12 Facts About Richard Alf

Richard Alf was an American businessman and former comic book store owner who co-founded the San Diego Comic-Con International and served as its chairman beginning in 1970.

Richard Alf studied music at the University of California, San Diego.

In 1970, Richard Alf teamed with a group of other comic enthusiasts, including Shel Dorf, Mike Towry, and Ken Krueger, to establish the first Comic-Con annual convention, then known as the San Diego's Golden State Comic-Con.

Richard Alf donated several thousand dollars to fund the convention for its first three years.

Richard Alf became the chairman of the convention in 1971, while he was a music student at the University of California, San Diego.

Richard Alf used his ties to the university to move the convention to campus in 1971, offering discounted dorm rooms as housing for attendees.

Richard Alf largely gave up his unpaid, volunteer positions at Comic-Con later in the 1970s.

Richard Alf sold the comic business in the late 1970s and pursued careers in commodity trading and outdoor advertising.

Richard Alf contributed to a special project by San Diego State University's library to document the early years and founders of Comic-Con with primary sources.

Richard Alf was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in December 2011 after collapsing at his home in Serra Mesa, San Diego.

Richard Alf spent a short time at La Jolla Nursing and Rehabilitation Center before being transferred to the home of his friend, Earl Bookhammer, in Ramona, California.

Richard Alf died at Bookhammer's home in Ramona on January 5,2012, at the age of 59.