IT was a weekend to remember for Durban North couple, Justin and Angela Walter who were undoubted stars at this year’s first ever Comic Con Africa. The popular international convention was held at the Kyalami Grand Prix and International Convention Centre, with thousands of fans bringing to life their favourite characters from pop culture.
It was no different as Walter, who travelled with three cosplay suits got honourable mention at the convention.
Three of his outfits made it to the top 20 for the best cosplay of the weekend, namely the Armoured Batman suit (Dawn of Justice-Batman VS Superman), the Groot (Guardians of the Galaxy) suit and Wonder Woman suit (Justice League).
His Batman costume was also named ‘Best Newcomer’ by the Gaming Entertainment Solutions (GES) Cosplay. The impressive results didn’t end there with his Groot costume winning third place in the armour division. He also won the Green Leaf Award for using recyclable materials in his Guardians of the Galaxy inspired suit.
“I originally made the Groot suit a normal size but I knew in order for him to stand out at Comic Con I needed to be bigger. I bought drywall stilts which made me 2.5 metres tall in the suit. I extended his legs, did a few touch-up paint jobs and then added bits of moss to the outfit. The hard part was navigating steps in stilts, flat surfaces were great, not so much elevated ones.
“I was blown away by the judges reactions and the crowds reactions, it was amazing, there were times when I moved mere centimetres before being swamped by fans wanting to take photos with me and Angela. There was an orderly queue but eventually I had to say ‘this is the last one’,” he said.
Walter added he would definitely be going to next year’s event and try entering the masters level in cosplay.
“Looking at the masters division was eye-opening. There outfits were flawless and there was a guy who won the masters division from Mauritius for his Predator outfit, it was just the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen. I just thought I want to be at that level and that’s what I’m aiming for,” he enthused.
His thoughts were echoed by his wife and Virginia Preparatory School teacher who dressed up as Wonder Woman and Rocket from Marvel’s the Guardians of the Galaxy.
“I just have one word and that’s epic. It was great fun and seeing so many people dress up was amazing. I think for any comic book fans, this is a must. Besides Justin’s outfits and the master level outfits, the casual cosplay was great. People flew in from all over Africa to be part of the convention which was great,” she said.
Justin has also started an Instagram page to share his cosplay journey with the world. Follow him on @gammablastcosplay.
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