Conventions

Comics conventions worth a creator’s table — where to show your work, meet readers, and find your scene. Independent-comics focused.

ABQ Zine Fest

Zine fest · Albuquerque, NM

Oct 3, 2026Not yet rated

Fifteenth year at GIZMO ARTS on Central. Long-running, unfussy, deeply DIY.

Nashville Comic Arts Festival

Nashville, TN

Oct 3, 2026 4.5

The Nashville Comic Arts Festival is a creator and comics-focused show begun in 2024, celebrating the medium of comics and the local and regional talent…

Philadelphia Fan Expo Philadelphia, May 28 - 30, 2027 – text

Philly Comics Expo

Comics-first · Philadelphia, PA

Oct 4, 2026Not yet rated

One day at the Old Pine Community Center, run by a comic shop that also publishes. All-ages, small-press dense.

Chicago Zine Fest

Zine fest · Chicago, IL

Oct 10, 2026Not yet rated

Free, on two floors of the Harold Washington Library. The most established zine fair in the Midwest.

Portland Zine Symposium

Zine fest · Portland, OR

Oct 17, 2026 – Oct 18, 2026Not yet rated

Twenty-five years of non-juried, all-ages DIY print at Portland State. Panels and workshops alongside the tables.

SLICE

Comics-first · St. Louis, MO

Oct 31, 2026Not yet rated

St. Louis Independent Comics Expo — a fall show with year-round workshops feeding into it.

KC Zine Con

Zine fest · Kansas City, MO

Nov 7, 2026Not yet rated

Eleventh year. Explicit BIPOC-priority tabling and a sliding-scale fee — the lowest barrier to entry on this list.

L.A. Zine Fest

Zine fest · Los Angeles, CA

Nov 7, 2026Not yet rated

At the Angel City Derby warehouse in the Fashion District. Politics, perzines, photo work and comics side by side.

Short Run

Comics-first · Seattle, WA

Nov 7, 2026Not yet rated

Deliberately anti-growth and artist-first. Zines, minicomics and small-run work in a single Georgetown hall.

Brooklyn Expo of Comics

Comics-first · Brooklyn, NY

Nov 14, 2026 – Nov 15, 2026Not yet rated

The direct successor to Comic Arts Brooklyn, with CAB's Gabe Fowler running panels. Inaugural year — Chris Ware and Lisa Hanawalt on the guest list.

SPACE

Comics-first · Hilliard, OH

Nov 14, 2026Not yet rated

Small Press and Alternative Comics Expo. Free entry, cheap tables, one guy running it for two decades. No AI work permitted for sale.

Zine Fest Houston

Zine fest · Houston, TX

Nov 21, 2026Not yet rated

Running since 1993 — one of the oldest zine fests anywhere, now at the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art.

Genghis Con

Comics-first · Cleveland, OH

Nov 29, 2026Not yet rated

Fifteen years of Cleveland small press at the Pivot Center. Collective-run, comics and zines, no frills.

Dallas Zine Fest

Zine fest · Dallas, TX

Dec 5, 2026Not yet rated

Held inside the Nasher Sculpture Center and free with museum admission — an unusually nice room for a zine fair.

MICE

Comics-first · Boston, MA

Dec 5, 2026 – Dec 6, 2026Not yet rated

Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo, at BU. Strong mentorship and education streak — good first big show for a new creator.

DCAZ

Comics-first · Jacksonville, FL

Feb 27, 2027Not yet rated

Duval Comic and Zine Festival at the CoRK Arts District. Free, all-ages, strictly self-publishers.

Grid Zine Fest

Zine fest · Salt Lake City, UT

Mar 27, 2027 – Mar 28, 2027Not yet rated

Self-described as Salt Lake's queerest zine fest, with a "Comic Quest" strand built in.

Cartoon Crossroads Columbus

Comics-first · Columbus, OH

Apr 15, 2027 – Apr 18, 2027Not yet rated

A city-wide comics week across museums, libraries and a college, not a single hall. Note the move from fall to spring — it skips 2026 entirely.

Chboro Zine Fest

Zine fest · Carrboro, NC

Apr 25, 2027Not yet rated

Outdoors on the Carrboro Town Commons. Small, neighborly, sponsored by the local arts center.

