On Sunday, November 9, 1969, Shel Dorf led a group of San Diego comic fans on their first pilgrimage to the home of Jack Kirby, who had recently moved from New York to Irvine in Orange County, California. Travelling with Shel were the rest of the first Comic-Con committee – Richard Alf, Barry Alfonso, Dan Stewart, Bob Sourk, and Mike Towry – a young friend of Barry’s named Wayne Kincaid, and Barry’s mother, Sylvia Alfonso. We all piled into a rented station wagon and Shel drove us to our rendezvous with destiny.
Comic-Con 1969
Audio link to recording of Comic-Con 2009 Secret Origins panel with Comic-Con #1 committee members Richard Alf, Barry Alfonso, Greg Bear, Dave Clark, Roger Freedman, Ken Krueger, Bill Lund, Scott Shaw!, and Mike Towry. Includes transcript of Richard’s account of Shel Dorf’s early guidance as Comic-Con founder.
Sheldon L. “Shel” Dorf is a kind man with a big heart who has spent the majority of his life enriching the lives of others. Shel is not a rich man in the classic sense of the word, but he has possessed a seemingly bottomless well of goodwill, which he has shared selflessly with countless […]
Jack Kirby (left) and Shel Dorf — Nov. 9, 1969