Star Trek fans line up at Comic-Con International 2009 convention held in San Diego July 23, 2009. The annual comic book and popular arts convention attracts over 100,000 people and ran through July 26. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)
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Updated: Wednesday, 04 Nov 2009, 4:50 PM EST
Published : Wednesday, 04 Nov 2009, 4:49 PM EST
SAN DIEGO (AP) - Sheldon Dorf, who founded the world famous Comic-Con International comic book convention, has died. He was 76.
A longtime friend, Greg Koudoulian, says the Ocean Beach resident died at a San Diego hospital on Tuesday from kidney failure. He had diabetes and had been hospitalized for about a year.
Dorf, a freelance artist and comic strip letterer, founded Comic-Con in San Diego in 1970 after moving from Detroit.
Today, the convention draws 125,000 fans a year and is a major gathering for comic book fans, artists, writers and movie stars.
Koudoulian says Dorf was friends with comic greats such as Marvel artist Jack Kirby and "Peanuts" creator Charles Schulz. He says Dorf was also instrumental in helping budding artists find audiences.
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