Sheldon "Shel" Dorf (July 5, 1933 – November 3, 2009) was an American comic book enthusiast and the founder of San Diego Comic-Con.[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.
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 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]
^ abcGould O'Connell, Jean and Locher, Dick. Chester Gould: A Daughter's Biography of the Creator of Dick Tracy, McFarland, 2007, p.203. ISBN0-7864-2825-2
^"The Shel Dorf Awards — all the winners". The Beat. September 26, 2011. Archived from the original on October 25, 2011. Retrieved February 6, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)