You may not know Shel Dorf by name, but to comic-book fans he was a legend.

Dorf founded the uber-famous Comic-Con International comic-book convention in 1970, which has since become a gigantic event for comic book fans, but also for movie companies and moviegoers too.

The convention started out modestly, but now attracts the top movie studios, who want to tout their upcoming projects to the masses.  And masses they are.  Today, the yearly event in San Diego draws 125,000 comic-book fans, artists, writers and movie stars, who routinely dress up as characters from their favorite comics, graphic novels and more.

Dorf had been sick with diabetes and had been hospitalized for over a year his longtime friend, Greg Koudoulian tells the Associated Press.  He died of kidney failure November 3rd.  Shel Dorf was 76 years old.