Shel Dorf
Dorf in April 1988
Born	Sheldon Dorf (1933-07-05)July 5, 1933 Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Died	November 3, 2009(2009-11-03) (aged 76) San Diego, California, U.S.
Nationality	American
Area(s)	comic book convention pioneer, letterer
Notable works	San Diego Comic-Con International Steve Canyon (lettering only)
Awards	Inkpot Award (1975) [1]
http://www.sheldorftribute.com/

Sheldon "Shel" Dorf (July 5, 1933 – November 3, 2009) was an American comic book enthusiast and the founder of San Diego Comic-Con International. ^{[2] [3] [4]} Dorf was also a freelance artist and graphic designer, who lettered the Steve Canyon comic strip for the last 12 to 14 years of the strip's run. ^{[5] [4] [6]}

Early life

Born in Detroit, Michigan, Dorf was a fan of comic books and comic strips, particularly Chester Gould's work on the daily strip Dick Tracy. ^{[3] [7]}

Dorf studied at Chicago's Art Institute before moving to New York and beginning his career as a freelancer in the field of commercial design. ^[3] In the 1960s, Dorf had made the acquaintance of a number of creators working in the two fields, among them Jack Kirby, upon whom Dorf would occasionally call. ^[8]

Career

Comic-Con

In 1964 back in Detroit, teenager Robert Brosch organised a convention for fans of the comics medium, which Dorf and Jerry Bails, the "father of comics fandom", attended. ^[7] The next year Dorf and Bails took over the event, christening it the " Detroit Triple Fan Fair" (referring to fantasy literature, fantasy films, and comic art) ^[9] and organizing it as an annual event. The Detroit Triple Fan Fair (DTFF) is credited as being the first regularly held convention featuring comic books as a major component. ^[10] Dorf went on to produce the DTFF in 1967 ^[11] and 1968 as well.

In 1970, Dorf moved to San Diego, California, ^[12] to take care of his aging parents. Almost immediately, he organized a one-day convention "as a kind of 'dry run' for the larger convention he hoped to stage," ^[4] with Forrest J Ackerman as the star attraction.

Dorf's first three-day San Diego comics convention, the Golden State Comic-Con, ^[12] was held at the U. S. Grant Hotel ^[12] from August 1–3, 1970. ^[13] It would eventually grow into the San Diego Comic-Con International, ^[14] now considered the standard bearer for U.S. comic conventions. The convention moved in subsequent years to the El Cortez Hotel; the University of California, San Diego; and Golden Hall, before settling into the San Diego Convention center in 1991. ^[15]

Later endeavors

As "'Founding Father' of San Diego Comic-Con", Dorf received an Inkpot Award at the 1975 San Diego Comic-Con. ^[16]

In 1984 Dorf began compilation and editing of the Dick Tracy comic strips in comic book format for Blackthorne Publishing, "proudly" ^[17] publishing ninety-nine issues and collecting the material again in twenty-four collections. ^[17]

Chester Gould's daughter, Jean Gould O'Connell credits Dorf with bringing "Tracy out to another generation." ^[17] Comics historian Mark Evanier said Caniff "honored Shel by making him into a character. It was a well-meaning football player named "Thud Shelley" who appeared a few times in the Canyon strip. Jack Kirby also made Shel into a character ... a father figure named Himon who appeared in Mister Miracle. ^[4] In 1990, Dorf was employed as a consultant on Warren Beatty's big-screen adaptation of Dick Tracy. ^{[3] [18]}

Dorf would also contribute interviews to the comics press and movie collector magazines (including for The Buyer's Guide for Comic Fandom [TBG] and Film Collector's World), and his conversations with Milton Caniff and Mort Walker have both been collected in the University Press of Mississippi's Milton Caniff: Conversations and Mort Walker: Conversations respectively. His interview with Wally Wood (among the few to see print) for TBG was reprinted in Comic Book Artist #14 (July 2001).

Death and legacy

Dorf died at age 76 on November 3, 2009, from diabetes-related complications ^[19] in Sharp Memorial Hospital, San Diego. He was survived by his brother, Michael. ^[20]

The Shel Dorf Awards were created in 2010 to honor "'the comic industry's best and brightest talents', and voted on by fans." ^[21] In 2011, ^[22] the Detroit Fanfare convention began presenting the awards, ^[23] which were presented through 2013. ^{[24] [25]}

References

Citations

Sources

• Shel Dorf at the Grand Comics Database

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Shel Dorf.

• Shel Dorf Tribute.com
• Shel Dorf at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
• Remembering Shel Dorf
• Russ Maheras list of Shel Dorf interviews for "The Buyer's Guide for Comic Fandom"