Comic Con Cape Town is officially less than a month away, with the 4-day pop culture celebration kicking off on 27 April. There’s no question that cosplay is one of the event’s major drawcards, and now CCCT attendees have another reason to get excited. They’ll be in the presence of world champion talent.
This past Saturday, Cape Town’s own Luke Andalis (AKA Ludus Cosplay) placed 2nd at C2E2’s Cosplay Central Global Crown Championship, held in Chicago. Luke was cosplaying Banuk chieftain Aratak from video game Horizon Zero Dawn: The Frozen Wilds. First place winner was Nerds Gone Mild Cosplay (consisting of Steph & Myles out of Indiana) as Aloy from sequel Horizon Forbidden West – in her Tenakth Recon outfit. Meanwhile, Spain’s Alisyuon placed third as Clown Doll from Sakizo.
See more images of the three top cosplayers on the Instagram accounts of C2E2, and Comic Con Africa respectively.
Luke’s path to victory in Chicago started with the costume maker and fabricator’s overall win at Cape Town’s Regional Championships of Cosplay, which gave him an instant pass to the on-stage finals of the Comic Con Africa Championships of Cosplay, which took place in September last year. Having earned the title of Champion of Cosplay at CCA 2022, Luke’s prize package ultimately included a round-trip to, and entry into, the global finals at C2E2 (AKA Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo). His Aratak build took 9 months, and, as with all his projects, he shared his learnings and tips during the process.
Luke’s achievement means that South Africa has now placed in the global top 3 all three times that local cosplayers have represented in-person at the world championship. In 2019, Kinpatsu Cosplay (now living in Canada) placed second at C2E2 for her Sister of Battle from Warhammer 40K. Then, the next year, just before pandemic lockdowns kicked in, Jinxie Cosplay (formerly JinxKittie) won it all, being declared 1st place World Champion for an original character design, Blood Priestess Bathory.
Cosplay is for everyone, and whether you dress up for fun, or take your crafting more seriously, the presence of so much world-class local talent is incredibly inspiring. With anything possible, is it time to begin your cosplay journey?