Mandy J Watson

@mandyjwatson

Tech-culture journalist. Copy editor. Game dev. Hire me! World expert in South African comics (#sacomics) published after 2000. Words: Tiny games: Masked up in Cape Town, South Africa.

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Mandy J Watson@mandyjwatson· Jul 4

Dana, normalising hot AIs is exactly what the worst people in the world want. Also, the answer is the self-aware Clare/Dorothy hybrid AI from Black Mirror.

Emma Corrin, who played three characters in this episode, whether people realise it or not, sits at a piano in a recreation of a dining area in a hotel in 1940s Cairo. In this moment the simulation is frozen, except for two characters who are not affected by the glitch - one human and one AI that has just become self-aware. Corrin is playing the Clara/Dorothy hybrid AI personality that is just become self-aware, which is about to play Clair de lune on the piano and kick off the best female-gaze montage ever committed to screen.

Mandy J Watson@mandyjwatson· Jun 25

I was raised on these streets.

The Karateka karateka, on a cliff path with Mount Fuji in the background, giving an opponent a swift kick to the head. Screenshot is from the Apple II version.

Mandy J Watson@mandyjwatson· Apr 24

Cape Town: Super Friendship Arcade's Super Forest Arcade event is tonight, Timour Hall Villa, Plumstead (from 6pm, no <18s). There will be lots of #IndieGames, most controlled with alt controllers. If you liked Playtopia you'll like this. Tickets R50 via Quicket: www.quicket.co.za/events/36865...

Mandy J Watson@mandyjwatson· Jan 30

The 1st Comic Jam Cape Town for 2026 is happening on Sunday, 11:00 to 13:00(+), Obz Books, 76 Lower Main Road, Observatory The R50 only applies if you want to get a Jam Starter Kit. If you have your own supplies or projects you're working on, it's free. (It's also free just to hang out) #SAComics

The Comic Jam Cape Town poster. It's a black and white illustration of a guy in a beanie, T-shirt, and jeans, wielding a giant pencil, battling a hog alien with a laser pistol. There are art supplies fling in all directions and ink spilled on the ground. The guy is saying "Only R50 per person" and the alien is saying "Wowzers!")

The text reads:
Comic Jam Cape Town
Every 1st Sunday
11H00-13H00 @ Obz Books,

There is a QR code for a WhatsApp number, which probably is for contacting the organiser, Warren Raysdorf.

Mandy J Watson@mandyjwatson· Jan 18

There appears to be a massive fire on Signal Hill, Cape Town. It came out of nowhere. The webcam only captures every seven minutes but you can see how fast it appeared and spread.

The capetown-webcam.com web cam by kapstadt.de that looks over Table Bay at Table Mountain from Milnerton. It is night. The Mountain is on the left covered in clouds; Signal Hill is on the right.

In this grab there's no fire. The time stamp is 18 Jan 2026 21:19 SAST.

Mandy J Watson@mandyjwatson· Dec 21

Same view an hour later with the moon now setting in the same spot.

A jpg grab from kapstadt.de's capetown-webcam.com webcam, which looks south west towards Table Mountain, Lion's Head, and Signal Hill from Milnerton across Milnerton Lagoon and Table Bay.

The grab is time stamped "21. Dec. 2025 - 20:51 SAST".

The sun has set, with just a small orange haze on the horizon, and the municipal lights have been switched on all over the city and suburbs, as have the lights that illuminate the side of Table Mountain that faces Table Bay. The moon, which is just a sliver, is in the process of setting in almost the exact same spot as the sun set an hour previously.

Mandy J Watson@mandyjwatson· Dec 21

Cape Town summer solstice sunset webcam grab.

Mandy J Watson@mandyjwatson· Dec 15

Readers Den Comic Shop in Wynberg, Cape Town, also has stock of both zines and the store ships countrywide. Plus the zines are listed on the web site: readersden.co.za/product/the-... readersden.co.za/product/the-...

