This embed may not work so if it doesn't, try going to this page. It's the website of a San Diego TV station with coverage of Shel Dorf's passing and his funeral. You may have to watch a brief commercial…
And here's the obit in the Los Angeles Times. I spoke today to the New York Times which has already run a brief item and will have a formal obituary tomorrow.
I feel like I should write something more about Shel but I may take a few days to decide what it is I want to say. Shel was a complex guy, and I feel that while all these obits and tributes are accurate, even mine and the ones that quote me aren't saying all that I think should be said about the man. (And by the way, I knew Shel for 40 years and never heard anyone except his parents refer to him as Sheldon Dorf. I know it's in the style guide at some news organizations but it's a silly rule. When Dick Van Dyke leaves us, are they going to report the death of Richard Van Dyke?)
One point I forgot to mention in my piece and which I've included in all the interviews I've given is that it isn't just the comic book community that owes a debt to Shel. It's the city of San Diego, as well. You'd think that the world's largest comic convention would be established in New York or Chicago or Los Angeles. Why is it in San Diego? Because Shel Dorf was in San Diego.
And because the con was in San Diego, San Diego changed for the better. San Diego in 1970 was not the kind of town that attracted national conventions. It attracted some tourists because of the zoo and climate. It attracted a lot of sailors on shore leave because of the Naval Stations. But when, for example, the major political parties were considering where to gather to nominate their presidential candidates, San Diego was not even in the running. It didn't have the facilities or the hotels. Now, it has enough of both to lure major conventions and to warrant the building of huge Hiltons and Marriotts. The convention trade has meant a lot of urban renewal to San Diego and the Comic-Con was a major catalyst and inspiration.
So a city was transformed and in many ways reborn…and all because Shel's parents moved there for their retirements and Shel followed. If Ma and Pa Dorf had settled down in Albuquerque, we'd all probably be trekking to Albuquerque each year for the big Comic-Con. I'm glad they went to San Diego. You know what the temperature is like in Albuquerque in July?