Home Comics & Toys The unfortunate truth behind Comic-Con South Africa

The unfortunate truth behind Comic-Con South Africa

7 min read
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BadNews

Yesterday was a great day for all comic book fans in this fine country when it was revealed that we are will soon be hosting our very own Comic-Con. However those good feelings started dissipating almost immediately as the more we looked into this event the more it started to unravel.

Quite a few sites were quite happy to throw the news up quickly yesterday with little to no fact-checking but after some deeper investigation we have some sad news for you all.

Virtually everything you think you know about this event isn’t true.

Yes there is an event called Comic Con South Africa being planned, you can even see their website here. Notice the incorrect spelling in the domain? It is billing itself as the world’s premier comic book expo, which is quite a bold statement so lets see how they are backing that up.

Exhibitors

Marvel South Africa were touted as the big name at the event; that is until Marvel South Africa was revealed to not exist. Now all we know is that some unknown party will be doing something with the Marvel Superheroes Magazine.

The Outer Limits comic book store will be there.. and selling some comics. As will Vinyl Junkie, another comic book shop.

ZombieGamer, one of the local gaming media websites is apparently going to be organising a competitive LAN but in their own words it sounds even worse:

“An event that still awaits full details to appear is Comic Con SA.  What we do know is that the event is scheduled to happen over the weekend of 25 to 27 April.  It will be at a venue in Cape Town called ‘It’s A House’.  It has Marvel SA’s support.  It will focus on local comic book artists and writers.  Anime, cosplay and Magic will feature.  And we have been asked to operate a competitive LAN at the event.  As we said, details will follow, but the weekend is worth keeping open.”

Apparently there will also be local comic author support.  And that’s about it, so it’s not quite the world’s premier comic book expo but hey at least it’s something. Until you start digging deeper. 

Venue

So with the excitement that has surrounded the event at an all-time high, let’s take a look at where they are hosting it. They’ve chosen Cape Town which isn’t such a bad idea as it’s a reasonably nice city;though it will ensure fewer people can attend. However they have the Cape Town Convention Centre which can hold thousands of eager comic-book fans.

Or they have “It’s a house”.. a strange venue that describes itself as:

“a ‘bespoke lifestyle’ a creative concept geared toward creating an environment where people can embody and express their inner creative being.”

And that can only hold 150 people. Yes, only 150 people are allowed in the building at one time which means that once you have included the exhibitors and friends they are only going to allow about 70 people to attend.

The Timing

The event is planned to take place from the 26th-28th of April 2013. That’s in exactly three weeks time giving absolutely no time at all for proper preparations on the part of distributors and exhibitors, or for fans from around the country to organise travel and accommodation to attend the event.

The organisers are saying they are blown away by the huge response their event has received but that simply points to them not really having any idea about the comic book fan base in South Africa or the culture that follows it.. which led us to contact Comic-Con themselves and check out whether this is truly an affiliated event.

The response was swift and clear with Mike Stoltz, PR for Comic-Con International responding:

“Thank you for your email.  We are not affiliated with that convention and don’t know anything about it.”

disappointface

The Organisers

The only person talking on behalf of the event is Tlou Ramatlhodi, who is listed as the Director of Research and Development at GetItGotItGood, a company whose website is strange to say the least.

The only thing that exists on it is an image for Vuzix hardware and the title of the page is “Vuzix – View The Future Today” and with a page description of:

“Vuzix is the leader in Video Eyewear and personal display devices for the mobile video, entertainment, defense and commercial markets”

So these guys do Video Eyewear? Well, no. The company Vuzix does exist but its website is http://www.vuzix.com/, and it has absolutely nothing to do with South Africa.

Some deeper searching into Tlou has him based in Pretoria on multiple occasions but people move so we can’t take much from that. Another name on the official website is that of Petrol Bomb Productions however a search of that name reveals nothing but a holding page on Facebook. Not quite the production company that would be chosen to host the worlds premier comic book expo.

And the last company who’s linked to on the official site is C-Technology,  which directs to http://www.mzingaye.com/; a suspended site. However a whois lookup on that domain lists it belonging to Mzingaye Dube, of Pretoria, under the business name of Census Technologies.

A quick google search on that company name brings us to a few classified listings that claim the company has been around since 2005 and does the following:

Graphic Designing, Website Development, Online Marketing, Writing / Content Generating, Admin, IT Hardware/Software Sales, End-user Support, PC Maintenance, IT Auditing, Client Liaisons, Being Innovative, Creative and Growing my Entrepreneurial Mind.

The director of this company is Mzingaye Dube who is also listed on a whois lookup of the “official” Comic Con SA website, along with Tlou who is once again listed as being based in Pretoria. We now know a fair amount about both of these guys  – and yet  they both show no relation to events, comics or the general geek culture in any way.

Thiswillnotendwell

Community

What really matters is the community and let’s take a look at the smattering of comments on the articles that have covered the event:

Hein Heine – Seriously? You give us 3 weeks to make arrangements for this… Then when it flops there is no market here for this… Seriously guys do things right the first time!

ApexPred – Smells like a get rich quick scheme to me. It seems like these guys got the rights, but probably don’t know the first thing about organizing an event of this nature. Its quite sad. An event like this should be hyped up for months before its inaugural opening.