A2CAF

Comics-first · Ann Arbor, MI

Annual, JuneNot yet rated

Free, family-facing, library-hosted, with a separate small-and-indie-press strand. Free tables make it an easy first show.

AZCAF

Comics-first · Phoenix, AZ

Annual, FebruaryNot yet rated

Bills itself as the only Arizona show fully dedicated to comics and the people who make them. First-come tabling is rare and worth knowing.

Autoptic

Comics-first · Minneapolis, MN

IrregularNot yet rated

Design-literate Midwest art-comics fair with a print-culture bent. Has gone dormant and come back before — check before you plan around it.

BICS

Comics-first · Brooklyn, NY

Annual, springNot yet rated

Brooklyn Independent Comics Showcase, now in Industry City's largest room. One of two shows filling the hole CAB left.

Black Comic Book Festival

Comics-first · Harlem, NY

Annual, winter/springNot yet rated

Free and library-run at the Schomburg Center. Panels alongside a floor of Black creators and publishers.

CAKE

Comics-first · Chicago, IL

Annual, springNot yet rated

Chicago Alternative Comics Expo, at the Irish American Heritage Center. Grassroots, artist-curated, minicomics-heavy. No application fee.

Cape & Cowl Con

Comics-first · Alameda, CA

Annual, late AugNot yet rated

Free, all-ages, in a brewery, with an anti-book-banning streak. 2026 pulled Gene Luen Yang and Mariko Tamaki.

CoZi Fest

Zine fest · Las Vegas, NV

Last held 4 Oct 2025Not yet rated

Las Vegas's first comics-and-zines festival, free at the East Las Vegas Library. Site partly broken; treat as a lead.

Cookeville Comic Arts Festival

Cookeville, TN

May 4.5

CCAF is an annual event series dedicated to the celebration and promotion of comics and sequential art in the Upper Cumberland region. Events are free to…

Detroit Zine Fest

Zine fest · Detroit, MI

Next date TBANot yet rated

Site is live but largely placeholder. Worth an email before counting on it.

ECBACC

Comics-first · Philadelphia, PA

Annual, MayNot yet rated

East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention — the founding event of the Black comics con movement and home of the Glyph Awards. Free, at Temple.

FLUKE

Comics-first · Athens, GA

Annual, MarchNot yet rated

Twenty-plus years of strictly self-published minicomics in a bar in Athens. A dollar buys a lottery entry — the fairest door policy on the circuit.

Flame Con

Broader · New York, NY

Annual, AugustNot yet rated

Broader than a pure minicomics show, but creator-first and nonprofit-run. Moved to the Marriott Marquis for 2026.

GAZE

Comics-first · Gainesville, FL

Annual, AprilNot yet rated

Gainesville Arts and Zine Expo, run out of SAW's comics school and library. Second year — small, but the institution behind it is serious.

GalaxyCon Nashville

Nashville, TN

June 2.6

GalaxyCon Nashville is More Than a Comic-Con! It’s a 3-Day FESTIVAL OF FANDOM with celebrities, artists, writers, voice actors, cosplayers, entertainers,…

Grand Rapids Zine Fest

Zine fest · Grand Rapids, MI

Annual, AugustNot yet rated

A day at Fountain Street Church. Small comics, art books and zines.

Halftone Zine Fest

Zine fest · Lexington, TN

Summer 4.3

Halftone Zine Fest is a celebration of DIY publishing that takes place in Lexington, KY. The first event of this kind was called the Ephemera Festival and took…

Comic-style illustration of a hero with a "C" on his chest

Kids Comic Con

Comics-first · Bronx, NY

Annual, DecemberNot yet rated

Twenty-eight years of getting kids to actually make comics. Education-first rather than a marketplace.

LCAF

Comics-first · Modesto, CA

Annual, springNot yet rated

The Latinx Comic Arts Festival — free, campus-hosted, centered on Latinx creators in comics and graphic novels.

Lone Star Zine Fest

Zine fest · Austin, TX

Next date TBANot yet rated

Free and all-ages, tied to UT Austin Libraries' zine collection. Site says check back next spring.

Milwaukee Zine Fest

Zine fest · Milwaukee, WI

Annual, AprilNot yet rated

Only about half of applicants get in. The lottery is audited to prioritize marginalized voices rather than juried on craft.

