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 con ...

and alternative comics

convention Convention may refer to: * Convention (norm), a custom or tradition, a standard of presentation or conduct ** Treaty, an agreement in international law * Convention (meeting), meeting of a (usually large) group of individuals and/or companies in a ...

that operated from 1994 to 2017. Founded by Slave Labor Graphics publisher Dan Vado, 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 (pr ...

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 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 popul ...

. 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 Alternative comics, independent comics creations, Madman (Mike Allred character), ''Madman'' and iZombie (comic book), ''iZombie''. His style is often compare ...

, Jhonen Vasquez, Terry Moore, Batton Lash, Shannon Wheeler, and Jill Thompson. In 2000, APE moved to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, 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 List of Ca ...

,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, 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 Jhonen Vasquez and Derf Backderf. , 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