Artists of all levels are invited to start their day at APE off right with fun cartooning challenges and exercises with artist Brian Kolm (atomicbearpress.com). No need to wear your sparkly sweatsuit (unless you want to), just bring yourself and we will provided the papers and pencils.
Saturday October 12, 2013 12:00pm - 1:00pm PDT
Mezzanine
An all-star panel of kids comics creators and educators discuss ways to get children excited about reading, encourage creativity, and cultivate a love of literature using great graphic novels and comics. Panelists include Raina Telgemeier (Smile), Dave Roman (Astronaut Academy), Alexis Fajardo (Kid Beowulf, Peanuts), and Jack Baur (Teen Services Librarian at the Berkeley Public Library). Moderated by Betsy Gomez (CBLDF) with a Q&A to follow.
APE special guests Ron Turner (underground comix pioneer and head of Last Gasp), Dan Vado (SLG Publishing and APE founder), and Eric Reynolds (Fantagraphics) discuss why the independent press is a necessary part of the comics community. Moderated by Andrew Farago of the Cartoon Art Museum, the panelists will discuss not only why they believe in the independent press but how you can become a part of it, too.
San Francisco's comics history runs deep, from the first modern comic strip in the late 1800s to the birth of the underground comix movement in the 1960s. The Bay Area continues to produce some of the world’s top cartoonists, and the Cartoon Art Museum's Small Press Spotlight focuses on the works of these talented individuals. Cartoon Art Museum curator Andrew Farago joins artists Susie Cagle (This Is What Concerns Me), Renée French (Micrographica), Justin Hall (No Straight Lines), Roman Muradov (bluebed.net), Fred Noland (Black Sheep), and Andy Ristaino (Adventure Time, Night of the Living Vidiots) as they celebrate the tenth anniversary of this ongoing exhibition and talk about the past, present, and future of comics in the Bay Area.
CCS faculty member Alec Longstreth and CCS alumna Nomi Kane will provide some self-publishing tips and then walk students through the steps of making an 8-page minicomic out of a single sheet of paper. You will leave this workshop with a freshly drawn minicomic to share with your friends and family!
Saturday October 12, 2013 2:00pm - 3:00pm PDT
Mezzanine
UPDATED: Fri, Oct 04, 02:02PM For a cartoonist, putting together a complete graphic novel or gathering the material needed to fill a book of collected works is no small undertaking. Moderator Doug Neff (Toucan Learning Systems) talks with panelists Colleen Coover (Bandette), Renée French (The Ticking), Bill Griffith (Zippy) and Anders Nilsen (Big Questions) about how their processes differ and what unique challenges they face when putting together these astounding projects.
Join the struggle for comic supremacy! Combine Pictionary and Dungeons & Dragons and you get Mangaka, a fast-paced new storytelling game where every round involves drawing cards and drawing comics. Follow Trends, avoid Impairments (like Blindness and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome), and compete with your fellow players to tell the greatest comic stories, even if you can’t even draw a stick figure!
Saturday October 12, 2013 3:00pm - 4:00pm PDT
Mezzanine
Eisner Award-winning writer/artist -- and APE special guest -- Raina Telgemeier talks about her work in graphic novels (The Babysitter's Club, Smile, Drama) and what's coming next for this popular comics creator.
Each week about 50 New Yorker cartoonists each submit 10 ideas, yielding 500 for no more than 20 spots in the magazine. New Yorker cartoonist Shannon Wheeler takes you through his creative process and shows you how to turn a funny idea into a successful gag cartoon.
Saturday October 12, 2013 4:00pm - 5:00pm PDT
Mezzanine
Their co-creation Bandette is the digital comics sensation of the year. Cartoonist Colleen Coover and writer Paul Tobin are APE special guests and the winners of the Eisner Award for Best Digitial Comic. Both have long histories in the comics world and they'll talk about that, Bandette, and more in this spotlight panel.
Comics Quickfire is a fast-paced game show where volunteers are paired off with (or against) professional cartoonists in a series of fun-filled drawing challenges! Audience members provide suggestions and add to the creation of totally improvised epic drawings! Competing cartoonists include Debbie Huey, Stu Livingston, Katie Shanahan, and more!
Saturday October 12, 2013 5:00pm - 6:00pm PDT
Mezzanine
Meet the creator of Zippy the Pinhead! APE special guest Bill Griffith will be giving a slideshow talk on his long history in comics, from his days in the San Francisco Underground, where Zippy was born in 1970, to his syndication in daily newspapers, as well as work for The New Yorker and other magazines. Bring your own taco sauce; polka-dotted muu-muus optional.
