Comic book fans all over the world have experienced a great loss: Sheldon Dorf (pictured to the left of actor Warren Beatty), the founder of San Diego Comic Con, has died at the age of 76.

A victim of diabetes, Dorf had been hospitalized for about a year; he died of kidney failure in San Diego on Tuesday. Dorf started Comic-Con in San Diego after having moved from Detroit in 1970; today, the convention has turned into a media frenzy, attracting around 125,000 fans a year.

Dorf, a freelance artist and letterer, was a major contribution to the comic book industry and will be greatly missed.