2023 In Comics

Notable events of 2023 in comics.

Events

January

* January 17: Two years earlier, the Peter R. de Vries foundation and publisher Seb Van der Kaaden launched a series of comic strip adaptations of real-life unsolved Dutch crime cases, drawn by Meinte Strikwerda and Anco Dijkman. Episodes are printed in the newspaper Algemeen Dagblad in their advertising pages. On this day, it is announced that one of the comics about a previously unsolved rape crime in Vlaardingen brought new attention to the case, resulting in the arrest of another suspect.
* January 25: French comic artist Riad Sattouf wins the Grand Prix de la ville d'Angoulême.
* January 30: It is announced that the Marc Sleen Museum in Brussels will close down in the fall, with part of the collection being integrated into the Belgian Comic Strip Center.

February

* February 20: French comic artist Jean-Michel Arroyo is sentenced to four years and 30 months of jail time for domestic violence, sexual violence, and death threats against two of his former partners.
* February 21: The artwork for '' Zarya of the Dawn'', a comic book written by Kris Kashtanova and illustrated with the artificial intelligence software Midjourney, gets its copyright protection revoked by the United States Copyright Office.
* February 22: It was announced that Marvel Comics was reviving the Ultimate Universe through a four-issue miniseries called ''Ultimate Invasion'' by Jonathan Hickman and Bryan Hitch. While it was initially reported as being a return to Earth-1610, it actually featured the creation of a brand new universe dubbed Earth-6160. This was followed by ''Ultimate Universe'' #1 by Hickman and Stefano Caselli, which then led to a new line of Ultimate Comics.
* February 25: Dutch comic artist Hans van Oudenaarden receives the annual Stripschapprijs for his work. The P. Hans Frankfurtherprijs for ''Special Accomplishments'' is given to Marc De Lobie, from publishing company Syndikaat.
* February 26: After making comments that are widely described as racist, comic artist Scott Adams is dropped by his syndicate. Several newspapers all discontinue his signature comic '' Dilbert''. Portfolio, his book publisher, states it will drop his non-''Dilbert'' book scheduled for release in September. Adams announces that ''Dilbert'' will be available through the subscription service Locals.

April

* April 13: David Steinberger and Chip Mosher announce the formation of independent comic publisher DSTLRY, which publishes original content whilst allowing for a collecting experience for both a physical and digital experience. The founding creators of the company consist of Mirka Andolfo, Brian Azzarello, Marc Bernardin, Elsa Charretier, Becky Cloonan, Lee Garbett, Jock, Joëlle Jones, Tula Lotay, Jamie McKelvie, Junko Mizuno, Stephanie Phillips, Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, and Ram V, with the company's first book, ''The Devil's Cut'', releasing on August 30 that same year.

May

* May 31: After Isabelle Franquin, daughter of André Franquin, tried to sue Dupuis for wanting to publish a posthumous album of ''Gaston'' in 2022, the judge now rules in Dupuis' favor, greenlighting the first publication of a new ''Gaston'' album in three decades for the fall of 2023.

June

* June 7: A comics mural depicting characters from the Belgian comic series ''Stam & Pilou'' by Marc Daniëls and Rik Dewulf will be hidden from visitors to the Brussels café ''La Fleur en Papier Doré/Het Goudblommeken'' with a curtain, since both a feminist action group and the current café owners find the drawing sexist.
* June 14: Skybound Entertainment was announced to have acquired the license to produce comics based on '' Transformers'' and '' G.I. Joe'' following the debut of ''Void Rivals'', which kicked off the Energon Universe.
* June 26: A poster for a comics festival in Dieppe, France, designed by artist Jim, is censored at the request of the town council. The drawing depicted a woman with a prominent cleavage and is censored by putting more books in front of her. Eventually the drawing is allowed to be published uncensored.

August

* August 13: The final episode of the Australian newspaper comic '' Ginger Meggs'' appears in print. It had been in continuous run since 1921, making it the longest-running Australian comic series of all time.
* August 19: Belgian comic artist Merho ('' De Kiekeboes'') announces his retirement and the end of his long-running comic series '' De Kiekeboes''.

September

* September 6: The final '' De Kiekeboes'' album that creator Merho has personally scripted and overseen, appears in print.
* September 8: About a month-and-a-half before its planned release on 26 October, the latest '' Astérix'' story ''The White Iris'' is already brought out and sold. Publishing company Éditions Albert René calls the police, who arrest the culprits behind this leak.
* September 9: 30 years after the final issue of '' Tintin'' rolled from the presses, Belgian publishing company Le Lombard releases a one-time special issue, to celebrate what would've been the magazine's 77th anniversary. The French-language edition is published on 9 September, while a Dutch-language translation will appear on 4 October.
* September 14: Bill Willingham intentionally releases the '' Fables'' intellectual property into the public domain as the result of a conflict with DC Comics.
* September 20: In Texas, a teacher is fired after assigning a 2018 graphic novel adaptation of ''The Diary of Anne Frank'', scripted by Ari Folman and drawn by David Polonsky to pupils. Officials of the Hamshire-Fannett independent school district complained about scenes commenting on nudity and sexuality. The Texas State Teachers Association criticizes this censorship.