Come and celebrate the 20th Anniversary of APE with some of those who made it happen! Panelists include APE founder Dan Vado (SLG Publishing), Jackie Estrada (who coordinated programming and other aspects of APE in its early years), Keith Knight (who was a guest at the very first APE), and early guests Batton Lash (Supernatural Law) and Shannon Wheeler (Too Much Coffee Man), as they talk about the show’s origins and how it has grown and changed with moderator and former director of programming for APE, Gary Sassaman.
Alt-weekly ink-slingers Shannon Wheeler (Too Much Coffee Man, The New Yorker, The Onion, Make magazine), Keith Knight (the K Chronicles, the Knight Life), Stephen Notley (Bob the Angry Flower), and Ted Rall (L.A.Times, MAD) celebrate 20+ years of answering why they don't draw comics like Garfield. The four expound on the myriad ways they've managed to thrive in a profession that has seen many of their peers throw in the towel. There will probably be swearing,inappropriate stories, and liquor, which also might help answer the Garfield question.
All's fair in love and...comics? If love has its challenges and so does making comics, what is it like for those who create comics with a romantic partner? Join moderators Andrew Farago (Cartoon Art Museum) and Shaenon Garrity (Skin Horse), Thien Pham (Sumo), and comics couples Colleen Coover (Bandette) and Paul Tobin (Bandette), Raina Telgemeier (Drama) and Dave Roman (Astronaut Academy), and Jackie Estrada (Exhibit A Press) and Batton Lash (Supernatural Law) for this discussion of all things love and comics!
Linguist and cartoonist Danièle Archambault (Stairway Stories, Quèbec-California, Life on Their Own) shares her experience of self-publishing her first 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 13, 2013 12:30pm - 1:30pm PDT
Mezzanine
APE special guest Anders Nilsen will do a short reading from his new book Rage of Poseidon (D&Q) and discuss the book's origins. The talk will touch on the role of mythology and religion in his work (from Big Questions and Sisyphus to the present), what stories are for, and what the difference might be in re-imagining old stories that most people don't remember versus ones some people organize their lives around and hold dear. Audience questions are welcome.
Cartoonist and arts educator Gabrielle Gamboa will guide you through the process of creating an expressive character mask in under an hour. All materials will be provided. Families are especially encouraged in this fun workshop.
Sunday October 13, 2013 1:30pm - 2:30pm PDT
Mezzanine
NEW: Mon, Oct 07, 09:18AM Every year comics are banned in libraries all over the United States -- learn how you can fight back! In recent years, comics that have been targeted for bans include all-ages classics like Bone by Jeff Smith and Dragonball by Akira Toriyama, as well as acclaimed books for older readers like Marjan Satrapi's Persepolis, Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home, Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, Alan Moore’s League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and others. Learn more about what comics have been banned and challenged, why comics are banned, and how you can help CBLDF’s work to protect the freedom to read!
Hard work and talent will get you only so far as a professional artist. Nidhi Chanani will tell you how to balance a freelancer's lifestyle -- and income -- in the contemporary art and comics scene.
Sunday October 13, 2013 2:30pm - 3:30pm PDT
Mezzanine
The Queer Cartoonists panel's tenth anniversary is here! Come celebrate an entire decade of fabulous and talented creators discussing the art and business of comics, talking about the complexities of LGBTQ identity, and answering probing questions from moderator Justin Hall (No Straight Lines, Glamazonia). This tenth anniversary has a star-studded cast of panelists, including APE special guest Colleen Coover (Bandette), Beth Dean (Pregnant with Desire), Dusty Jack (Shounen Fight!), MariNaomi (Kiss and Tell), Desmond Miller (Between Here and the Lint Trap), and Sean Z (Myth, Bent-Con). On top of all that, the recipient of the Prism Comics Queer Press Grant 2013 will be announced!
Poems can make great comics. Author and cartoonist Cara Goldstein's workshop will discuss famous poems that have been adapted into comic form and teach you how to create your own PoetryComics, with a look at David Morice's book of the same name. Cara is a regular workshop presenter at the San Francisco Public Library and Sharon Art Studio. Her curriculum on PoetryComics is published online through Yale University Press. She is currently writing and illustrating two children's books and creating an animated web series called Whispertown.
Sunday October 13, 2013 3:30pm - 4:30pm PDT
Mezzanine
Thien Pham (Level Up, Sumo), Wahab Algarmi (The Society of Unordinary Young Ladies), Debbie Huey (Bumperboy), 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 the local comics scene but were afraid to ask.
Every generation hopes to leave behind a legacy for the next to follow. What does that mean in the comics industry? Why is it so important to keep comics alive, and how can this be accomplished? Moderator Ricardo Padilla (The Latino Comics Expo) discusses these questions and more with panelists Colleen Coover (Bandette), Bill Griffith (Zippy), Anders Nilsen (Big Questions), Raina Telgemeier (Drama), Ron Turner (Last Gasp), and Dan Vado (SLG Publishing).