Stefan Roets – The organisation of this is terrible! I am intimately involved on a national level with 3 of the major collectible card game brands in SA and we have to find out here that they plan to host card game championships?
3 weeks notice to make travel and accommodation arrangements is a joke – this might just as well be a Cape Town affair, as I doubt the rest of the country will pitch.

It goes on and on.

In Closing

We’re not against a good Comic Con event or even a bad one; that is at least trying. However this is not going to be the biggest comic book event in South Africa by a long shot –  and is simply going to harm the good name of Comic Con.

Hosting a comic book convention at a bar and giving free entrance to women who dress in cosplay is disturbing, especially when looked at in light of this piece of information given to themovies

“doors will be open for the whole family from 09:00 to 17:30. Thereafter though, alcohol will also be served on the premises, which unfortunately means that all under 18?s will have to be evacuated as the fun continues until late into the night.”

If it goes well, then great! I’ll happily eat my hat and say I was wrong, but this doesn’t smell right to me.

To the organisers: next time you host an event make sure your websites are currently up and running, not misleading and have real information on them. Take a look at the Irish Welsh comic con page to give you some idea on what looks reputable.

As a note, all of this information was researched independently and we have not been in contact with the organisers. Their public comments and statements have been taken into account though.

Last Updated: January 4, 2017

173 Comments

  1. Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

    April 5, 2013 at 09:03

    What the f*ck…?

    Reply

  2. Admiral Chief Erwin

    April 5, 2013 at 09:04

    WHAT IS GOING ON WITH NEWS THIS WEEK????

    Reply

    • Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew

      April 5, 2013 at 09:07

      Lucasarts, downsizing at other game companies, 1313 cancelled.

      I’m gonna chalk this up as a bad news week. I think todays best and worst of article should have an award for “week with most bad news at once”

      Reply

      • Kervyn Cloete

        April 5, 2013 at 09:21

        You forget Iain M Banks being given a year to live, and Roger Ebert passing away last night. This is truly a kak week for news.

        Reply

        • Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew

          April 5, 2013 at 09:24

          Yeah, can’t forget such legends either.

          Reply

        • Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

          April 5, 2013 at 09:30

          And Roger Ebert passed away yesterday… 🙁

          Edit, sorry just saw you had included Mr Ebert…

          Reply

          • Sir Captain Rincethis

            April 5, 2013 at 09:35

            And Iain Banks has cancer 🙁

        • Sir Captain Rincethis

          April 5, 2013 at 09:44

          See below. What a crap week!

          Reply

  3. Admiral Chief Erwin

    April 5, 2013 at 09:05

    Ag nee hel

    Reply

  4. Admiral Chief Erwin

    April 5, 2013 at 09:05

    and some of this

    Reply

    • Purple_Dragon

      April 5, 2013 at 09:36

      Brilliant, took the “words” out of my mouth. I was just facepalming the whole time I’m reading the article.

      Reply

  5. Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew

    April 5, 2013 at 09:06

    Wow. I honestly hope this surprises us all and is successful. But it’s a rocky start

    Reply

  6. umar bastra

    April 5, 2013 at 09:07

    thanx LG … though this is really sad … My wife and I were talking about dressing up and cosplaying this bad boy but man this all seems shoddy 🙁 🙁 …… I’m really sad was really looking forward to this!! 🙁 ……………sounds to dodgy for my liking

    Reply

  7. umar bastra

    April 5, 2013 at 09:11

    In my mind…it was COMIC-CON, you see on TV lol now its just comic – con…emphasis on CON

    Reply

  8. Slade Boender

    April 5, 2013 at 09:16

    holy hell. And I thought my braai arranging skills were lacking. Shocking.

    Reply

    • matthurstrsa

      April 8, 2013 at 07:49

      Bring meat and drinks. Braai arranged? Or are my standards too low?

      Reply

  9. TriangularRoom

    April 5, 2013 at 09:18

    Well now, this is just downright disturbing. I didn’t realise they had planned it for this month – that’s madness! Never mind all the other dodgy stuff that’s you’ve brought to light here.

    I also noticed a complete lack of some other aspects of geek culture that should have a place at an event like this – roleplaying and boardgaming, to mention two biggies.

    Reply

    • Slade Boender

      April 5, 2013 at 09:20

      i personally think its a shoddy house party that got some run on the net. Either way, I hope its alright. Just a bit crap that they used one of the biggest names in the industry to run their “expo”

      Reply

      • Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

        April 5, 2013 at 09:43

        The sad part of this is, that it could have torpedoed a legitimate Comic-con attempt. With the huge movie studio next to Khayelitsha and the definite desire for international actors and film companies to be in the Cape. A real effort could have been made to bring the two together, and throw a legitimate, sanctioned Comic-con, with appearances from old favourites like William Shatner (who seems to live in Cape Town these days), or another wannabe-Capetownian, Ryan Reynolds..

        This lame-brain attempt at a cash-in will remain as a stain now, and if someone approached the organisers of (THE REAL) Comic-con, the battle will be even more difficult now.

