APE 2014 has ended

Create Your Own Event

APE 2014

11:45am PDT

What's New for APE

An informative discussion on what comes next for APE.

Saturday October 4, 2014 11:45am - 12:15pm PDT
The Firehouse

1: Programs, Comics Programs

12:00pm PDT

Cartoon Calisthenics

Artists of all levels are invited to start their day off right with healthy and fun cartooning challenges and exercises with artist and teacher Brian Kolm (atomicbearpress.com). No need to wear your sparkly sweatsuit (unless that's your thing)-just bring yourself and be ready to draw!

Saturday October 4, 2014 12:00pm - 1:00pm PDT
Fleet Room, Building D

2: Workshops, Workshops

12:15pm PDT

CBLDF: Legacy of Fear: The History of the Comics Code

60 years ago, comics were put on trial in a nationally televised Senate subcommittee hearing that had shattering repercussions for this great American art form. The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund presents the shocking history of moral panic that led to this historic hearing and the birth of the Comics Code Authority, which regulated the medium's content for more than 50 years. CBLDF executive director Charles Brownstein tells the tale at this CBLDF presentation.

Saturday October 4, 2014 12:15pm - 1:00pm PDT
The Firehouse

1: Programs, Comics Programs

1:00pm PDT

Spotlight on Bob Fingerman

Meet APE special guest Bob Fingerman, the creator of such acclaimed graphic novels as White Like She, From the Ashes, Recess Pieces, and his best-known series, Minimum Wage (currently enjoying its return with all-new issues after a 15-year hiatus), as well the novels Bottomfeeder and Pariah.

Saturday October 4, 2014 1:00pm - 1:45pm PDT
The Firehouse

1: Programs, Comics Programs

1:00pm PDT

Inking for Reluctant Inkers

Inking is an integral part of comics; for some it's easy, for others it's terrifying. If you're looking to move past Microns and incorporate old-school inking in your work, you should attend this seminar with Mark Haven Britt. Basic techniques such as using a nib, drawing a straight line with a brush, spattering, and masking will be covered. Learn some basic exercises/games to improve dexterity as well as strategies to get over fears of "screwing up the drawing" and focus on the decisive fun of completing the drawing. Inking can be incredibly fun!

Saturday October 4, 2014 1:00pm - 2:00pm PDT
Fleet Room, Building D

2: Workshops, Workshops

1:45pm PDT

The Hip Hop/Comics Connection Panel!

APE special guest Ed Piskor, author of the New York Times bestselling series Hip Hop Family Tree, examines the 40-year relationship between comics and Hip Hop culture. The journey begins with Vaughn Bodé characters painted on trains, moves to cartoonists creating rap album covers, to rap artists creating comic books, and to the ultimate merging of the two cultures into Ed's current work.

Saturday October 4, 2014 1:45pm - 2:30pm PDT
The Firehouse

1: Programs, Comics Programs

2:00pm PDT

Graphic Humor 101

Join award-winning cartoonist Jonathan Lemon (Rabbits Against Magic) for a crash course in graphic humor and the fundamentals of comedy in this laugh-packed workshop.

Saturday October 4, 2014 2:00pm - 3:00pm PDT
Fleet Room, Building D

2: Workshops, Workshops

2:30pm PDT

Everyday Inspiration: What Inspires the Comics You Write?

Inspiration strikes when you least expect it! APE 2014 special guestsEd Piskor (Hip Hop Family Tree), C. Spike Trotman(Templar, Arizona), and Bob Fingerman (Minimum Wage) discuss the origins of their own comics with moderator Andrew Farago (Cartoon Art Museum), with a behind-the-scenes look at their creative process.

Saturday October 4, 2014 2:30pm - 3:30pm PDT
The Firehouse

1: Programs, Comics Programs

3:00pm PDT

PoetryComics

Great poems make great comics. In this class, Cara Goldstein will explore the balance of words and images while looking at poetic cartoonists such as Gabrielle Bell, Hope Larson, Nate Powell, Lilli Carré, and Craig Thompson. Pieces in Dave Morice's book PoetryComics, which covers poems by Emily Dickinson, Edgar Allan Poe, and William Shakespeare, will also be read. All levels of drawing and writing are welcome.

Saturday October 4, 2014 3:00pm - 4:00pm PDT
Fleet Room, Building D

2: Workshops, Workshops

3:30pm PDT

Spotlight on Faith Erin Hicks

APE special guest Faith Erin Hicks is the Eisner Award-winning cartoonist of The Adventures of Superhero Girl, Friends with Boys, The War at Ellsmere, and Zombies Calling. She is also the artist and co-writer of The Last of Us: American Dreams and the artist of the Bigfoot Boy series (with J. Torres), and Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong (with Prudence Shen). She started drawing comics years ago "for fun" and remains surprised that writing and drawing is her career. If you would like to know how this astonishing event occurred, Faith would be happy to talk about it at this panel.