A photograph of my zines on a shelf at Readers Den Comic Shop in Wynberg in front of some Marvel comics. They made a little barker out of bright blue cardboard to advertise the zines.

Mandy J Watson@mandyjwatson· Dec 15

If you're in South Africa, buy my zines for Christmas! On the weekend I dropped off a big order at @thebooklounge.bsky.social and they're also available elsewhere (see below) but I want to give a special shout out to The Book Lounge in Cape Town, which has been particularly supportive. #SAComics

A photo of the cover of The Light At The Frankenstein Place, with a pixel art picture of a skull and crossbones and "A Tiny Adventure By Mandy J Watson" written at the bottom. A hand is holding the zine and you can see how tiny it is (A8) but there's a lot going on inside!

A hand is holding the second zine, The Time Machine, which has a pixel art image of an analogue clock with the arms spinning. The text reads "A Tiny Adventure By Mandy J Watson". The zine is also A8 but it has a few more pages and a little surprise in the middle!

Mandy J Watson@mandyjwatson· Nov 21

Look at these awesome zines and stickers @janineveazue.bsky.social sent to me (includes equally awesome D&D stamps on the envelope!). Thank you so much! Find her zines here: www.instagram.com/zinesbyjanine/ and here: www.etsy.com/shop/Stitcha...

A (bad) photograph (sorry!) of two zines titled Office-Friendly Ways To Say WTF and Out Of Office Messages I Wish I Could Write, plus a sticker sheet with animal characters and stars and clothing items for winter, on top of an orange envelope with the addresses obscured that has three USA stamps with D&D art on them.

Mandy J Watson@mandyjwatson· Nov 5

Predator: Badlands is horrible. I don't even know if I'm going to write a review because even though it is (somewhat) better than Tron: Ares at least with Tron: Ares I had something to say. With Predator: Badlands I just don't care, which means writing is going to be an absolute slog.

One of the Predator: Badlands posters showing all the main characters in montaged hero poses etc etc and the tag line "First hunt. Last chance."

Mandy J Watson@mandyjwatson· Nov 1

That would be this:

A tardigrade playing a violin.

Don't know the origin. It's been floating around Bluesky for a while.

Mandy J Watson@mandyjwatson· Oct 31

Here's the art that goes with this.

A poster that says
Comic Jam Cape Town
Every 1st Sunday
11H00-13H00 @ Obz Books
and there is a QR code. I don't know where it goes but there's a WhatsApp symbol.

The art is in black and white and it shows two characters - a man in casual clothes, saying "Only R50 person", and an alien pig-like creature in armoured space casual clothes saying "Wowzers!" - battling it out with a giant pencil and a laser pistol. There are pens and ink bottles and such that are going flying in all directions.

Mandy J Watson@mandyjwatson· Sep 5

Zines! Zines! Zines! @openbookfestival.bsky.social started today and there are lots of zines at the Babel Tower table in the marketplace, including ones by Reinhard Venzke, Claude Naudé, @willowwaffle.bsky.social, @milo-wildcat.bsky.social, Catriona Towriss, and me!

A picture of part of the Babel Tower zine table showing over 30 zines by many creators from Cape Town and the Western Cape.

Babel Tower No 2 - a collective zine - is new for Open Book. It was printed with four different cover options and includes work by me.

Mandy J Watson@mandyjwatson· Aug 18

I also made the most nonsense #PixelArt and I love it!

The itch game page banner: The non-pixel-art text says "There's A Battle-Slug Monster In Your Basement" and "A One Page Solo RPG".

The pixel art, which appears on the downloadable page as well, is a Polaroid of a slug with a heart drawn on it, lots of little hearts bubbling around the Polaroid for decorative reasons, and two cocktails.

The slug may or may not be menacing. Its mouth is open and you can see its tongue and teeth. It has two eyeball tentacles on top of its head and two sensing tentacles on the side of its face.

