February

• Strange Adventures
  Strange Adventures
  Strange Adventures was the title of several American comic books published by DC Comics, most notably a long-running science fiction anthology that began in 1950.-Original series:...
  
  vol. 2, #4, final issue cover-dated February (Vertigo)

January

• January 5: Goseki Kojima
  Goseki Kojima
  was a Japanese manga artist.-Biography:Kojima was born on the same day as Osamu Tezuka. After getting out of junior high school, Kojima painted advertising posters for movie theaters as his source of income....
  
  , co-creator of Lone Wolf and Cub
  Lone Wolf and Cub
  is a manga created by writer Kazuo Koike and artist Goseki Kojima. First published in 1970, the story was adapted into six films starring Tomisaburo Wakayama, four plays, a television series starring Yorozuya Kinnosuke, and is widely recognized as an important and influential work.Lone Wolf and Cub...
  
  , dies at age 71.
• January 6: Mad
  Mad (magazine)
  Mad is an American humor magazine founded by editor Harvey Kurtzman and publisher William Gaines in 1952. Launched as a comic book before it became a magazine, it was widely imitated and influential, impacting not only satirical media but the entire cultural landscape of the 20th century.The last...
  
  magazine fixture Don Martin dies at age 68.
• January 14: Pat Boyette
  Pat Boyette
  Pat Boyette Pat Boyette Pat Boyette (July 27, 1923, San Antonio, Texas – January 14, 2000, was an American broadcasting personality and news producer, and later a comic book artist best known for two decades of work for Charlton Comics, where he co-created the character The Peacemaker...
  
  , co-creator of The Peacemaker
  Peacemaker (comics)
  The Peacemaker is the name of a series of superheroes originally owned by Charlton Comics and later acquired by DC Comics. The original Peacemaker first appeared in Fightin' 5 #40 The Peacemaker is the name of a series of superheroes originally owned by Charlton Comics and later acquired by DC...
  
  , dies at age 76.
• January 31: Gil Kane
  Gil Kane
  Eli Katz who worked under the name Gil Kane and in one instance Scott Edward, was a comic book artist whose career spanned the 1940s to 1990s and every major comics company and character.Kane co-created the modern-day versions of the superheroes Green Lantern and the Atom for DC Comics, and...
  
  , Golden Age
  Golden Age of Comic Books
  The Golden Age of Comic Books was a period in the history of American comic books, generally thought of as lasting from the late 1930s until the late 1940s or early 1950s...
  
   and Silver Age
  Silver Age of Comic Books
  The Silver Age of Comic Books was a period of artistic advancement and commercial success in mainstream American comic books, predominantly those in the superhero genre. Following the Golden Age of Comic Books and an interregnum in the early to mid-1950s, the Silver Age is considered to cover the...
  
   giant, dies at age 73.

February

• February 12: Charles M. Schulz
  Charles M. Schulz
  Charles Monroe "Sparky" Schulz was an American cartoonist, whose comic strip Peanuts proved one of the most popular and influential in the history of the medium, and is still widely reprinted on a daily basis.-Early life and education:Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Schulz grew up in Saint Paul...
  
  , creator of Peanuts
  Peanuts
  Peanuts is a syndicated daily and Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz, which ran from October 2, 1950, to February 13, 2000, continuing in reruns afterward...
  
  , passes away at age 77.
• February 18: Steven Hughes
  Steven Hughes
  Steven Jay Hughes was an American artist for the Chaos! Comics company. Hughes provided the art for many of the company's comics, including Lady Death, Evil Ernie, and the short-lived superhero series Detonator...
  
  , known for his work for Chaos! Comics
  Chaos! Comics
  Chaos! Comics was a comic book publisher that operated from 1994 until 2002.-Overview:Their titles included Lady Death, Purgatori, Evil Ernie, Chastity, Jade, Omen, Bad Kitty, Cremator, Lady Demon, and Smiley The Psychotic Button.They also published licensed comics for the World Wrestling...
  
  , passes away at age 46.
• February 19: Inker George Roussos
  George Roussos
  George Roussos , also known under the pseudonym George Bell, was an American comic book artist best known as one of Jack Kirby's Silver Age inkers, including on landmark early issues of Marvel Comics' Fantastic Four.-Early life and career:George Roussos was born in Washington, D.C., the son of...
  
   dies at age 84.

November

• November 27: Pioneering female editor Dorothy Woolfolk
  Dorothy Woolfolk
  Dorothy A. Woolfolk née Dorothy Roubicek was a pioneering woman in the American comic book industry. The first female editor at DC Comics, one of the two largest companies in the field, she is credited with helping to create the fictional metal kryptonite in the Superman mythos.-Early life and...
  
   dies at age 87.

DC Comics

Release: October by Vertigo. Writer: Garth Ennis

Garth Ennis

Garth Ennis is a Northern Irish comics writer, best known for the Vertigo series Preacher with artist Steve Dillon and his successful nine-year run on Marvel Comics' Punisher franchise...

 Artist: Carlos Ezquerra

Carlos Ezquerra

Carlos Sanchez Ezquerra , who has also worked under the alias L. John Silver, is a Spanish comics artist who works mainly in British comics and currently lives in Andorra...

.

Marvel Comics

Release: October by Marvel Comics

Marvel Comics

Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...

. Writer: J. Michael Straczynski

J. Michael Straczynski

Joseph Michael Straczynski , known professionally as J. Michael Straczynski and informally as Joe Straczynski or JMS, is an American writer and television producer. He works in films, television series, novels, short stories, comic books, and radio dramas. He is a playwright, a former journalist,...

 Artist: Gary Frank

Gary Frank

Gary Frank is a British comic book artist, notable for pencilling on Midnight Nation and Supreme Power, both written by J. Michael Straczynski...

.

Independent titles

Release: November by Nickel Editions. Writer: Pat Mills

Pat Mills

Pat Mills, nicknamed 'the godfather of British comics', is a comics writer and editor who, along with John Wagner, revitalised British boys comics in the 1970s, and has remained a leading light in British comics ever since....

 Artist: Olivier Ledroit

Olivier Ledroit

Olivier Ledroit is a French comic book artist, perhaps best known for his work on the Black Moon Chronicles series. He has also worked on art designs in the Might and Magic franchise....

.

Initial appearances by character name

• Nemesis
  Nemesis (DC Comics)
  Nemesis is the name of two fictional characters in the DC Comics universe. Thomas Andrew Tresser first appeared in The Brave and the Bold #166, , and was created by Cary Burkett and Dan Spiegle. Soseh Myrkos first appeared in JSA Annual #1, , and was created by David S...
  
   (Soseh Mykros) in JSA annual
  Justice Society of America
  The Justice Society of America, or JSA, is a DC Comics superhero group, the first team of superheroes in comic book history. Conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox, the JSA first appeared in All Star Comics #3 ....
  
  #1 (October), created by David S. Goyer
  David S. Goyer
  David Samuel Goyer is an American screenwriter, film director and comic book writer.-Early life:Goyer was born and raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He attended Hebrew school and has described himself as "half Jewish"...
  
   and Uriel Caton, published by DC Comics
  DC Comics
  DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
  
  .