Light grew up in the Quad Cities region of Illinois and Iowa; his first foray into publishing was as a 16-year-old when he produced the comics fanzine All Dynamic Magazine.

Run out of Light's parents' basement in East Moline, Illinois, TBG began primarily as an advertising venue – known in comics fandom as an "adzine", i.e. a fanzine devoted to ads.

[3] TBG's frequency was soon changed to twice-monthly, and prominent fans Don and Maggie Thompson began a monthly column, "Beautiful Balloons."

Besides Bishoff and the Thompsons, other columnists and contributors to TBG included Martin L. Greim, Shel Dorf, Peter David, Tony Isabella, Catherine Yronwode, and Heidi MacDonald;[9] as well as cartoonists such as Marc Hansen, Dan Vebber, Fred Hembeck, Mark Martin, and Batton Lash.

In 1976, Light added another tabloid to his publishing roster: Film Collector's World (FCW), which was at first edited by Don and Maggie Thompson, and later by Rick Best.

Ron Frantz's history of the WE Seal of approval program (WSA),[16] Fandom: Confidential, outlines Groth's confrontations with Light at conventions and via late-night collect calls.

[21][22][9] Light's sales of his publications to Kraus in 1983 enabled him to pursue his interest in photographing film and pop music celebrities.