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One of the big topics on the floor at SPX among exhibitors was the seeming move of San Francisco’s Alternative Press Expo from its April slot to November, as shown in the above graphic, found on the San Diego Comic-Con website. Needless to say, the Spring-Summer-Fall rhythm of the indie show circuit as set up by APE-MoCCA-SPX has been a staple of the indie economy for a few years now, and a change would mean a radical shift in release dates and cash flow. Developing.

1 COMMENT

  1. As we talked about at SPX… I heard 5 rumors in regards to APE…

    1. It was combining with Stumptown
    2. They were tearing down the Concourse
    3. It was the same weekend as NYCC
    4. It was moving to November
    5. Maybe it was four?

    Anyway… yeah, this does change scheduling for small press houses who want to try and capture bookbuzz at these shows.

  2. We just heard about it being moved, but I know Comic-Con was having trouble getting dates at the Concourse. I thought they should go on that “The Pick-Up Artist” show on VH1, but it seems they found another solution.

    Oh god. Sorry about that.

    Yeah, the only date in spring that the Concourse was available was the same as NYCC, I think. Darn New York.

  3. I’ve only done APE once (and that was when it was still being held in San Jose) but sitting next to me at SPX this weekend were two artists frim San Francisco. At one point we began talking about Small Press West Coast Shows and they had nothing but praise for the Stumptown show,

    APE on the other hand….
    They said that it’s been slowly morphing into an arts show, a craft show more than a comic show.

    Can anyone verify that? Since I live on the East Coast I tend to stick with MoCCa and SPX and before spending the extra funds and travel time, would like to know if the west coast shows are comporable.

  4. Richard Marcej, it is true that more arts & craft have moved into APE’s show, but there is still a solid platform of small press, mini, and zine comic lifeblood.

    This might be why other shows, like SPX and Stumptown have gained specific exposure for creators. But it’s a tough call. Some years the craft aspect is heavy, other years it’s not. I can say, with experience, (from both sides of the table) that once it moved from San Jose to San Francisco, and then moved again within the city that it gained a larger “craft” presence.

  5. That’s funny, because I was sitting down with my book designer Oliver Simonson and we were discussing what the deadline should be for publishing the new Deposit Man book and his new book; said – let’s shoot for Febraury in April in time for APE.

    Then we went on comic-con org and saw the dates – we both looked at each other and said: this can’t be right.

    But then, the sudden realization hit us both: WE BOTH COULD GET TWO BOOKS OUT IN TIME for November.

    The saga continues…

    ~

    Coat

  6. “it’s been slowly morphing into an arts show, a craft show more than a comic show.”

    I think it can be said that all indy comic shows and even the small press section of Comic Con has a lot more crafts and crafted items each year. But that’s just because lots of artists like to try new things –especially if it helps them stand out or make extra money. SPX has always been a show where the craftiness of the comics contstruction has been celebrated. From Shiga puzzle comics, to silkscreen covers, to Bertozzi map comics etc. But all of them they are still comic shows at the start and end of the day.

  7. Arts and crafts… so, does this prove Heidi’s thesis that the formalists are damaging the small press movement?