        I feel like punching a damn hipster in the nose now…

        Reply

  10. TriangularRoom

    April 5, 2013 at 09:19

    Also, 150 people? That’s not a convention! Heck, that’s smaller than most people’s weddings…

    Reply

    • Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

      April 5, 2013 at 09:24

      That’s a Burns Night Supper at the Community Hall… :/

      Reply

    • TechniKyle

      April 5, 2013 at 09:24

      I’m going to take a walk past this venue later today (luckily it’s not far from my bus stop) and see if it’s actually big enough for 150 people…

      Reply

      • Exalted Overlord Geoffrey Tim

        April 5, 2013 at 09:25

        • TechniKyle

          April 5, 2013 at 09:28

          Thanks!

          Reply

        • Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

          April 5, 2013 at 09:28

          I need a facepalm picture.. STAT!!

          Reply

        • Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew

          April 5, 2013 at 09:32

          That place be big yo! #UltimateSarcasmNoJutsu

          Reply

          • Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

            April 5, 2013 at 09:33

            It’s an optical illusion, those wooden beams in the background are actually 10 kilometres away…

          • Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew

            April 5, 2013 at 09:34

            It’s magic! Hogwarts does exist! I knew it!

        • umar bastra

          April 5, 2013 at 09:39

          lol that venues totally feels like comic-con

          Reply

        • Trevor Davies

          April 5, 2013 at 09:43

          After seeing that place I have yet another reason for rarely venturing from behind the boerewors curtain

          Reply

          • HvR

            April 5, 2013 at 13:45

            Thank God we’ve got the Goodwood and Parow people to keep this lot pinned down in the south.

  11. Kervyn Cloete

    April 5, 2013 at 09:20

    Since posting my initial article on TheMovies, I have been trying like crazy to get hold of Tlou again. No luck. He’s not responding to his personal email, and the “official” email for ComicCon SA bounces back.

    Reply

    • Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

      April 5, 2013 at 09:29

      I smell shenanigans…

      Reply

      • Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew

        April 5, 2013 at 09:35

        What? No Sharingans?

        Reply

        • Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

          April 5, 2013 at 09:36

          Carebearigans!

          Reply

          • Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew

            April 5, 2013 at 09:37

            #ShockedGasp No!

  12. Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

    April 5, 2013 at 09:20

    I actually assumed that it was going to be an official (i.e. proper) Comic-Con, with an emphasis on local comic book artists. I should have known it was a crock. Earlier this week, I asked my cousin whether he was going attend, present or have some of his books on sale. He replied “Say what?””

    Reply

    • Moray Rhoda

      April 5, 2013 at 11:10

      who’s your cousin? I am organising a proper comic event in 7-8 September in Cape Town, tell him to come to that. I can confirm that we will have 5 comic launches, 8 seminars/presentations, 43 artists and a two day workshop. All this free to the public 🙂

      Reply

      • Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

        April 5, 2013 at 11:12

        He might actually be going to the one in September, will ask him. If not I’ll DM you twitter.

        Reply

      • Gavin Mannion

        April 5, 2013 at 11:14

        don’t forget to keep us informed

        Reply

  13. Exalted Overlord Geoffrey Tim

    April 5, 2013 at 09:25

    Oh, here’s the venue..for those interested.

    http://andlollipops.com/2013/02/03/its-a-house-cape-town/

    Reply

  14. TechniKyle

    April 5, 2013 at 09:25

    If I can get in, I’ll go, will send a blow by blow via twitter…

    Reply

  15. Sir Captain Rincethis

    April 5, 2013 at 09:26

    This really PISSES me off. I did some of my own investigating yesterday and what Gavin lists above is pretty much what I found out (though I didn’t go as far as domain name registrations, didn’t have time!) The location Green Point is in a shitty area too. This saddens me as I wanted to go have a look with a few mates, we are DESPERATE for something like this to take place in Cape Town, not Pretoria, not JHB, CAPE, FUCKING, TOWN. I would post Le Sigh here, but that is too soft I fear!

    Reply

    • Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew

      April 5, 2013 at 09:28

      Le RAWWWR?

      Reply

      • Sir Captain Rincethis

        April 5, 2013 at 09:29

        Yes! Le RAWWWWWWR!

        Reply

    • Carl Angus

      April 5, 2013 at 11:54

      What madness is this!

      Africa wena, not Le-France!!!

      Please in future… E-RAAAWWR

      Reply

  16. Lebogang Molefo

    April 5, 2013 at 09:27

    🙁

    Reply

    • Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

      April 5, 2013 at 09:29

      What a month this is turning out to be… 🙁

      Reply

      • Lebogang Molefo

        April 5, 2013 at 11:42

        April seems like a sucky month, hopefully Upcon will make up for all this disappointments

        Reply

  17. Sir Captain Rincethis

    April 5, 2013 at 09:30

    I think it’s some sick kindda SAW movie snuff thing going on. Not going, I can tell you that…

    Reply

    • TechniKyle

      April 5, 2013 at 09:31

      Please, please, please come, and bring OVG… Gotta witness the rants with my own eyes!

      Reply

    • Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

      April 5, 2013 at 09:32

      I was kind of excited. I even thought about coming out of hiding, wearing a banana suit and standing around comic con for the lulz. Now, I’ll just wear a banana suit at home, play some Battlefield 3 and eat pizza.

