Monterey County artists and writers represented at last weekend's Alternative Press Expo.

Ever heard of the Alternative Press Expo? No? Well you're in for a treat. Come with me.

The Alternative Press Expo is an annual comic book convention in San Francisco of unconventional comic book creators, a wildly creative meeting of imaginative minds, a bazaar of the bizarre, the indie, the endearing, the fringe, the smart, the DIYers. APE, as it's called, is part of a comic book convention triumvirate made up of Wonder Con (formerly of San Francisco, now relocated to Anaheim) and the grand dame, San Diego Comic Con. But APE is decidedly the outcast of the family.

It was built for the little guy and gal—amateur, professional and fan alike. Last year, 6,100 attended. Nowhere near the big-industry might of San Diego's Comic Con, which draws more than 100,000 people. But big numbers were never the point; representing one's true obsessions and muses was.

In 2010, Monterey's Jeff Hoke was there, hawking his arcane graphic novel/activity book The Museum of Lost Wonder. He never expected to find a big audience for his wonderfully drawn and written tome of 19th alchemy and cabinets of curiosity, but he did find a welcoming spot at APE. But the convention goes back even further.

APE was founded in 1994 in San Jose as a showcase for self-published and independent work, but was acquired by Comic-Con International and the next year moved to San Francisco's Herbst Pavilion at Fort Mason (in a warehouse sitting on pier pilings over the water). Later, it was moved to the massive (123,000 square feet) steel and glass converted railway station-turned-convention center, the Concourse Exhibition Center. That place closed recently so they moved for this last iteration, the 21st annual, back to Fort Mason.

My wife and I braved the traffic, the heat and a concurrent overlap of the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival at Golden Gate Park, with our potentially finicky 4-month-old baby, to enter this realm on Saturday. (Luckily, a rapt city was at home watching Game 2 of the Giants v Nationals). And what a show.

Exhibitors were given a folding table (some two to three) which were lined up end to end across the warehouse's open floor span, all decorated to the tee and displaying their best work. The air seemed to vibrate with the chorus of excited talk from thousands of diverse people devoted to the imagination.

Longtime National Lampoon cartoonist Rick Geary was there selling his hilarious book A is the Antichrist: Obama's Conspiracy Alphabet, satirizing inane conspiracies: "L is for Lizard. As predicted in hidden Biblical codes, Obama is actually the Great Lizard Overlord." Lonnie Millsap's humorous cartoons seem to pick up where Gary Larson left off—except Millsap, like many of the characters he draws, is black.

The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, a nonprofit that upholds comics creators' First Amendment rights, set up a table stocked with comics and graphic novels that had been challenged legally by various people seeking to censor them. Next to them, Shannon Wheeler's syndicated strip Too Much Coffee Man. 

It was that kind of mixed up crazy vibe. Violent vigilante anti-heroes, next to ironic mundane stuff, next to political humor, next to Japanese manga style animal critters. Moby Dick in Outer Space by Rodger Jacobs. Jeffrey Brown's Darth Vader and Son ("What if Darth Vader took an active role in raising his son?"). Ana King's steampunk Boston Metaphysical Society. The gay-friendly Finn and Charlie are Hitched by Tony Breed. 1001 Black Men are artistic cartoon renderings by Ajuan M. Mance of black men she's encountered in Oakland—she's up to 762.

There were charming or jarring juxtapositions all day. Speaking of which, painter and cartoonist Robert Williams, who founded Juxtapoz Art & Culture Magazine, spoke to a smallish audience in an adjacent building. Some of the hotter comics creators of the moment, Ed Piskor (Hip-Hop Family Tree) and Gene Luen Yang (Boxers & Saints) were easily accessible at their tables for autographs and fandom talk.

Along the way, we encountered some Monterey County constituents of the comics genre, including Jaime Portillo of Salinas, creator of the violent cowboy/Western genre Hell Paso. His table was outfitted with a diorama of gory scenes from his comic books. He was last seen earlier this year at the first-ever Salinas Comic Con at the Steinbeck Center, which is returning early next year.

"I won't be back for the next one," he said. "I'm moving to Washington DC."

Bridgette Spicer of Salians was there, with plenty of various formats and iterations of her strip Squid Row, one of the comics works with a sunnier disposition. She herself was wearing sunglasses indoors as the late afternoon sun streamed in through overhead windows. She said the convention had been "okay" for her thus far, and marveled at the boggling array of work. And she had breaking news.

"Did you hear that next year APE is going back to San Jose? They're giving it back to [founder Dan Vado]," she said. "I just heard from my table neighbor, who heard it in a panel earlier today."

ComicBookResources.com confirmed in an online story on Saturday that APE would revert back to Vado. and that he was considering moving it to San Jose's Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library and making it free to attend. Fyi: The Latino Comics Expo takes place at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library at San Jose State University 10am-6pm Saturday, Oct. 11, and 1-6pm Sunday, Oct. 12. 

We came upon Monterey husband and wife comics team Justin DeVine and Megan Lynn Kott. They were backdropped by a split-screen poster of his work (Kermit the Frog in the role of Twin Peaks' Agent Dale Cooper) and her work (a cat in the role of Tyrannosaurus Rex in Jurassic Park).

Kott has a tumblr of her work with cat memes. It's adorable. There is a portrait of DeVine with the following caption:

"Justin - the Sausage King of Chicago. I could be wrong - but I’m pretty sure that’s him… Also my table-mate at APE this year <3 Also maybe my life partner. Artner? Anyway, I married that guy. He’s okay I guess ;-)"

They shared their table with Jessica Bender, a Monterey comic artist who had a slim comic that looked like a zine called Red Flag, about her awkward dating adventures. One headline: "How to Ignore the Bad Signs."

Because the building is on a pier, one could step out of the side doors and sit with legs dangling over the opaque green waters of the San Francisco Bay, taking in the sight of Alcatraz in one direction and the Golden Gate Bridge in the other. A refreshing break from the hub-bub that many-a-con-goer took advantage of. At the rear of the warehouse was an elevated loft area with tables, a full bar and a view of the whole shebang. Also a sweet vista spot where a person could chill.

"How's your con going?"

The first time we were asked that question, my wife and I were puzzled. We're not trying to con anybody. Are we? No. We realized that the question was "How's your convention going?" Our answer was on the level.

"Awesome."