Comic-Con founder dies at age 76

November 5, 10:30 PMComic-Con ExaminerKaren Sweeny-Justice

Previous Next

Comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Comic-Con Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

Sheldon L. Dorf, the man who founded Comic-Con in San Diego, California back in 1970 has died. Dorf, who was 76, had been ailing for about  year; he had diabetes and died from kidney failure.

Dorf was a native of Detroit, Michigan but moved to San Diego in 1970.  He was a freelance artist and comic letterer, and called Jack Kirby and Charles Schulz friends. A big Dick Tracy fan, Dorf collected comics himself and had organized the Triple Fan Fest in Michigan before his move. Once on the west coast, he met with like-minded comic book collectors and organized the first fan convention -- the Golden State Comic Con -- in San Diego's US Grant Hotel in early August 1970. Today, Comic-Con International attracts upwards of 120,000 fans to the San Diego Convention Center annually in July.

A photo of Dorf is posted on the official Comic-Con website.