October

* October 10: Bill Watterson and caricaturist John Kascht release a graphic novel, ''The Mysteries''. It is Watterson's first major comic release in decades.
* October 12: During New York Comic Con 2023, it was announced that a brand new creator-owned company called Ghost Machine would launch, with its books being published through Image Comics and its founding members consisting of Jason Fabok, Gary Frank, Bryan Hitch, Geoff Johns, Lamont Magee, Francis Manapul, Brad Meltzer, Peter J. Tomasi, and Maytal Zchut.
* October 23: Merho, creator of '' De Kiekeboes'', announces that his series will be continued by scriptwriter Nix and artist Charel Cambré.

November

* November 7: Dutch comic artist Toon van Driel (''F.C. Knudde'') is knighted in the Order of Orange-Nassau.
* November 28: French comic artist Fabien Mostrou is sentenced to 19 years for murder of his uncle.

December

December 31: Nigerian American Webcomic Object IRL Releases on X https://x.com/jaydenbock14/status/1741678808107749858

Deaths

January

* January 5: Jack Bender, American comics artist (assisted on ''The Nutheads'', continued '' Alley Oop''), dies at age 91.
* January 7: Toni Batllori, Spanish comic artist (''Ninots''), dies at age 71 or 72.
* January 13: Michael Dougan, American comic artist, dies at age 64.
* January 15: Lee Moder, American comic artist (co-creator of '' Stargirl''), dies at age 53.
* January 19: David Sutherland, British comic artist ('' Billy the Cat and Katie'', '' Totally Gross Germs'', continued '' The Bash Street Kids'', '' Dennis the Menace and Gnasher'', '' Biffo the Bear'', ''Korky the Cat'', ''Fred's Bed''), dies at age 89.
* January 30: Al Schweitzer, American illustrator, comic artist and cartoonist (continued ''Weatherbird''), dies at age 101.

February

* February 3: Albin Rogelj, Slovenian ski jumper, caricaturist and cartoonist (''Smrkavec iz Levega Kota, Smrklja Iz Desnega Kota'', ''Iva'', ''Urška''), dies at age 93.
* February 5: Chris Browne, American comic artist (''Chris Browne's Comic Strip'', ''Raising Duncan'', assisted on and continued '' Hägar the Horrible''), dies at age 70.
* February 7: Jo-El Azara, Belgian comic artist (''Taka Takata'', continued ''Clifton''), dies at age 85.
* February 12: Enrich, French-Spanish comic artist (''El Caco Bonifacio'', ''El Pirata Malapata'', ''El Doctor Perejil'', continued ''El Repórter Tribulete''), dies at age 93.
* February 13: Leiji Matsumoto, Japanese animator and manga artist ('' Galaxy Express 999'', '' Space Pirate Captain Harlock'', ''Queen Emeraldas'', '' Queen Millennia''), dies at age 85.
* February 27: Thierry Cailleteau, French comic writer (''Aquablue'', continued ''Wayne Shelton''), dies at age 63.

March

* March 1: Wally Fawkes, a.k.a. Trog, British jazz musician and comic artist (''Flook''), dies at age 98.
* March 10: Frank Hill, American comic writer (the '' Bugs Bunny'' newspaper comic) and artist (''Randy'', ''Senator Gassius'', continued ''Short Ribs'' and the '' Tom & Jerry'' newspaper comic), dies at age 93.
* March 11: Bill Tidy, British cartoonist and comic artist (''The Fosdyke Saga'', ''The Cloggies'', ''Kegbuster'', ''Dr. Whittle'', ''Grimbledon Down''), dies at age 89.
* March 14: Luigi Piccatto, Italian comic artist (worked on '' Dylan Dog''), dies at age 68.
* March 17: Raoul Servais, Belgian animator, animated film director and comic artist (''Pol en Piet''), dies at age 94.
* March 20: Michael Reaves, American animation scriptwriter, novelist and comic writer (worked on '' Teen Titans'', ''Fusion''), dies at age 72.
* March 21:
** Henk Alleman, Dutch painter and comic artist (''Morgan Bloomsbury'', ''Tommie'', ''Linda Lucardy'', ''Operatie Burn-Out''), dies at age 94.
** Joe Giella

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases