A caricature of Ken from an
early 1970s program book
by Milton Caniff

Ken Krueger

1926-2009

Comic-Con has lost another member of its founding family. Ken Krueger was instrumental in getting the show off the ground and keeping it going in its first few years. He served as chairman of the first Comic-Con in 1970.

Ken was no stranger to fan conventions. As a member of science fiction's "First Fandom," he had been at what is considered the very first science fiction convention, the 1939 WorldCon in New York City. His long career as a publisher began with fanzines as well as professional publications included editing for Grant-Hadnet Enterprises, Buffalo Book Company, SHROUD Publishers, and Dawn Press. He was the first publisher for E. E. Smith's Skylark of Space, H. P. Lovecraft's Dream Quest, and many others.

In the 1960s he moved from Buffalo, New York to San Diego, where he set up shop with a bookstore in Ocean Beach that became a gathering place for fans of science fiction and cult films. He also published underground comix, featuring some of the first published work of local cartoonists such as John Pound, Dave Stevens, and Scott Shaw!

When Shel Dorf and a group of teenage comics fans hooked up with Ken and his group of mostly teenaged sci-fi/movie fans to put on the first Comic-Con, Ken was the go-to guy for dealing with the hotel and handling some of the other business aspects of the show. As Mike Towry, one of the other original committee members points out, "When convention day rolled around and the inevitable problems with people, things, and situations cropped up, unflappable Ken could be counted on to fill in the cracks, smooth over the bumps, and keep things rolling along."

Ken (center) with Forrest J Ackerman (left) and
artist/photographer Walt Daugherty at the first Comic-Con in 1970

Over the years Ken owned (by his own count) dozens of bookstores, in the San Diego area and elsewhere. In the mid-1980s he went to work for the Schanes Brothers managing the Pacific Comics distribution warehouse in Sparta, Illinois, then later ran Capital City Distribution's warehouse in Los Angeles. He retired to upstate New York in the early 1990s but continued to be an avid collector and occasional publisher.

Ken in 2009

Ken was a special guest at the 2009 Comic-Con as part of CCI's 40th anniversary celebrations. He appeared on the Secret Origins of Comic-Con panel and regaled the audience with stories of the show's early days. That evening he was feted at a special dinner hosted by one of his adoring "sons," Jim Valentino. It was a great opportunity for many of the original committee members to thank him for his great contributions to the show and to their lives.

On November 21 Ken passed away at the age of 83. He was an integral part of the origins of Comic-Con and his passing is deeply felt by the Board of Directors, Staff, Committee and Volunteers of Comic-Con, the organization he helped to found.