MoCCA Arts Fest

Comics-first · New York, NY

Annual, springNot yet rated

The biggest independent comics fest in New York, run out of a museum. Comics and illustration overlap heavily here.

Music City Multi Con

Lebanon, TN

November 2.0

Get ready for an unforgettable experience at Music City Multi Con, Nashville's ultimate celebration of gaming, anime, cosplay, and all things pop culture! The…

Olympia Zine Fest

Zine fest · Olympia, WA

Returning 2027Not yet rated

The site says "see you in 2027" and nothing more. Active but between editions.

Orange County Zine Fest

Zine fest · Anaheim, CA

Annual, AugustNot yet rated

Library-hosted, all-ages, running since 2017 — the main SoCal zine fair outside LA.

PHX Zine Fest

Zine fest · Tempe, AZ

2026 edition referenced · date TBANot yet rated

Not-for-profit DIY fest founded 2016 — zines, pamphlets and indie comics. Information lives on the distro's site.

Pittsburgh Zine Fair

Zine fest · Pittsburgh, PA

2026 edition calledNot yet rated

Free and all-ages, most recently at The Kingsley in Larimer. A 2026 call for applications is out — the date hadn't been posted publicly.

Pride in Panels

Comics-first · San Francisco, CA

Annual, FebruaryNot yet rated

Free, in the main branch of the SF Public Library. Note: its own domains weren't resolving — go through SFPL for information.

Queen City Zine Fest

Zine fest · Charlotte, NC

Last held 18 Oct 2025Not yet rated

Zines, comics, printmaking and self-published work at the McColl Center. No 2026 date surfaced.

Richmond Zine Fest

Zine fest · Richmond, VA

AnnualNot yet rated

Sixteen-plus years, explicitly centering Black, POC, LGBTQ+ and disabled makers. Masking required; AI-made work barred.

STAPLE!

Comics-first · Austin, TX

Annual, AprilNot yet rated

The Independent Media Expo, running since 2001. Comics, zines, games and craft — the Southwest's long-standing indie show.

SUCZ Fest

Comics-first · Staunton, VA

Last held Jan 2025Not yet rated

Staunton Underground Comics and Zine Fest — one person building a show from nothing in a small Shenandoah Valley city. Ran roughly twice a year, then went…

San Anto Zine Fest

Zine fest · San Antonio, TX

Last held Dec 2024Not yet rated

Library-run, comics and poetry and personal work. No site of its own and nothing confirmed since 2024.

Seattle Zine Fest

Zine fest · Seattle, WA

Annual, JulyNot yet rated

Free summer counterpart to Short Run, on Capitol Hill.

Tucson Zine Fest

Zine fest · Tucson, AZ

Last confirmed 2025Not yet rated

Has used 191 Toole and 6th Street in different years. Site blocks automated reading — go direct.

Zine Scene Fest

Zine fest · Hilo, HI

Annual, JulyNot yet rated

In the cultural center's back lot. Small, family-friendly, the only fest of its kind on the island.

Asheville Zine Fest

Zine fest · Asheville, NC

Sep 26, 2026Not yet rated

"Power to the small press." Zines, comics, artist books and independent publishing in the mountains.

Baltimore Comic-Con

Broader · Baltimore, MD

Sep 25, 2026 – Sep 27, 2026Not yet rated

Bigger and more mainstream than the rest of this list, but independently owned since 1998 and genuinely comics-creator-first. Hosts the Harvey Awards.

Small Press Expo

Comics-first · N. Bethesda, MD

Sep 12, 2026 – Sep 13, 2026Not yet rated

The prestige alt-comics show and home of the Ignatz Awards. If a creator does one show a year, this is usually it.

San Francisco Zine Fest

Zine fest · San Francisco, CA

Sep 6, 2026Not yet rated

Twenty-fifth anniversary edition at The Hibernia, guest of honor V. Vale. One of the oldest zine fests in the country.

Boise Comic Arts Festival

Comics-first · Boise, ID

Sep 5, 2026 – Sep 6, 2026Not yet rated

Fourteenth year. Free, library-run, two-day artists' alley — the anchor comics show for the Intermountain West.

Paper Plains Zine Fest

Zine fest · Lawrence, KS

Sep 4, 2026 – Sep 6, 2026Not yet rated

Three days across Van Go, the Spencer Research Library and Lawrence Public Library. Zines, comics and chapbooks with heavy library backing.