The
Alternative Press Expo, formerly a one-day event in
San Jose, is now a two-day event in
San Francisco in
February. Although small, it's one of the most interesting conventions, and fills a sort of
dry spell on the opposite end of the
summer convention season. Despite the somewhat misleading name, the emphasis is on small-press and self-published comics--although a few
zines do sneak in here and there. In 2001, there were over 2,700 people in attendance despite icky weather (I got a nasty cold afterwards). Programming was relatively little, but of very high quality, including a session with
Terry Moore, panels on
self-publishing (how-tos, what it's like in
Japan, etc) and comics on the
Internet (which included
Scott McCloud).
APE (pronounced "
ape") is currently held at
Fort Mason and is sponsored by
San Diego Comic-Con. Lively and laid-back, it's a great con for fun (to the fans) and networking (for
creators).
http://www.comic-con.org/Pages3/ape.html