SF Zine Fest 2014

Last Sunday afternoon I visited the SF Zine Fest, an annual local expo of independent publishing, comics, zines & art. The expo was still busy when it ended at 4p, but I got there too late in the afternoon & had to rush through it. I did manage to see a lot of familiar faces, though. I liked the detailed illustrations using multiple levels of grey inside The Palace of Ashes, Andy Warner's brief history of the Columbarium, & it was impressive to see the hardback version of Alec Longstreth's Basewood. Its successful Kickstarter campaign is a model of transparency. I was alarmed & frankly nonplussed when Jason Shiga confidently explained to me that he expects to complete his 720-page comic, Demon, in 2 years. I loved the crafty items & origami-style books made from found papers at the table of Mad Made SF, whose proprietors gave me quite a hard sell.

The expo occupied 2 rooms in the County Fair Building in Golden Gate Park, near 9th Avenue & Lincoln. In the past, people in the smaller room have complained about not getting enough foot traffic, so this year attendees were funneled through the smaller room when they first entered. As a result, I heard exhibitors in the larger room say they weren't getting as many visitors. Someone announced the expo's workshops & panels by walking through the expo & yelling, which everyone agreed was much better than the blaring PA system used in the past.

§ San Francisco Zine Fest 2014
Saturday 08/30: 11am - 5pm
Sunday 08/31: 11am - 4pm
San Francisco County Fair Building
Golden Gate Park