Gamers and geeks rejoice, the ICON Comics and Games Convention this year looks like the biggest yet, by far. Moving to the much larger Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand, ICON is set to start today, ending Sunday (24-26 June 2016).

It will see all the regulars it has become famous for, including war games, board games, collectible cards games, role playing, cosplay and anime, but also a few extras. Apart from the loads of comics and collectibles on sale, there’s the addition of a number of panels (find them all here), making for what looks like, well, an iconic three days.

A few of the panels that we are looking forward to are:

JAMES BOND: 007 – SPOTLIGHT ON JASON MASTERS

Saturday, 11:00

After comic book legend Warren Ellis was asked by the Fleming Estate to be the writer of a new James Bond comic, he requested South African Jason Masters to be the artist on the title. Masters will be chatting about bringing the spy to life on Saturday, starting at 11 am.

THE STATE OF COMICS IN SOUTH AFRICA

Saturday, 15:00

Moray Rhoda, the respected “godfather” of South African comics (and old TechSmart contributor) leads a panel of local experts including Nas Hoosen as they discuss the changes the SA scene has gone through over the last decade and where it’s headed.

E3 BREAKDOWN WITH PIPPA TSHABALALA

Saturday, 16:00

Another TechSmart favourite (and past contributor), Pippa Tshabalala talks about the ins and outs of this year’s E3 gaming expo.

THE RISE OF SPECULATIVE FICTION

Sunday, 12:00

International guest Raymond E. Feist (The Riftwar Cycle series), South African author Fred Strydom and Sanjana Singh will discuss the prevalence of speculative fiction today.

This year there’s also free internet available to convention goers thanks to sponsorship from AlwaysOn. Tickets for ICON are available here, and goes for R100 for a day-pass, or R150 for a weekend pass that allows access for all three days. If you can’t make, well, you can always catch the live stream here.