      Reply

      • Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew

        April 5, 2013 at 09:33

        Pics or it didn’t happen!

        Reply

  18. Tapped Lands

    April 5, 2013 at 09:34

    FINALLY!

    You did what mygaming couldn’t, so kudo’s to you!

    Reply

    • Sir Captain Rincethis

      April 5, 2013 at 09:43

      In their defence, they have also updated their article (they said they would in the comments section yesterday when a reader pointed out the total lack of clarity in their first article, editor apologised)

      Reply

      • Tapped Lands

        April 5, 2013 at 09:48

        “Fair enough James. Part of me still feels that yes, you are a news site, and your job is to report on events as they unfold, but it’s also a journalists job to check the credibility of their sources.

        Hypothetically speaking: I say I have a cure for the common cold. The BBC publishes it without asking to see my test results or data proving it to be true. People around the world read it. If it turned out to be an over-exaggeration at best, or a complete lie at worst, it’s safe to assume that readers would be a little bit unhappy that the BBC didn’t bother to check the validity of my story.

        But maybe that’s just the way I see it.” Response by Rowan Govender. I think that sums up mygaming’s journalistic approach to their articles.

        Reply

        • Sir Captain Rincethis

          April 5, 2013 at 09:55

          Was it a news article? It looked like an event notification, albeit a rather vacuous one 🙂

          Reply

        • James Etherington-Smith

          April 5, 2013 at 10:14

          I take umbrage at the thinly veiled assertion that MyGaming did no fact checking.

          We didn’t simply throw up the news – MyGaming was first to break the news of this Comic Con. We were first to get in contact with the organiser to try and get details on the event. We published the information provided by the organiser.

          We then followed up on various elements of the story, such as association with Marvel SA (turned out they quickly backtracked on that, as reflected in our reporting), Involvement of stores such as Outer Limits, venue size and confirmation that it was indeed booked out for a Comic Con. We even did all the simple stuff such as looking up domain name registrations to see who was involved, but we didn’t want to engage in character assassination before the organiser even have a chance to prove themselves.

          I even now have comment from Vuzix denying any involvement with getitgotitgood.co.za and saying they will be requesting their company logo and name be removed from their site.

          In terms of Comic-Con International affiliation – I’m not surprised they denied it because the term Comic-Con isn’t a brand owned by anyone – it’s a generic term for “comic convention”. Anyone can use it, but it does of course carry a lot of expectation with that name.

          As for the BBC analogy, it’s completely flawed – the hypothetical is that the BBC reported on something that turned out to be untrue without checking anything. MyGaming checked, and in fact, it’s likely there wouldn’t be any of this hubbub around Comic Con SA without us making the first move to get some info.

          My original analogy was that blaming MyGaming for a crappy Comic Con would be akin to blaming the BBC for nuclear war because they reported on statements made by North Korea.
          Last week when the first rumblings of this story appeared via Twitter, it turns out that we were the first (only) news site to actually react and try and get to the bottom of the story. Thinly cast aspersions in a reactionary piece do not go unnoticed. And at the end of it all, Lazygamer hasn’t even posted the actual event details as finalised by the organisers (which you can go read over on MyGaming).

          Reply

          • Gavin Mannion

            April 5, 2013 at 10:24

            I hope this isn’t a thinly veiled attack on us…

            We didn’t post the event details as we believe it is a sham that we wouldn’t like to push our wonderful readers towards. They are also smart enough to follow the links in the article if they really want to go.

            I also did not character assassinate I posted an investigative piece.. there is a small but important difference.

            But thanks for commenting 🙂

          • Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew

            April 5, 2013 at 10:28

            Lol, why are you ranting at someone who made a comment on this article? The comment isn’t the viewpoint of the lazygamer’s staff is it? I think you need to relax a tad there dude.

            MyGaming wasn’t the only site that reported on this. I saw a lot of sites yesterday that “Just threw up news”. So why are you taking such personal offence? Feeling guilty there?

            I have a lot of respect for MyGaming. Please don’t destroy that respect now with this kind of ranting.

          • Anon A Mouse

            April 5, 2013 at 10:50

            If you or one of LG’s staff can reply I’ll be grateful since this is a question I’ve always had. Isn’t it better to rather fact check and then report on a story / event, than to be first out of the block and then have to do updates afterwards? Please note I’m not knocking MyGaming in any way, it’s just something I’ve always wondered. Surely being first has it’s positives but having to retract or update the story afterwards surely is more of a negative that to be the first to break a story.

          • Exalted Overlord Geoffrey Tim

            April 5, 2013 at 11:01

            I think they’re both pretty important. In the online news arena, it’s generally that first to report news wins; breaking news is important. We’ve been guilty of it too; rushing to get news up first and then having to add or edit it all later.

            That said, I think fact checking, at least rudimentary sort is perhaps even more vital – because it prevents you from looking like a numpty after the fact.

          • Tapped Lands

            April 5, 2013 at 12:59

            What the hell dude? Why come on this site and rant? I was not turning this into a LG vs MG fight. I find this extremely unprofessional of you.

