Fluke was established in January 2002 by cartoonist T. Edward Bak . He founded the festival after the previous year 's Small Press Expo was cancelled in the wake of the September 11 attacks . The name of the festival comes from the fact that its genesis was by chance , or a fluke . For its second year , Bak asked for help organizing the event from cartoonist Patrick Dean and ' zine publisher Robert Newsome , who ended up absorbing the festival from him and serving as its organizers in the years since . The mission statement for the festival states : Co-organizer Newsome has described Fluke as a " glorified zine swap " . For much of its first decade , FLUKE was held upstairs in Tasty World , a local bar and music venue . Since 2011 , it has been held at the 40 Watt Club . It took place in January each year initially until an ice storm struck the day of the show , after which it was moved to March – April . The 40 Watt keeps an open bar during the event , and some years have featured complimentary cake for exhibitors . In addition to up-and-coming creators , FLUKE often features appearances from local established artists such as Joey Weiser , Eleanor Davis , and Drew Weing
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
FLUKE Mini-Comics & Zine Festival