Status Active Country United States | Genre Comics Organized by Dan Vado | |
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Location(s) San Jose, California, U.S. Inaugurated June 4, 1994; 22 years ago (1994-06-04) | ||
The Alternative Press Expo or APE, as it is more commonly known, is a comics convention. It was founded in 1994 by Dan Vado as an event for self-publishers, independent publishers and alternative cartoonists to showcase their books. It was originally held in San Jose, California. Comic-Con International took over responsibility for the event in 1995. APE is currently held in San Jose after being held in San Francisco for 15 years. Two days after APE 2014, Dan Vado announced the responsibility for APE was being handed back to him and he was moving APE back to San Jose.
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The event moved to San Francisco in 2000, originally at Herbst Pavilion, Fort Mason, before moving to the Concourse Exhibition Center in 2003. APE began life as a one-day event, but was expanded to cover two days in 1998. However, the first event held in San Francisco was a one-day event, with all subsequent events two-day affairs. The programming available at the event has also grown, with APE 2005 offering panels, seminars, exhibitions and special guests. APE was moved to the fall beginning in 2008.
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Dan Vado: "I started the APE because I felt that there was a need for a convention where the artists doing interesting work can display and promote themselves without having to drown out a 50 million watt display by some huge publisher."