            I find both itsahouse, and MyGaming to be at fault in this situation. More so itsahouse, by a long, long shot. And I have directed my feelings towards them both via email, and facebook. The bottom line in my eyes in this:

            Your job as a company is to inform the public on gaming, or geek culture news, reviews, etc. However, slapping up something for however many readers, that has not been properly investigated, as in, you doing the job you are paid for, is extremely unprofessional. Age old saying, do the job right the first time. You are meant to have your ear to the ground.

            But enough of this nonsense. My suggestion is to erase this article, and everything surrounding it. If the organizers want to market it, let them do it via other channels. Either that, or expose them for what they truly are.

        • Exalted Overlord Geoffrey Tim

          April 5, 2013 at 10:28

          Look, I don’t think Mygaming are the bad guys here. i’m not even sure we’d have even known about it were it not for them. Mygaming reported on news.

          Direct your anger instead towards the organisers. The whole thing was fishy from the start.

          Reply

        • Lydon Daniel McGrane

          April 5, 2013 at 11:10

          Turning this into a Lazy Gamer vs. My Gaming fight is just silly. We should be banding together as a community in our frustration with the organisers. Regardless, your analogy makes no sense. One either invents a cure for the common cold or one doesn’t. There’s no grey area in-between where one could exaggerate. In this case, Comic Con SA IS happening just as My Gaming reported. The issue is that it isn’t going to meet our expectations of what a Comic Con should be. That isn’t My Gaming’s fault in the slightest. How would it be any different to Virgin, for example, announcing Virgin Festival South Africa, mainstream media reporting on what they have said, and the event being a total letdown in the end once the lineup and other details are finally revealed?

          Reply

          • Exalted Overlord Geoffrey Tim

            April 5, 2013 at 11:23

            “We should be banding together as a community in our frustration with the organisers.”

            Truth.

          • Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew

            April 5, 2013 at 13:01

            banding together? Yeah, you are absolutely right

          • Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

            April 5, 2013 at 15:29

            Spoken like a true, Internet-end level Boss!

  19. Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

    April 5, 2013 at 09:35

    Thank you Gavin… 🙁 Now I can return to my work, all depressed, but at least you saved me the embarrassment of mingling with hipster scum. All 140 of them… LULZ! (TrollingForCoins) :/

    Reply

    • Anon A Mouse

      April 5, 2013 at 09:38

      Who is this “coins” you are talking about.

      Reply

      • Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

        April 5, 2013 at 09:46

        I have no idea, it came to me while I was sipping really strong ginger beer. You know the kind where the raisins are all bloated, and the alcohol content is at vodka levels…

        Reply

  20. LaBetenoir

    April 5, 2013 at 09:36

    I’m so sorry to be *that person* but your link to the “Irish” comic-con is actually for Wales.

    Reply

    • Exalted Overlord Geoffrey Tim

      April 5, 2013 at 09:38

      Gavin’s English, so it’s all the same place to him. Thanks, fixed.

      Reply

      • Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

        April 5, 2013 at 09:57

        HAHHAHAHHAHA!

        Reply

      • Admiral Chief Erwin

        April 5, 2013 at 11:00

        XDXDXDXD

        Reply

      • LaBetenoir

        April 5, 2013 at 11:42

        it wouldn’t have bothered me so much, except Torchwood.

        Reply

    • Gavin Mannion

      April 5, 2013 at 10:08

      after all my investigating I get that wrong… I feel bad

      Reply

      • Sir Captain Rincethis

        April 5, 2013 at 10:31

        lol

        Reply

      • Admiral Chief Erwin

        April 5, 2013 at 11:01

        UNDERPANTS CANDIDATE!

        Reply

  21. Anon A Mouse

    April 5, 2013 at 09:39

    Ahh Swings ~ Buying doctors their second homes since 1846.

    Reply

  22. Super_Bonk

    April 5, 2013 at 09:46

    When I first read this on news24 I knew it was just a bunch of bs. Are they even allowed to use the Comic-Con name. And the venue??? ”evacuate the under 18’s” lol

    Reply

    • Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

      April 5, 2013 at 09:51

      I don’t think so, as for the venue, this is turning into one of those sleazy District 6 art exhibits. You know the kind where the guy is unveiling his latest “art” and its two empty paint cans with rope tied around them…

      “Fully bru.. so deep, like the art.. it like lank speaks to you bru.. like right here bru.. in your observatory heart…bru”

      Reply

      • Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew

        April 5, 2013 at 09:52

        Hahahaha #CryingFromLaughter

        Reply

      • umar bastra

        April 5, 2013 at 09:52

        ROFLOL!!!!! Omg hats off to you

        Reply

  23. Trebzz

    April 5, 2013 at 09:46

    GameX all over again now its called Comic Con 😛

    Reply

    • Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

      April 5, 2013 at 09:47

      I guess Cape Town is just cursed. At least we have SexPo and the Tattoo convention. Yay!

      Reply

      • DieJason

        April 5, 2013 at 11:08

        There are the monthly 2Up meetups man, come on round so we can put a face to the banana!

