We’re not sure about you, but Artist Alley in Hall 4 is, year after year, Stuff’s favourite place to get some steps in at Comic Con Africa. This year’s edition — currently in full swing at Nasrec — has gone all out on everything from gaming to pop culture. But without the artists who inspire the media we love, it wouldn’t be called Comic Con, would it? We wandered through the various stalls to see what’s on offer inside Hall 4 at this year’s event.
Let’s just get this out of the way once and for all. There was some concern that generative AI would bring out the weirdos looking to make a quick buck off fans. Unless our BS-radar is defective, we didn’t get even a whiff of artificially generated art. The comics, the prints, and the people all feel thoroughly authentic. You’d hope that’d be the norm in a place called Artist Alley, but having visited London’s Comic Con, we can tell you it isn’t.
Go make a superhero in Artist Alley
If the name wasn’t a dead giveaway, art is at the forefront of Artist Alley. If you need more proof, how about Sam Humphries (in the flesh) giving you insight into how he does what he does? That, alongside plenty of other live installations and artists, can be found in the Creator Corner of Hall 4 all weekend, completely free of charge.
You might even learn a thing or two. That’s the whole goal, with presentations such as ‘How to make your webtoon into a TV series’ and ‘Bringing characters to life: Live colouring and Q&A’ running all weekend. You’ll find a schedule posted up near the corner, so plan out your day accordingly once you arrive.
Then there are the stalls themselves, stuffed with homegrown artists selling off their own art at, in our opinion, pretty reasonable prices. You’ll find more of that inside the Crafters Pavilion, where stalls also sell little bits and pieces of their own creation. If a print or hand-made plushie isn’t your thing, maybe a tattoo will do?
