By Jeanette Castaneda
For the Daily Titan

Shel Dorf, an avid comic book collector and founder of San Diego Comic-Con International, one of the largest comic book conventions in the world, died Tuesday at the age of 76. Dorf created a pop culture event unlike any other, where comic book, film and TV fans unite every year.

Dorf died at Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego of diabetes complications. He had been hospitalized for more than a year.

The first convention in 1970 only attracted about 300 people. The annual event, which celebrated its fortieth anniversary in August has grown immensly since then, as more than 125,000 people attended this past summer.

“I just felt that the cartoonists who entertained the popular masses were not getting their fair share of recognition,” Dorf told the San Diego Union-Tribune in 2006, and he remained dedicated to exposing new talent.

He worked with many comic book artists and met artists such as Jack Kirby, co-creator of X-Men and Fantastic Four. Dorf created the convention with the help of his friends in the field.

In the last decade, he became estranged from the organization and was no longer directly involved with it. He complained that it became an ordeal to oversee an event that has become too large and that, “Hollywood has kind of hijacked it.” He was referring to the event’s shift into mainstream media, where the hype became more about which new movies would be showcased and which stars would show up.

“Sadly, as the Con grew even bigger and the big movie stars drew even bigger crowds, we lost sight of the fact that this convention was set up for the promotion of the actual art of comics,” Dorf said.

Dorf was a fierce lover of comics. As a child, he made his own comics. He would cut strips out of the newspaper and paste them into scrapbooks.

Born in Detroit, Dorf attended Chicago’s Art Institute before moving to New York to begin his career as a freelancer in commercial design.

He become fascinated as a child with Chester Gould’s work on the comic strip, “Dick Tracy.” Because he kept copies of the strip, Dorf was hired as a consultant for the Warren Beatty adaption of the Dick Tracy movie in 1990, according to a 1990 Union-Tribune article.

As a child, he befriended cartoonists by sending them Christmas cards. He considered these artist heroes at a time when many people did not consider cartoonists to be of much importance.

“News of the passing of one of the key founders of the Comic-Con is a sad thing. I feel a big debt of gratitude for all Mr. Shel Dorf has done to create and produce the institution we call the San Diego Comic-Con,” said Christian Hill, assistant professor of illustration and sequential art in the Department of Visual Arts at Cal State Fullerton.

Dorf’s contributions to the world of comics are immeasurable. Through his own appreciation of the art of comics, he was inclined to give artists an avenue where they could showcase their talents.

“Its a good thing for the comic book industry. It also helps to foster a sense of community among comic book fans and its a good outlet for self expression,” said Fernando Lopez, 24, political science major.

He donated much of his collection to the Cartoon Library and the Museum at Ohio State University, according to Comic-Con’s Web site. In some ways, his appreciation of the art of comics was a giving one.

“Even though I believe Comic-Con’s main focus aren’t just comic books anymore, I still think it is very important to the comic book world and fans. Comic-Con is still a place for people with a love of comic books to come and meet the artists and writers they enjoy reading,” said Ben Guerrero, 24, music major at Cal State Dominguez Hills.

“Every year, many of our art students set up booths and present their comics and animation projects. Many of them get jobs and career-altering connections from this popular arts extravaganza,” Hill said. “And finally, where else can you go and hear grown-ups wearing elaborate costumes speak Klingon to one another?”

Dorf is survived by his brother, Michael, of Los Angeles.