        Reply

        • Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

          April 5, 2013 at 11:09

          Hahahah “put a face to the banana”

          Reply

          • DieJason

            April 5, 2013 at 11:11

            Oh wait, that sentence has so many meanings O_o

          • Admiral Chief Erwin

            April 5, 2013 at 11:12

            You burned yourself there dude LOL

          • DieJason

            April 5, 2013 at 11:14

            SIEK, julle is SIEK! 😉

          • TechniKyle

            April 5, 2013 at 12:57

            See you next week dude!

          • DieJason

            April 5, 2013 at 13:06

            Hopefully! I actually need to check out the ol social schedule, hoping I have nothing else on that eve. But the new venue is great, and loads of things happening, gonna be a good one

          • Admiral Chief Erwin

            April 5, 2013 at 11:12

            XDXDXDXDXD

        • Trebzz

          April 5, 2013 at 11:35

          I made plans for this Friday to be in CT for 2UP and they moved it to next week so for us in Gauteng or anywhere else its always going to be a fail to attend

          Reply

        • Trebzz

          April 5, 2013 at 11:35

          I made plans for this Friday to be in CT for 2UP and they moved it to next week so for us in Gauteng or anywhere else its always going to be a fail to attend

          Reply

    • umar bastra

      April 5, 2013 at 09:48

      What is GameX?

      Reply

      • Trebzz

        April 5, 2013 at 09:59

        As Geoff once told me it was going to be like a fleamarket and he was spot on about that 😛 it was an event that was supposed to be held during April and was going to be like rAge.

        Reply

        • umar bastra

          April 5, 2013 at 10:02

          Did some googling found no info, was announced last year wand was supposed to happen this month. why are these people samming cape tonians

          Reply

        • Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

          April 5, 2013 at 11:08

          I think GameX eventually happened… in someone’s garage or in their backyard. Quartered-cheese sandwiches were served and home-made ginger bear was sold for R14 a glass.

          Reply

          • Wtf101

            April 5, 2013 at 13:23

            I’m worried about the Ginger bear that was sold…

          • Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

            April 5, 2013 at 21:54

            HAHAHAHAH GINGER BEAR!!! Ok, I’m not re-editing it, that’s hilarious!

            Ginger Bears have no souls!

          • Trebzz

            April 5, 2013 at 15:13

            Still cheaper then the prices at rAge 😛

      • Nicholas Hall

        April 5, 2013 at 11:43

        It was meant to be a Gameing Expo, but it had similar problems to this one, about 2 weeks notice to “vendors”, poor organisation etc. In the end it got cancelled due to trade mark infringement. I’ve heard they are going to have ago at it again, but under a different name

        Reply

  24. umar bastra

    April 5, 2013 at 09:48

    You saved us from these homeless people

    Reply

  25. LAblak22

    April 5, 2013 at 10:02

    The skepticism is now valid. This thing was too good to be true. SA could very easily have a successful comic-con, but it needs to be done right and not by these… people.

    Reply

  26. DieJason

    April 5, 2013 at 10:14

    “It’s A Convention Centre” must have been booked on that weekend

    Reply

    • Gavin Mannion

      April 5, 2013 at 10:24

      Geoff had to explain the joke to me… that made me feel bad 🙁

      Reply

      • DieJason

        April 5, 2013 at 10:27

        Don’t feel bad, had to explain to Taariq Moosa as well 😉

        Reply

        • Tauriq Moosa

          April 5, 2013 at 10:45

          Learn to spell.

          Reply

          • DieJason

            April 5, 2013 at 10:49

            My humblest apologies Sir!

      • Anon A Mouse

        April 5, 2013 at 10:35

        Hahaha, I had to read it twice before the lights came on as well. Well played @DieJason:disqus well played.

        Reply

    • Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew

      April 5, 2013 at 13:31

      Ok, I have been struggling for 3 hours with this. I feel seriously dumb right now….

      Reply

      • DieJason

        April 5, 2013 at 13:42

        The venue for Comic Con SA is called “It’s a House”, only caters for 150 people. I am saying that the first choice must have “It’s a Convention Centre” but it had already been booked?

        Reply

        • Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew

          April 5, 2013 at 13:43

          Oooooooh! *facepalm*

          Can’t believe I didn’t see that. It’s so obvious.

          DOH

          Reply

  27. Kingkappie

    April 5, 2013 at 10:21

    I will attend this and give you feed back (ps i think this will be gr8 not the real Comic con but still gr8)

    Reply

    • Gavin Mannion

      April 5, 2013 at 10:31

      I truly hope it will be great… they should have just called it something else though

      Reply

  28. Super_Bonk

    April 5, 2013 at 10:35

    I am so upset now, it is time to go

    Reply

  29. Callum Bird

    April 5, 2013 at 10:43

    Great article. Unfortunately we got the Worlds Premier Comic Con(fidence scheme)

    Tlou may as well put up on the website ” Hi I am a confidence trickster and I plan to steal your life savings”

    Reply

  30. Tau'ri

    April 5, 2013 at 11:09

    Well… at least they got it right for the ‘con” part.

    Reply

  31. Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

    April 5, 2013 at 11:10

    The little tidbit on Tlou Ramatlhodi is the most illuminating. Great work guys, I think you need to follow this up with a more in-depth piece.

    Reply

    • Gavin Mannion

      April 5, 2013 at 11:13

      how much more do you want to know?

