Earlier this month, we told you about the passing of SDCC co-founder Sheldon “Shel” Dorf. Sadly, Ken Krueger, co-founder and first chairperson of the event that became Comic-Con International, has passed away as well.

Krueger, who attended the very first science-fiction convention in 1939 in New York City, was owner of Alert Books in Ocean Beach, California, when he met Sheldon Dorf in early 1970. The two, with a group of teen-aged fans, organized first Golden State Comic Con, held Aug. 1-3, 1970, at the U.S. Grant Hotel.

Krueger also worked in distribution and publishing, releasing the first professional work of such comics creators as Dave Stevens, Jim Valentino and Scott Shaw, science-fiction author Greg Bear and Garbage Pail Kids painter John Pound.