Mandy J Watson@mandyjwatson· Aug 9

Bonus blooper reel:

Mandy J Watson@mandyjwatson· Aug 9

my favourite doctor and companion

Mandy J Watson@mandyjwatson· Aug 3

The jam was suitable for people of all skill levels, although there were quite a few #SAComics creators in attendance too. (Which resulted in catchup conversations and an impromptu comics and zines swap after the jam ended.) 3/

A group of people sitting at tables in the covered outdoor space behind Obz Books in Observatory, Cape Town. They are drawing comics on A4 sheets of paper.

Photograph: Mandy J Watson

Mandy J Watson@mandyjwatson· Aug 1

You can find it at a few independent bookshops and comic shops in Cape Town for R25: Readers Den Wynberg, The Book Lounge, and Clarke's Bookshop. (Alternatively, R20 from me excluding shipping if you want it shipped.) I wanted to keep the price low to make it as affordable as possible.

A selection of the zines, lying on a wooden surface.

Mandy J Watson@mandyjwatson· Aug 1

The zine is 32 pages, hand cut from a printed A4 sheet and then stapled, and has a 160gsm cover. Consequently it is A8 in size (ie very tiny). #SAComics

The cover of The Light At The Frankenstein Place: A Tiny Adventure By Mandy J Watson.

There is 1-bit pixel art at the top of an open book that says "1" (because t's the first in an intended series) and 1-bit pixel art further down of a skull and crossbones.

Mandy J Watson@mandyjwatson· Aug 1

Happening on Sunday, 3 August: Comic Jam Cape Town at Obz Books (76 Lower Main Road, Observatory, Cape Town). I don't know much about this but it's R50, 10am-12pm, bring your own supplies. Apparently it's going to be monthly. More details here: www.instagram.com/p/DMsmC70qn8H/ #SAComics

A poster from Obz Books showing an illustration of four excited people drawing.

It says: Comic Jam Cape Town, only R50 per person, Sunday 3rd August, 10H00-12H00 @ Obs [sic] Books.

There's also a QR code but I don't know where it goes.

Mandy J Watson@mandyjwatson· Jul 27

The Magical World Of Fungi describes and illustrates more species of fungi but, this time, they are species that are beneficial to humans. You have to refold the zine if you want to read it as pages, although this isn't necessary as the sequence is clear even as a poster page. 5/

Two pages from The Magical World Of Fungi side of the zine (from a direct scan of Naadirah Moola's original zine).

The left page says Psilocybe spp., which is lettered artistically, and there is a drawing of a few of the mushrooms, which is unlabelled.

The right page says:
• Contains psilocybin, natural psychedelic compound.

• Used in indigenous ceremonies for healing & connection.

• Known as THE MIND
O P E N E R

Mandy J Watson@mandyjwatson· Jul 27

As you page through the zine it describes a few species of toxic fungi, with stats explaining how they are dangerous to plants and humans, accompanied by illustrations. The final pages invite the reader to flip open the zine to the other half, which unfolds to reveal The Magical World Of Fungi. 4/

A photograph showing the zine open at the section about Aspergillus spp. (part of the toxic fungi section).

On the left page, which has the heading ASPERGILLUS SPP, is a drawing of the fungus with labels pointing to various parts that are named CONIDIA, VESICLE, PHIALIDES, and STIPE.

The right page has a little drawing of ground nuts and is labelled GROUND NUTS and VICTIM #2. (Victim #1 is maize, on the previous page, which is afflicted by a different fungus.)

The text reads:
EXAMPLES: A. FLAVOS, A. PARASITICUS

• AFLATOXIN B1 = GROUP I CARCINOGEN
-> TARGETS THE LIVER
-> LIVER CANCER!

• GLOBAL REGULATORY LEVELS FOR IMPORT AND EXPORT

• THRIVES IN HOT + HUMID.
-> POOR DRYING + STORAGE ARE HUGE RISK FACTORS.