      Reply

      • Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

        April 5, 2013 at 11:44

        #ShakesFist EVERYTHING!

        Reply

        • ElNicko

          April 5, 2013 at 13:36

          You want the truth ?? – YOU Can’t handle the truth !!

          Reply

  32. Carl Angus

    April 5, 2013 at 11:31

    A great deal of US Comic-Con success is based on the Fame factor, guys go to get autographs from celebrities, old star trek actors, comic book writers etc.

    Which celebrities will be signing stuff at the SA comic Con?

    Reply

  33. Callan Richard Smith

    April 5, 2013 at 11:35

    Sigh.

    Reply

    • Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew

      April 5, 2013 at 13:34

      Yikes! That’s gonna give me nightmares for a week

      Reply

  34. Go2hell66

    April 5, 2013 at 11:40

    Frauds exposed!

    Reply

  35. jGLZA

    April 5, 2013 at 11:58

    The Free Comic Book Day event at Readers Den the following week will be a bigger and better event than this so called Comic Con.

    Reply

    • DieJason

      April 5, 2013 at 12:01

      Great event that, Capetonians should fully support Readers Den – loads of prizes, sales and specials, and cosplay.

      Reply

      • Baka Sakura

        April 5, 2013 at 12:29

        YES! Cosplay, come support your local cosplayers at FCBD. Support the events that are actually well-planned and successful! >w<

        Reply

      • Tauriq Moosa

        April 5, 2013 at 13:59

        I refuse to support any den that houses only readers.

        Reply

        • Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

          April 5, 2013 at 15:28

          What about us… TV watchers:? 😛

          Reply

    • Baka Sakura

      April 5, 2013 at 12:29

      I was wondering when I was going to see you promote FCBD :3

      Reply

      • jGLZA

        April 5, 2013 at 12:38

        LOL. Yes, whenever I get a chance!

        Reply

  36. Charné Banger

    April 5, 2013 at 12:11

    Hosting a comic book convention at a bar and giving free entrance to women who dress in cosplay is disturbing, especially when looked at in light of this piece of information given to themovies

    “doors will be open for the whole family from 09:00 to 17:30. Thereafter though, alcohol will also be served on the premises, which unfortunately means that all under 18?s will have to be evacuated as the fun continues until late into the night.”

    ^ This is very disturbing…
    What type of event is this!?
    And it’s not even a Comic Con!!

    Reply

    • Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

      April 5, 2013 at 20:36

      It’s a block party… :/

      Reply

  37. anonymous

    April 5, 2013 at 12:19

    I’ve met this dude before and he was such a douche… Sorry but I’m enjoying all this Schadenfreude

    Reply

  38. Ipeleng

    April 5, 2013 at 12:36

    Guys, I’m no avid comic reader (in fact, I pretty much don’t read them at all) and I have little to know knowledge of the culture, I can relate to what you guys are going through. Anyway, on to the point of my comment: from a semantic perspective – check Exhibit A: http://comiconsa.com/ and Exhibit B: http://www.comic-con.org/ … Comicon and Comic-con are different. So this South African one (Comicon) IS the real Comicon – but if you want Comic-Con, look elsewhere. Like say, someone says, “Metallica is coming to SA, here’s the event at Computicket. Check this website” and you’re like, “Sweet.” and you check and indeed, Metallicc-Ka are coming to SA, book at Comp-U-Tick It, would you bitch about being conned? No, I think you’d have more of a leg to stand on, in terms of facepalming and getting bent out of shape if they actually advertised it as Comic-Con. Just me.

    Reply

    • L1ghtn1ngZA

      April 5, 2013 at 12:40

      You wouldn’t happen to be one of the organisers would you?

      Reply

    • Gavin Mannion

      April 5, 2013 at 12:49

      It’s a valid point but they have stated they are affiliated with Comic-Con and their logo says Comic Con and not Comicon

      Reply

  39. Jean Jordaan

    April 5, 2013 at 12:52

    Here is a wild Idea. There clearly seems to be a market/need for a proper “comic-con” in SA. What is stopping you guys ( LazyGamer and the community as a whole) to get the proper rights from Comic-Con. Get all the stores/publishers etc involved and have a proper comic con. Could even be held in Capetown (CTCC??).
    Judging by the vocal and emotional response to this “farce” I am sure there would be enough people interested enough to actually attend and make this a success?
    Like the saying goes ” 3 kinds of people in the world, those who know whats happening, those who don’t and then there are those who make things happen”
    Am I being totally crazy or could this actually be a viable idea?

    Reply

    • ElNicko

      April 5, 2013 at 13:36

      closest thing we have in SA is ICON which is in jhb in July.

      Reply

    • Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

      April 5, 2013 at 20:33

      I reckon it’s pretty expensive. You’ll need sponsors to help finance it, and that’s not easy. In South Africa, who’s going to sponsor a massive comic book convention? You’re left with our local comic book stores. You’re also not going to get the real Comic-con to organise it for you, but rather you’re going to lease the name, build a team, maybe get Comic-con to send a representative to oversee and guide you (which you’ll probably have to pay for). Then you have to book a venue (another cost), advertise… etc. etc..