Saturday October 4, 2014 3:30pm - 4:15pm PDT
The Firehouse

1: Programs, Comics Programs

4:00pm PDT

Getting into Character

How do you take a basic concept and turn it into an unforgettable character? Emmy Award-winning designer Andy Ristaino (Night of the Living Vidiots, Adventure Time) has created hundreds of characters for comics and animation, and he'll guide you through his process as workshop participants develop new characters in this action-packed adventure hour.

Saturday October 4, 2014 4:00pm - 5:00pm PDT
Fleet Room, Building D

2: Workshops, Workshops

4:00pm PDT

Comic Creator Connection

Are you a writer with a great idea for a comic book series, but you can't draw...or maybe you're an artist looking for a great script to draw? Perhaps both of you are looking to jumpstart your careers in comics. At APE 2014, you just might find each other!

APE will once again host the Comic Creator Connection, an event that puts writers and artists together to see whether they can find their creative counterparts. Here's how it works: in one 2-hour session -- on Saturday, October 4, from 4:00 to 6:00 PM -- writers and artists can sit down and meet each other in a neutral environment. In 5-minute sessions, you can talk one-on-one with individual prospective collaborators about their ideas and skills.

There will be onsite registration but space may be limited depending on how many pre-registered creators attend.

(Please note: All participants in APE's Comic Creator Connection must have purchased a single-day Saturday badge or a badge for both Saturday and Sunday.)

Learn more about the event and get information on how to preregister at: http://www.comic-con.org/ape/creator-connection.

Saturday October 4, 2014 4:00pm - 6:00pm PDT
Room C260

1: Programs, Comic Creator Connection, Comics Programs

4:15pm PDT

Spotlight on Jason Shiga

APE special guest Jason Shiga is best known for his mathematically rigorous graphic novels Fleep, Bookhunter, and Meanwhile. But did you know the vast majority of his comics are hand assembled interactive minicomics? Jason will demonstrate some of his unpublished and rarely seen interactive comic creations, including the only known comic with movable parts. He will discuss past, present, and future projects, including an exclusive peek at his latest comic, Demon.

Saturday October 4, 2014 4:15pm - 5:00pm PDT
The Firehouse

1: Programs, Comics Programs

5:00pm PDT

Spotlight on Robert Williams

APE special guest Robert Williams (painter, cartoonist, The Lowbrow Art of Robert Williams) and Gary Groth (publisher of Fantagraphics Books) will discuss Williams's career, from underground comix legend, co-producing Zap Comix in the 1960s, to co-founding Juxtapoz Art & Culture Magazine in the 1990s.

Saturday October 4, 2014 5:00pm - 6:00pm PDT
The Firehouse

1: Programs, Comics Programs

5:00pm PDT

Hip-Hop Heroes

For 20 years, Age Scott (Won and Phil) has been pushing boundaries and taking risks with his comics, exploring music, pop culture, and other nontraditional subject matter. In this workshop, Age will discuss his experiences as a creator and the importance of working outside the mainstream.

Saturday October 4, 2014 5:00pm - 6:00pm PDT
Fleet Room, Building D

2: Workshops, Workshops

6:00pm PDT

Teaching Comics: Academia and Sequential Art

Comics have entered the hallowed halls of academia in a big way! After decades of neglect and disdain, universities are finally engaging with the form on its own terms, with classes and programs geared at teaching students comics theory, history, and practice. What are the opportunities and challenges of teaching comics? How does our beloved, scrappy, DIY artform fit into this new world? What does it mean to both the comics industry and the academic world that graduates with MFAs and BFAs in comics are entering the workforce? Justin Hall (No Straight Lines) moderates this discussion with a dynamic group of teachers, students, and comics professionals: Trinidad Escobar (Dummy Creepers), Nathan Fox (School of Visual Arts), Maia Kobabe (The Thief's Tale), Alec Longstreth (Basewood), and Matt Silady (California College of the Arts).

Saturday October 4, 2014 6:00pm - 6:45pm PDT
The Firehouse

1: Programs, Comics Programs

11:45am PDT

A Little Bit Supernatural

Faith Erin Hicks (Demonology 101), Jason Shiga (Demon), Jason Thompson (The Stiff), C. Spike Trotman (The Sleep of Reason), and moderator Shaenon K. Garrity (Skin Horse) delve into the supernatural for this fright-filled panel discussion.

Sunday October 5, 2014 11:45am - 12:45pm PDT
The Firehouse

1: Programs, Comics Programs

12:00pm PDT

Covering All the Angles

Animator Gene Hamm (The Smurfs, Gumby, Hell Toupee) will discuss character design and teach you how to visualize your creations from multiple angles.

Sunday October 5, 2014 12:00pm - 1:00pm PDT
Fleet Room, Building D

2: Workshops, Workshops

12:45pm PDT

Spotlight on C. Spike Trotman

APE special guest C. Spike Trotman is responsible for Kickstarter juggernaut Smut Peddler, along with The Sleep of Reason, Poorcraft, and the webcomic Templar, Arizona. Running the one-woman Iron Circus Comics out of Chicago, she's a font of DIY comics knowhow, vanguarding the indie comic renaissance and spotlighting underrepresented genres and themes in the work she creates and publishes alike. Drop in to hear her plans for new projects and candid advice for go-it-alone types!

