Events for January 31

Jan 31, 2000: Gil Kane (born Eli Katz) passes away at the age of 73.

Events for January 30

Jan 30, 1953: Fred Hembeck, comic book artist and parodist of DC and Marvel, is born.

Events for January 29

Jan 29, 1971: Brian Wood, writer for Local, Demo, and Channel Zero, is born.

Jan 29, 1975: Ryan Kelly, artist for Local, is born.

Events for January 28

Jan 28, 1996: Jerry Siegel (born Jerome Siegel), co-creator of Superman, passes away at the age of 81. On the same day, Burne Hogarth, comic artist for Tarzan, passes away at the age of 84.

Jan 28, 2005: Daniel Branca, Disney comics creator from Argentina, passes away at the age of 54 in Buenos Aires.

Events for January 27

Jan 27, 1952: Steve Leialoha, comic book artist, is born.

Jan 27, 1954: Peter Laird, co-creator of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, is born in North Adams, MA.

Jan 27, 1957: Frank Miller, writer and artist for The Dark Knight Returns, Ronin, and Sin City, is born.

Events for January 26

Jan 26, 1929: Jules Feiffer, editorial cartoonist and comic historian, is born.

Events for January 25

Jan 25, 1973: Geoff Johns, comic book writer, is born in Detroit, MI.

Events for January 24

Jan 24, 1930: John Romita Sr, one of the definitive Spider-Man artists and father of John Romita Jr, is born.

Jan 24, 2002: Kurt Schaffenberger, regular Silver Age Superman artist, passes away at the age of 82.

Events for January 23

Jan 23, 1952: Klaus Janson, comic book artist and inker, is born in Coburg, Germany.

Events for January 22

Jan 22, 1970: Alex Ross, painter and artist, is born.

Events for January 21

Jan 21, 1931: Paul Deliège, writer/artist for Spirou magazine and creator of Bobo, is born.

Events for January 19

Jan 19, 1948: Joe Staton, artist for Charlton and DC Comics and inker for Sal Buscema's Hulk, is born.

Events for January 18

Jan 18, 1970: Friday Foster debuts as a syndicated comic strip. Created by Jim Lawrence (W) and Jorge Longaron (A), the syndicated strip is the first one to feature a black woman as its lead character.

Catch-up Post: Events for January 1 - 16

Apologies for the late start to 2006, but I was away from the computer and may be again soon.

1940: The Golden Age Flash (Jay Garrick) streaks onto the scene in Flash Comics #1.

1976 (?): Jim Steranko's Red Tide is published, arguably the first graphic novel in the industry.

1989: Sandman #1 by Neil Gaiman makes its debut from DC Comics. By 1993, this title and Swamp Thing will form the foundation for the new Vertigo imprint.

1993: Superman dies at the hands of Doomsday in DC Comics' Superman #75, triggering mass media coverage, much fan consternation, massive sales, and interminable variations in the gimmick among DC's other heroes.

1994: Marvels #1 is published by Marvel Comics, presenting an innovative look at the Marvel Universe and vaulting Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross into the top-tier of comics creators.

Jan 2, 1929: Don Heck, artist for Iron Man and the Avengers, is born in Jamaica, NY.

Jan 2, 1978: Neil Swaab, cartoonist for the newspaper comic strip Rehabilitating Mr. Wiggles, is born in Detroit, MI.

Jan 2, 1986: Zelda Jackson "Jackie" Ormes, creator of Torchy Brown and first syndicated black female cartoonist, passes away in Chicago.

Jan 2, 2005: Frank Kelly Freas, science fiction illustrator and cover artist for Mad magazine, passes away at the age of 82.

Jan 3, 2005: Will Eisner, pioneering comic book creator and coiner of the term "graphic novel", passes away at the age of 87 due to complications following open-heart surgery.

Jan 5, 1941: Hayao Miyazaki, creator of Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind manga and master animation director, is born in Tokyo, Japan.

Jan 5, 2000: Goseki Kojima, co-creator of Lone Wolf and Cub, passes away at the age of 71.

Jan 6, 2000: Don Martin, seminal MAD Magazine artist, passes away at age 68.

Jan 6, 2006: Yoshiro Kato, creator of the Mappira-kun comic strip for the Manichi Shimbun newspaper, passes away from respiratory failure.

Jan 8, 1990: Bernie Krigstein, EC Comics artist, passes away at the age of 70.

Jan 10, 2002: John Buscema, master Marvel Comics artist of the 70's, passes away at the age of 74.

Jan 11, 1998: Wim Mortimer, DC Comics cover artist, passes away at the age of 79.

Jan 14, 1863: Richard Felton Outcault is born in Lancaster, Ohio. Creator of the "Yellow Kid," Outcault is recognized as the father of the comic strip.

Jan 16, 1960: Frédéric Boilet, artist for Le Rayon Vert and Tokyo est mon Jardin, is born in France.