Noted comics historian and longtime industry figure Robert Beerbohm has passed away, his daughter has announced. He had been battling colon cancer.

“Bob Beerbohm was a fount of information about comics history. In many cases, he was the first and sometimes only person to put particular pieces of the puzzle together. He takes with him so many untold tales on which we can only speculate,” said Robert. M. Overstreet, author and publisher of The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide.

“I just saw the news that my friend, fellow long-time comics retailer, and comics historian Bob Beerbohm passed away yesterday. Bob had been given a terminal cancer diagnosis and had indicated that his health was declining, so I shouldn’t be surprised, but I am nevertheless. I found Bob to be an amazing source of information about the earliest days of comics retailing, and he had fascinating stories to tell about so many of comics’ greats. I am thankful he shared as much as he did while he still could, and I will miss seeing his informative and provocative posts,” retailer and former Comic Shop News publisher Cliff Biggers posted on Facebook.

In junior high school, Beerbohm booked his first add in the fanzine Rocket’s Blast Comicollector (RBCC) #47, and kicked off a nearly life-long tenure in the comic book business. In June 1967, he set up at his first convention, Houstoncon, and would go on to be dealer at an incalculable number of conventions throughout his lifetime.

Following the first El Cortez hotel edition of the San Diego Comic-Con in 1972, he teamed with Bud Plant and John Barrett to launch a pioneering comic shop, Comics & Comix in Berkeley, California.

He continued in various capacities in the business over the next five decades, slowed in 2018 by strokes. Even after that, though, he continued to comment on and do research on comic book and comic art history.