January 20: Dutch cartoonist Tom Janssen [nl] wins his first Inktspotprijs [nl] (edition 2004) for Best Political Cartoon.[2] During the same ceremony Joep Bertrams receives his first Inktspotprijs too [3]
January 31: John R. Norton begins the George comic strip.
April 20: DC Comics launches the new DC Direct website.
April 26: Artist Ed Benes (Superman) extends his exclusive agreement with DC Comics for an additional three years.
April 28:
Marvel Enterprises and Paramount Pictures announce an agreement under which Paramount will distribute up to ten films over an eight-year period to be produced by Marvel.
Marvel Enterprises announces settlement of all pending litigation with Stan Lee over claims for participation in profits from various sources.[4]
July 12: Writer Bill Willingham (Fables) renews his exclusive contract with DC Comics for an additional two years.
July 13:
DC Online launches a new website for kids featuring Johnny DC.
DC Comics' DC Direct announces the new Looney Tunes Golden Collection action figure series. The sculptures would be officially unveiled later in the week at San Diego Comic-Con.
Joe Quesada extends his contract agreement with Marvel Comics, and in addition to his current role as Editor-in-Chief, he will take on the added role as the Chief Creative Officer, Publishing.
August 2: Artist Tony Daniel (Teen Titans, Spawn, X-Force) signs a 2-year exclusive agreement with DC Comics.
August 8: In the Danish magazine Jumbobo, The legacy, by Andreas Phil and Mårdøn Smet; debut of the gentleman thief Fantomius.The character, already often mentioned in the Paperinik stories but never appeared until then, has later had a more fortunate version by the Italian Author Marco Gervasio.
Marvel has changed its corporate name to Marvel Entertainment, Inc and is to produce its own movies based upon comics characters such as Captain America, Nick Fury and the Avengers[10]
Art Spiegelman's next project, Portrait of the Artist as a Young %@?*!, is to be serialised in the Virginia Quarterly Review, commencing in the Fall 2005 issue[17]
September 22: Bill Watterson answers fifteen selected questions from fans around the world to publicise the upcoming release of The Complete Calvin and Hobbes[18]
September 23:
The two-day Small Press Expo opens with Harvey Pekar as special guest.
September 25: The 2005 Ignatz Awards are announced at the Small Press Expo. Amongst the winners were David B, voted the Outstanding Artist and Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return, voted Outstanding Graphic Novel[19][20]
Maus and Beyond, an exhibition looking at comic book and graphic novel portrayals of the Shoah, opens at the Centennial College, Toronto. It runs until November 30[15]
October 16: Bob Andelman, biographer of Will Eisner, picks 10 graphic novels for a beginner to start with[32]
The New York Times profile Little Nemo in Slumberland: So Many Splendid Sundays!, a collection of Little Nemo strips publishing them as originally printed[35]
Watchmen is named as one of Time magazine's top 100 English language novels published since 1923[37]
Carla Speed McNeil launches the online serialisation Carla Speed McNeil of Finder. McNeil has suspended the publication of the work in comic book format, although serials will still be collected and published as graphic novels[38]
Slate present a slide show essay on Calvin and Hobbes[50]
Newspapers in the United States are reported to be considering carrying manga strips from January 2006. The two strips reportedly up for inclusion are Van Von Hunter and Peach Fuzz[51]
November 12: The Los Angeles Times profiles selected artists featured in the "Masters of American Comics" exhibition, which opens at Los Angeles' Hammer Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Art on November 20[57]
Four of the seven charges against comics retailer Gordon Lee have been dropped. Lee still faces three misdemeanor counts of Distribution of Harmful to Minors Material charges[77]
Marvel Comics: The line of comics based upon Stephen King's Dark Tower series is to be pushed back until February 2007[15]
December 4, 2005: Pakisatini based group Jamaat-e-Islami, have placed a price of around €7,000 upon the head of what it believes to be one cartoonist of 12 cartoons. The cartoons were actually drawn by separate illustrators, and were solicited by Denmark newspaper Jyllands-Posten as part of an editorial point regarding commentary on public figures[79]
December 5, 2005:
It is reported that Fox are to make a sequel to this year's Fantastic Four movie, with a proposed release date of July 4, 2007[15]
Les Mauvaises Gens, by Etienne Davodeau, wins Grand Prix de la Critique for 2005. The prize is awarded by L'Association des Critique et Journalistes de Bandes Dessinees[81]
American cartoonists participate in "Black Ink Monday", producing cartoons for publication based upon the decline in the number of newspapers which keep an editorial cartoonist on staff[92]
Andrew Arnold of Time opinion on the ten best comics works released in 2005[98]
December 19, 2005: It is reported that cartoonist Joe Martin is to launch his own syndicate to better promote his own work. He was previously syndicated by Tribune Media Services[99]
Kurt Busiek signs an exclusive two-year agreement with DC Comics[15]
It is reported that Robert Crumb has filed suit against Amazon regarding usage of his Keep on Truckin' image[104]
