Author on comic book fandom Bill Schelly died on September 12, 2019, due to multiple myeloma. He was 67 years old.

Schelly was born on November 2, 1951 in Walla Walla, Washington. He had been a comic book enthusiast since he was a child and discovered the larger world of comic fandom a few years later. Once Schelly saw his first comic fanzine, Batmania, he decided to start publishing fanzines himself. In ’65 he launched Super-Heroes Anonymous, the first in a line of magazines, that he’d edit and publish until ’72.

His fanzine Sense of Wonder earned Schelly fame within the comic community, which began as a collection of amateur comic strips and stories. In 1970, he changed the format to more of a general fanzine with articles and artwork about the history of comics. The publication contained profiles on the careers of comic icons like Will Eisner, Steve Ditko, Frank Frazetta, and Stanley Pitt.

Schelly began researching the classic era of comic fandom in 1990. That work would become The Golden Age of Comic Fandom, which quickly sold out and was nominated for an Eisner award. It was revised and expanded in ’98 and ’03.

He collaborated with Roy Thomas on Alter Ego: The Best of the Legendary Comics Fanzine in ’97. Around that time, he wrote two volumes of Fandom’s Finest Comics, followed by Sense of Wonder: A Life in Comic Fandom, and Comic Fandom Reader.

Schelly wrote biographical books that included Words of Wonder: The Life and Times of Otto Binder, The Art of Joe Kubert, Harvey Kurtzman: The Man Who Created Mad and Revolutionized Humor in America, and John Stanley: Giving Life to Little Lulu.

His latest work included Bill Schelly Talks with the Founders of Comic Fandom Vol. 1, The Bill Schelly Reader: Collected Essays About Comic Books, Comic Fandom & James Bond, and the novel, Come with Me.

“It was never going to be the right time for someone who loved comics as much as Bill Schelly did to go, but it’s not as if his love for comics went with him. No, it’s here with us. He worked so diligently for so many years to connect the dots and assemble the puzzle pieces to create a more comprehensive understanding of our medium, its creators, and its fans. Because of his efforts, we know so much more about comics fandom than we otherwise would have, and that’s an incredible legacy for a fan to be able to leave behind. While we are the poorer for his loss, we’re so much richer for his having been here,” said Steve Geppi, President and CEO of Diamond Comic Distributors.

“Besides being a great guy and a good friend, Bill Schelly stands as one of the most important comics historians of the past two decades. He was a double threat – as chronicler of early comics fandom, and as a biographer. His opus was, of course, his work on Harvey Kurtzman, which is likely to remain the definitive study on the creator of MAD and EC’s war comics, but his other biographies, of Warren, Stanley, Kubert, and especially Otto Binder, are all major contributions. I’ll miss him, and I’ll miss the fine work I know he would have continued to do if not taken from us far, far too early,” Roy Thomas, former Marvel editor-in-chief and comic writer, said.

“Bill Schelly will be remembered for his 20 years of research into the origins of comics fandom and publishing the results in his latest book, Founders of Comics Fandom. Bill was persistent in contacting me via email asking questions about Landon Chesney, my close childhood friend, and me. We all owe him our gratitude for taking the time to locate and contact all the contributors to early fandom and for finding a way to publish the results,” said Robert M. Overstreet, author and publisher of The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide.

“Bill Schelly brought the care of a dedicated historian and skilled interviewer to the field of comics art. He researched, uncovered, and preserved facts that others overlooked or had forgotten, and those in years to come will be grateful for the groundbreaking work he shared with the world. His legacy is a generous gift to scholars and fans alike,” Maggie Thompson, Overstreet Advisor and former Comics Buyer’s Guide editor, said.