Phil Seuling

Philip Nicholas Seuling (January 20, 1934 – August 21, 1984) was a comic book fan convention organizer and comics distributor primarily active in the 1970s. Seuling was the organizer of the annual New York Comic Art Convention, originally held in New York City every July 4 weekend throughout the 1970s. Later, with his Sea Gate Distributors company, Seuling developed the concept of the direct market distribution system for getting comics directly into comic book specialty shops, bypassing the then established newspaper/magazine distributor method, where no choices of title, quantity, or delivery directions were permitted.

Biography

Early life

Seuling was born in the Bensonhurst neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, and spent his entire life as a resident of that borough. He has a sister, Barbara and a brother Dennis, 13 years younger. He graduated from the City College of New York with a Bachelor of Arts degree. and earned several credits beyond.

Comics retailer

In 1958, he and a friend began buying and selling back-issue comic books, though his primary career was as an English teacher at Brooklyn's Lafayette High School. By 1970, Seuling was also operating the After Hours Book Shop in Brooklyn.