Shel Dorf, a prominent comic-book collector who instigated the founding of the pop-culture showcase in San Diego now known as Comic-Con, has died. He was 76.

Mr. Dorf died Tuesday at Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego from complications related to diabetes, said his brother, Michael. Mr. Dorf had been hospitalized for more than a year.

He was a 37-year-old recent transplant from Detroit when he rallied a group of teenagers to stage the first convention in 1970 that 300 people attended in a downtown San Diego hotel.

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

The annual gathering has grown to be the largest of its kind in the U.S.-- more than 125,000 attended the 40th convention in August. From the beginning it highlighted science-fiction and fantasy literature, TV and film, in addition to comic books.

"People casually referred to it as Dorf Con because he was so ubiquitous and such a presence," said Mark Evanier, a TV and comic-book writer. "He was a very fierce fan of comics when there weren't that many adults who were."

For about 15 years, Mr. Dorf was actively involved in the convention but then pulled away.

Publicly, he complained that it was an ordeal to oversee an event that had grown so large. He also harrumphed that "Hollywood had hijacked it," a reference to the show broadening to include anime and video games.

David Glanzer, a Comic-Con spokesman, called Mr. Dorf "a champion of the creators of comic books and comic strips."

Sheldon Dorf was born July 5, 1933, in Detroit, the first of two sons of Ben and Sarah Dorf, immigrants from Russia. His father was an artist turned candy manufacturer.

As a child, Mr. Dorf befriended cartoonists by sending them Christmas cards. During a 1949 trip to Illinois, he paid a surprise visit to Chester Gould, creator of "Dick Tracy," then was speechless when the cartoonist recognized his name, his brother recalled.

Mr. Dorf studied at the Art Institute of Chicago. He made his living doing freelance design work and writing.

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