The Alternative Press Expo (APE) was a

comic book festival A comic book convention or comic-con is an event with a primary focus on comic books and comic book culture, in which comic book fans gather to meet creators, experts, and each other. Commonly, comic conventions are multi-day events hosted at co ...

and

alternative comics Alternative comics cover a range of American comics that have appeared since the 1980s, following the underground comix movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Alternative comics present an alternative to mainstream superhero comics which ...

convention that operated from 1994 to 2017. Founded by

Slave Labor Graphics Slave Labor Graphics (SLG) is an independent American comic book publisher, well known for publishing darkly humorous, offbeat comics. Creators associated with SLG over the years include Evan Dorkin, Roman Dirge, Sarah Dyer, Woodrow Phoenix, Jh ...

publisher

Dan Vado Dan Vado (born September 9, 1959) Miller, John Jackson"Comics Industry Birthdays" , ''Comics Buyer's Guide'', June 10, 2005. Accessed February 1, 2011. is an American comic book publisher and writer, and a fixture of the independent comics communit ...

, APE focused on

self-published Self-publishing is the publication of media by its author at their own cost, without the involvement of a publisher. The term usually refers to written media, such as books and magazines, either as an ebook or as a physical copy using POD (pri ...

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

, and alternative

cartoonists A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and g ...

and comic publishers.

History

APE was organized by Vado in 1994 as an event for artists to "promote themselves without having to drown out a 50-million-watt display by some huge publisher." The first APE was held as a one-day event in

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popu ...

. Vado transferred management of APE to

Comic-Con International San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is ...

in 1995. The event expanded to two days of programming in 1998, and included special guests

Mike Allred Michael Dalton Allred is an American comic book artist and writer most famous for his independent comics creations, ''Madman'' and ''iZombie''. His style is often compared to pop art, as well as commercial and comic art of the 1950s and 1960s ...

Jhonen Vasquez Jhonen C. Vasquez (; born September 1, 1974) is an American cartoonist, animator, screenwriter, music video director, and voice actor. He is best known for creating the comic book '' Johnny the Homicidal Maniac''—along with its spin-off comics ...

, Terry Moore,

Batton Lash Batton Lash (October 29, 1953 – January 12, 2019) was an American comics creator who came to prominence as part of the 1990s self-publishing boom. He is best known for the series ''Wolff and Byrd, Counselors of the Macabre'' (a.k.a. '' Supernatu ...

, Shannon Wheeler, and

Jill Thompson Jill Thompson (born November 20, 1966) is an American illustrator and writer who has worked for stage, film, and television. Well known for her work on Neil Gaiman's '' The Sandman'' characters and her own ''Scary Godmother'' series, she has wor ...

. In 2000, APE moved to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

,McKenney, Craig. "APE Moves to San Francisco," ''Comics Journal'' (Jan. 2000), p. 17. where it was held a one-day event at the Herbst Pavilion in

Fort Mason Fort Mason, in San Francisco, California originated as a coastal defense site during the American Civil War. The nucleus of the property was owned by John C. Frémont and disputes over compensation by the United States continued into 1968. In 188 ...

, before moving to the Concourse Exhibition Center in 2003. The programming available at the event expanded under Comic-Con International, with APE 2005 offering panels, seminars, exhibitions and special guests. APE was moved to the fall beginning in 2008. The final APE organized by Comic-Con International was held in 2014. Vado re-assumed management of the event that year, and returned APE to San Jose in 2015. The most recent APE was held in 2017, with special guests

and

Derf Backderf John Backderf (born October 31, 1959), also known as Derf or Derf Backderf, is an American cartoonist. He is most famous for his graphic novels, especially ''My Friend Dahmer'', the international bestseller which won an Angoulême Prize, and ear ...

. , the event is no longer organized.

Event dates and locations

*1994: June 4 — Parkside Hall, San Jose *1995: May 19 — San Jose *1996: March 23 — San Jose *1997: February 2 — San Jose *1998: February 21–22 — San JoseComic Book Legal Defence Fund (1998)
Report: CBLDF Goes A.P.E.!
. Retrieved July 12, 2005. *1999: February 27–28 — San Jose *2000: February 5 — Herbst Pavilion, Fort Mason, San Francisco *2001: February 17–18 — Herbst Pavilion, Fort Mason, San Francisco *2002: February 9–10 — Herbst Pavilion, Fort Mason, San Francisco *2003: February 1–2 — Concourse Exhibition Center, San Francisco *2004: February 21–22 — Concourse Exhibition Center, San Francisco *2005: April 9–10 — Concourse Exhibition Center, San Francisco *2006: April 8–9 – Concourse Exhibition Center, San Francisco *2007: April 21–22 — Concourse Exhibition Center, San Francisco *2008: November 1–2 — Concourse Exhibition Center, San Francisco * 2009: October 17–18 — Concourse Exhibition Center, San Francisco * 2010: October 16–17 — Concourse Exhibition Center, San Francisco * 2011: October 1–2 — Concourse Exhibition Center, San Francisco * 2012: October 13–14 — Concourse Exhibition Center, San Francisco * 2013: October 12–13 – Concourse Exhibition Center, San Francisco * 2014: October 4–5 – Festival Pavilion, Fort Mason, San Francisco * 2015: October 3-4 – San Jose Convention Center, San Jose * 2016: October 8-9 – San Jose Convention Center, San Jose * 2017: September 23–24 – San Jose Convention Center, San JoseVado, Dan
"2017 APE DATES ANNOUNCED,"
Alternative Press Expo website (January 13, 2017).

References

External links

*
Major Books Fairs in the United States of America

Long Twitter thread by exhibitors about the 2017 Alternative Press Expo
{{Comic festivals and alternative comics conventions Book fairs in the United States Comics conventions in the United States Defunct comics conventions Recurring events established in 1994 San Francisco Bay Area conventions Festivals established in 1994 Conventions in California