      It’s doable though, but you’re looking at a serious amount of legwork before you can even say you’re going to have a comic-con in South Africa (or maybe I’m overthinking it, and this stuff is Carebearigans.)

      Reply

  40. Nicola Dee Van As

    April 5, 2013 at 12:58

    Thanks LG for following up on all this. It’s sad to think that people can take something that they no nothing about and make it horrible for others.

    Reply

  41. Hylton Arendse

    April 5, 2013 at 13:07

    Really this comes as no surprise- Thanks Gavin for investigating this – The warning lights should have gone when we realised how lose this was planned to Free Comic Book Day – seriously if it were legit they would have known this!

    Reply

  42. Wtf101

    April 5, 2013 at 13:21

    • Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew

      April 5, 2013 at 13:23

      Hahaha! Now that’s publicity!

      Reply

  43. Zach Attakk Groenewald

    April 5, 2013 at 13:24

    I think the take-away from this isn’t whether it’s Comic Con or not. Whatever they called this event, it’s poorly organised, advertising is non-existent, they barely made contact with any stores in the hobby industry and the deadline is a tenth of any event of its kind. Upcon, ICON and Dragonfire are organised almost a year in advance. I own a hobby shop in Cape Town and I heard about the event from a customer posting it on our Facebook wall the other day.

    Pathetic.

    Reply

  44. Karyn Brocklebank

    April 5, 2013 at 13:51

    Thanks for a very informative article! You managed to answer all the questions the “organiser” couldn’t answer when we called him yesterday.

    Reply

  45. Tauriq Moosa

    April 5, 2013 at 13:54

    Best article I’ve read on LG. Well done, Gavin. Amazing what some reason, second-questioning, and clarity can bring.

    Reply

  46. Karyn Brocklebank

    April 5, 2013 at 14:00

    So after the disappointment of Comic Con, here is some good news! Cosmic Comics in Northcliff is having a special this Saturday, buy any 2 graphic novels and receive a selected 3rd one for FREE!! Also they are hosting Free Comic Book Day on May 4th, and the store holds more than 70 people!!

    Reply

  47. Kromas

    April 5, 2013 at 14:25

    150 people?? That’s not a horse that’s a guy banging two coconuts together!

    Reply

  48. iheartlungs

    April 5, 2013 at 14:31

    I’m pretty insulted they offer free entry to cosplay ladies – pretty disgusted in general actually. Saddened that this even is happening under a shroud of mystery and weirdness.

    Reply

  49. Sashi Chibi

    April 5, 2013 at 15:30

    Tlou Thapelo Tubz Ramatlhodi posted the “Official ComicCon South Africa Cape Town press release” on the Cosplay South Africa FB page https://www.facebook.com/CosplaySouthAfrica?ref=hl

    So I asked him this question on the page :
    “Why do only ladies in cosplay get in free and not guys in cosplay too??”

    and here’s the reply he gave me:

    ” a tribute to the bearers of life”

    What a joke!

    Reply

    • Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

      April 5, 2013 at 15:35

      Sounds like this is a “disguised” block party….

      Reply

  50. ?Ð?I?N

    April 5, 2013 at 19:44

    Well done Gavin! Sad though; I too was happy to read the news when I saw the branded name, but was hesitant to even re-tweet the link without checking into it a little more (i.e. sounded too good to be true, and guess what…).

    Reply

  51. Wayne Mark Benton

    April 6, 2013 at 08:53

    Good one Gavin… particularly the contact cell no: issued… Poor Guy… isn’t that a crime??Now Everyone has yours… Crazy Diamond… shine on.. You…

    Reply

  52. matthurstrsa

    April 8, 2013 at 07:50

    What people don’t seem to realise: never overpromise and underdeliver. It kills anything.

    Reply

  53. LJ Roos

    April 8, 2013 at 22:13

    You could probably do a Comicon Africa convention, it’s a neat idea. Eish, I was at Rage last year, there were too many people for the venue! There’s a good sized consumer market growing in SA for these kinds of products, they just need suppliers with initiative and resources.

    Reply

  54. riaan Kruiwa

    April 9, 2013 at 12:49

    Yet another South African con, like the Vrystaat web page that cost a mere R40 million (at least)? it’s at least comical! (If I don’t laugh, I’ll cry?)

    Reply

  55. Fred

    April 9, 2013 at 15:35

    Anyone who reads unfunny, comic books, deserve to be conned!

    Reply

  56. Richard Scott

    April 10, 2013 at 11:25

    Glad you guys got to the bottom of this. Now please do this in future with gaming events too. I won’t mention names but seen you guy praise events in the past that had controversy around it ignored.

    Reply

  57. Cuan Knaggs

    April 15, 2013 at 14:15

    ok guys i know this i a shameless plug but it’s relevant. we
    are organising the first discworld convention in south africa for next
    year (sadwcon.org) and if that goes well enough maybe it can be used to
    get the real comic con to do it’s thing here. it’s a 3 day event, in cape town and we’re hoping for at least 400 people. and it’s for charity

    Reply

  58. Viking

    June 21, 2013 at 10:44

    This article says exactly what S.A represents and portrays to the rest of the world in entertainment. Thanks Gavin.

    Reply

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