December 29, 2005: A sale of cartoon art opens in London, with artwork of Dan Dare strips by Frank Hampson amongst the work offered for sale[105]
December 30, 2005:
Scott McCloud is planning to tour the United States in support of his forthcoming book, Making Comics[106]
A Turkish court of appeal has overturned a decision which saw the newspaper Evrensel fined $8000 because of a cartoon by Sefer Selvi which caused Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to sue for defamation[107]
December 31, 2005:
Modern Tales announces it is to expand its operations and launch free webcomic strips, supported by advertising[108]
January 5: Sean, a.k.a. John Klamik, Shawn or Buckshot, American activist and comics artist (made erotic comics for various gay magazines), dies at age 69 from lung cancer.[117]
January 25: Chad Grothkopf, American comics artist and animator (Hoppy the Marvel Bunny), dies at age 90 or 91.[118]
January 25: Jill Elgin, American illustrator and comics artist (continued Girl Commandos), dies at age 82.[119]
January 27: Peter Haars, German-Norwegian novelist, translator, illustrator and comics artist (Prokon, Happy Biff), dies at age 64.[120]
January 28: Daniel Branca, Argentine animator and comic artist (Barbeta y Grunchi, Sir Bombín, Caramelot, Disney comics), dies at age 53.[121]
January 29: Zika Mitrovic, Serbian-Yugoslav film director, scriptwriter and comics artist, dies at age 83.[122]
January 30: Pierre Forget, French comic artist (Thierry de Royaumont, Mic-Mac), dies at age 81.[123]
Specific date unknown: Jim Turnbull, Scottish comics artist, painter and political cartoonist (Pinky & Perky, continued Freddie the Frog and The Merry Tales of Mimi and Marny), dies at age 74.[124]
February
February 4: Eddie Sato, American comics artist (Dokie), dies at age 82.[125]
February 15: Dudu Geva, Israeli comics artist, cartoonist and caricaturist (The Duck), dies at age 54 from a heart attack.[126]
April 22: Erika Fuchs, German comics translator (translated Carl Barks' Donald Duck comics in a colourful sophisticated way which had a profound impact on German language), dies at age 98.[134]
April 23: Walter Merhottein, Belgian puppet performer and brother of comics artist Merho, on whose puppets his main protagonist Marcel Kiekeboe from De Kiekeboes was based, dies at age 65.[136][137][138]
April 25: Ko Woo-young, South-Korean comics artist (Samgukji, Iljimae), dies at age 66.[139]
May 8: Mehmet Gülergün, Turkish comic artist (worked for Rolf Kauka), dies at age 85. [145]
May 23: John Albano, American comics writer (co-creator of Jonah Hex), dies at age 82 from a heart attack.
May 31: Eduardo Teixeira Coelho, a.k.a. ETC, a.k.a. Martin Sièvre, Portuguese comics artist and illustrator (Ragnar le Viking, Yves Le Loup, Ayak Le Loup Blanc, Robin Hood), dies at age 85.[146]
June
June 1: Willem van Malsen, Dutch painter, illustrator, writer, inventor and comics artist (Amoebe), dies at age 65.[147]
June 17: Charlie Schlingo, French cartoonist (Josette de Rechange, Désiré Gogueneau, Tamponn Destartinn, Gogueneau), dies at age 49 from the result of an accidental fall.[149]
June 19: Selby Kelly, American animator and comic artist (worked on Pogo), dies at age 87.[150]
June 21: Harry Privette, aka Martin Hanna, American comics artist (MiniBoppers, Igor), dies at age 79 or 80.[151]
June 27: Owen McCarron, Canadian comics artist (Binkly and Doinke, worked for Marvel Comics), dies at age 70.[153]
July
July 1: Manuel Cuyás, Spanish comics artist (Cristina y sus Amigas), dies at age 83.[154]
July 7:
Paul Deliège, Belgian comics writer (Sam et l'Ours, Pétit-Cactus, Youk et Yak, Sibylline, Bonaventure, L'Envahisseur) and artist (Bobo, Les Krostons, Le Trou du Souffleur), dies at the age of 74.[155]
Rudy van Giffen, Indonesian-Dutch comics artist (Vliegtuig Vermist), dies at age 74.[156]
August 1: Wim Boost, aka Wibo, Dutch comics artist, cartoonist and animator, dies at age 97.[162]
August 10: Mar Amongo, Filipino comics artist (DC Comics), dies at age 68.[163]
September
September 10: Carlos Costantini, Argentine comic artist and animator (Doña Tele, Barbeta y Grunchi, Mac Perro), dies at age 69. [164]
September 13: Raymond Chiavarino, a.k.a. Maric, French comics artist and writer (wrote, among others for Les Pieds Nickelés, Valentin and Bibi Fricotin), dies at the age of 78.[165][166]
September 16: F. K. Waechter, German cartoonist and comics artist, dies at age 67.[167]
September 21: Mort Leav, American comics artist (co-creator of The Heap), dies at age 89.[168]
September 26: Mickey Siporin, American cartoonist, dies at age 65.[169]
Specific date unknown: Horn, Belgian cartoonist and comics artist (Jim et sa Bande, Le Week-end Sportif), died at age 95.[170]
October
October 8: Fernando Bonini, aka Sil, Brazilian comics artist (worked for Vecchi, Disney comics and Heavy Metal Comics), dies at age 50.[171]
October 9: Ian Gammidge, British comic writer (The Flutters, Ruggles, Mr. Digwell, The Larks, Little Joe, Jane) and cartoonist (Gammidge Bargain Basement), dies at age 89. [172]
October 26: Michael Kilian, American journalist, author and comics writer (continued Dick Tracy), dies at age 66.[178]
November
November 7: Harry Thompson, British comedy writer, radio and TV producer, novelist and biographer (author of Tintin: Hergé and his Creation), dies at age 45 from cancer.[179]