. As Stuff was walking by, something caught our eye. It was a pair of Sasuke shoes. The first thoughts that came to mind were; “is there a Naruto pair? And whether they came in my size.” The answer to both of those questions was a resounding “no”. We did find out how much the Sasuke pair cost because it was still cool to see. If you’d like a pair, you’ll need to bring R1,500 with you to the Con. There were other shoes there too, but too many to grab pictures of them all.
There are still tickets available for Comic Con Africa this Sunday as Saturday’s tickets are completely sold out. Move quickly if you want to land yourself any of these awesome items, or any of the thousands of others, available this year.