Photograph: Mandy J Watson

Mandy J Watson@mandyjwatson· Jul 27

Here's a bonus zine from our workshop for #SAComicsSunday, #IZM2025, and #InternationalZine Month: The Perilous World Of Toxic Fungi by Lemonzestt (Naadirah Moola). (Don't miss the extra notes in the Alt text.) #sacomics 1/7

The cover of The Perilous World Of Toxic Fungi zine, which is just the text of the title written in pen.

Photograph: Mandy J Watson

Mandy J Watson@mandyjwatson· Jul 27

The zine showcases some of the seed pods in Towriss' studio inventory, with illustrations of each, some information about the pods, and details about who foraged them and where they were found (unless it's a secret location). 4/

A photograph showing the first two pages of the zine.

The left page has four illustrations of small seed pods. The text reads:

fish-mouth seed pod - a kind of eucalyptus
size: approx 1cm.
source: donated by Francois from tree felled near Hermanus

star-seeds - various types of Eucalyptus
size: 4mm - 1cm
source for foraging: Tokai Park

The right page has two illustrations of larger seed pods. The text reads:

sunshine cup - aka mossy oak tree acorn cup.
size: 3-3.5cm
source: Francois collected near Platbos.

Hakea seed pod - no nickname.
size: 2cm
foraging source: secret!

Photograph: Mandy J Watson

Mandy J Watson@mandyjwatson· Jul 27

Since it is #InternationalZineMonth / #IZM2025, today's #SAComicsSunday showcase is another zine from the workshop we ran last month. It's Seed Pod Selections: A Studio Inventory by Catriona A. Towriss. (As always, don't miss the extra notes in the Alt text.) #sacomics 1/6

The cover of the zine Seed Pod Selections.

It is black text with no images and says:
SEED
POD
SELECTIONS
A studio inventory
CATRIONA TOWRISS

Photograph: Mandy J Watson

Mandy J Watson@mandyjwatson· Jul 13

Each page presents a term or phrase that's evolved in her family, such as "kalezemity" and "unca-hol"; a drawing to illustrate the term; and a mention of who came up with it. 4/

Pages 6 and 7 from the Lindelwa Cele's zine A Family Portrait.

Page 6: There is a drawing of the head and shoulders of a man, seen from behind. He is wearing a hat.
Text:
Kalezemity
TRANSLATION
When your parents or loved ones watch you intently as you disappear into the distance.
Gogo. ["grandmother": attribution of the family member who came up with the term]

Page 7: There is a drawing of a small bottle of alcohol.
Text:
Unca-hol
TRANSLATION
The beer, Uncle sneaks in during weddings - When he is supposed to be babysitting his nephew.
Khehla. [Attribution of the family member who came up with the term]

Mandy J Watson@mandyjwatson· Jul 13

Cele is in the process of documenting her grandmother's stories and memories. For the workshop, she decided to make a zine about some of the language and terminology that has naturally evolved in her family circle. 2/

A photograph of a hand flipping through the zine to show its A7 size and some of the pages.

One that is partly visible says "Where are the geckos?" and it's an explanation of the term that means "gherkins" in Cele's family, with a picture of a gecko that's crossed out next to a picture of a gherkin jar.

Another that's partly visible says "I tell you, gogo" ["gogo" means grandmother], which means "This tea is very hot, listen very well"; in other words, "I've got some good gossip".

Photograph: Mandy J Watson

Mandy J Watson@mandyjwatson· Jul 13

It's #IZM2025 (International ZIne Month) and also #SAComicsSunday so here's another zine from the workshop I co-facilitated in June: A Family Portrait by Lindelwa Cele. (As always, there are additional details in the Alt text.) #SAComics 1/5

A photograph showing the cover of A Family Portrait, by Lindelwa Cele. It is a ballpoint pen drawing of the outlines of the heads and shoulders of a group of people, surrounded by loose rectangular shapes meant to evoke the sense of a photo frame.

Photograph: Mandy J Watson

Mandy J Watson@mandyjwatson· Jul 4