Sunday October 5, 2014 12:45pm - 1:30pm PDT
The Firehouse

1: Programs, Comics Programs

1:00pm PDT

Women Write Epic Characters!

Fictional characters sometimes seem to defy the laws of time with their endless adventures. When or how does a character age? How do their personalities and relationships develop? Two women creators who cover a lot of ground from novels to comic strips to serial stories will share their thoughts and experiences, and ask you about yours! The instructors for this workshop are Betsy Streeter, science fiction novelist and creator of Neptune Road, and Bridgett Spicer, creator of Squid Row.

Sunday October 5, 2014 1:00pm - 2:00pm PDT
Fleet Room, Building D

2: Workshops, Workshops

1:30pm PDT

CBLDF: Libraries & Comics-A Powerful Team!

Libraries are more than just places to go pick up books -- they're community centers with calendars full of amazing programs, making them a perfect place for both comic book creators and fans. Faith Erin Hicks (Friends with Boys), Alexis Fajardo (Kid Beowulf), Eva Volin (supervising librarian, Children's Services, Alameda Free Library, Alameda, CA), and Jessica Lee (teacher librarian, Willard Middle School, Berkeley, CA) offer a lively discussion of comic books, libraries, and partnering together to serve their community of readers! Moderated by Betsy Gomez (editorial director, CBLDF).

Sunday October 5, 2014 1:30pm - 2:15pm PDT
The Firehouse

1: Programs, Comics Programs

2:00pm PDT

E-book Publishing 101

Linguist and cartoonist Danièle Archambault (Stairway Stories, Québec-California, Life On Their Own) shares her experience of self-publishing a multitouch E-book. Get tips on conversion tools, file formatting, publishing options, pricing, and navigating the process without losing your mind or spending a lot of money.

Sunday October 5, 2014 2:00pm - 3:00pm PDT
Fleet Room, Building D

2: Workshops, Workshops

2:15pm PDT

A Look at the Work of Paul Pope

NEW: Fri, Oct 03, 08:52PM
Charles Brownstein looks at Paul Pope's art and discusses his career in comics.

Sunday October 5, 2014 2:15pm - 3:15pm PDT
The Firehouse

1: Programs, Comics Programs

3:00pm PDT

The Latino Comics Expo Hour

Latino Comics Expo co-founder Ricardo Padilla discusses diversity in comics, conventions, publishing, and promotions.

Sunday October 5, 2014 3:00pm - 4:00pm PDT
Fleet Room, Building D

2: Workshops, Workshops

3:15pm PDT

Dark Comedy in Comics

Too soon? Not funny? Don't go there? Bob Fingerman (Minimum Wage), Jason Shiga (Demon), Ed Piskor (Hip Hop Family Tree), and Shannon Wheeler (I Don't Get It) discuss pushing the boundaries of humor with Andrew Farago (Cartoon Art Museum).

Sunday October 5, 2014 3:15pm - 4:15pm PDT
The Firehouse

1: Programs, Comics Programs

4:00pm PDT

Tablet Talk

Professor Caryn Louise Leschen (University of San Francisco, Ask Aunt Violet, Wimmen's Comix) covers the basics of making comics on your iPad and other handheld devices.

Sunday October 5, 2014 4:00pm - 5:00pm PDT
Fleet Room, Building D

2: Workshops, Workshops

4:15pm PDT

APE 2014 Queer Cartoonists Panel

The Queer Cartoonists Panel is back for its 11th not-so-straight year! A group of engaging and talented creators gather to discuss the art and business of comics, examine the complexities of LGBTQ identities, and answer probing questions from moderator Justin Hall (No Straight Lines). The star-studded cast: Maureen Burdock (Five Feminist Fables), Gene Guilmette (The Protector Corps), Sara Lautman (Macrogroan), Lonnie Mann (Thoughts from Iceland), Matt Wobensmith (Wuvable Oaf), and Rick Worley (Waste of Time). On top of all that, the recipient of the Prism Comics Queer Press Grant 2014 will be announced!

Sunday October 5, 2014 4:15pm - 5:00pm PDT
The Firehouse

1: Programs, Comics Programs

5:00pm PDT

Bay Area Comics: Past, Present, and Future

Thien Pham (Level Up, Sumo), Andrew Farago (Cartoon Art Museum), and other past and present cartoonists from the Bay Area discuss one of the world's most dynamic and important comics scenes. Whether you're a lifelong San Francisco resident, a new arrival, or just visiting, this panel promises to tell you everything you ever wanted to know about comics by the Bay.

Sunday October 5, 2014 5:00pm - 5:45pm PDT
The Firehouse

1: Programs, Comics Programs