2006 In Comics

Events

January

* January 1, 2006: ''Newsweek'' offer a look back at 2005 through editorial cartoons.
* January 1, 2006: After 109 years of continuous publication the longest-running comic strip of all time, ''The Katzenjammer Kids summarise the situation so far.
** The San Francisco Bay Area minicomic scene is examined up by the local press.
** Hill & Wang a non-fiction imprint of Farrar, Straus and Giroux are to launch a line of non-fiction graphic novels under the name ''Novel Graphics''. The first work will be an adaptation of ''The 9/11 Commission Report''.
** DC Comics are to unveil their line of toys based on the movie ''Superman Returns'' at the 2006 American International Toy Fair.
* February 10, 2006:
** Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy:
*** Flemming Rose, editor of the ''Jyllands-Posten'' is told to take a vacation after he commented the paper "would run the cartoons" published by ''Hamshahri'' in its contest inviting cartoons satirising the holocaust.
*** Denmark's Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen agrees with comments made by Condoleezza Rice regarding Syria and Iran, noting they "have taken advantage of the situation because both countries are under international pressure".
*** It is reported at least thirteen people are dead due to protests against the cartoons.
* February 11, 2006:
** Illinois newspaper ''The Daily Herald'' has launched an online cartoon page composed entirely of webcomics.
** Peter David announces he has signed an exclusive contract with Marvel Comics.
* February 12, 2006:
** Frank Miller has announced that his next ''Batman'' book, '' Holy Terror, Batman!'', will pit the caped crusader against Osama Bin Laden.
** At Wondercon, Grant Morrison is announced as the next writer on ''Batman''.
* February 13, 2006:
** Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy:
*** Denmark's Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen responds to criticism of his country, declaring "Denmark is an open and tolerant society".
*** Anders Fogh Rasmussen has also had talks with a Muslim group called "Democratic Muslims".
*** It is reported that Muslim graves have been desecrated in Denmark.
*** Denmark withdraws official staff from embassies in Syria, Iran, and Indonesia.
*** Art Spiegelman is interviewed to garner his thoughts on the controversy.
*** Iran demands apologies after recent accusations from Condoleezza Rice that it had fermented the controversy.
** Ted Rall is reportedly considering launching a law suit against Ann Coulter over comments she jokingly alleged that "Iran is soliciting cartoons on the Holocaust. So far, only Ted Rall, Garry Trudeau, and ''The New York Times'' have made submissions".
* February 14, 2006: zoomaphoto.com
** Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy:
*** Two security guards are shot dead and police use tear gas on rioting students as protests continue in Pakistan.
*** Belgian Muslim groups have called on the European Union to "act determinedly to prepare a draft law that forbids every kind of blasphemy".
*** A number of Danish websites have reportedly been hacked by protestors.
* February 15, 2006:
** Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy:
*** Danish politicians have called for an investigation into a Muslim group's actions during a trip to the Middle East. It is alleged the group may have helped ferment the recent protests.
*** Flemming Rose, cultural editor of the ''Jyllands-Posten'' has stated that the cartoons were published to "go against this tendency to self-censorship".
*** Carsten Juste, editor of the ''Jyllands-Posten'', states his belief that "Muslims are being given special treatment".
** Justin Thomas is announced as the winner of a contest to choose the next cartoonist of the strip ''Unfit''.
* February 16, 2006:
** Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy:
*** Twelve people are reported to have died in Afghanistan after a week of protesting.
*** Three people are reported to have died as protests continue in Pakistan.
** The Prime Minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has lost his claim for compensation. Erdoğan was suing over a number of cartoons which had depicted him as a series of animals.
* February 17, 2006:
** Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy:
*** Eleven people are reportedly killed after protesting in Libya.
*** Indiana newspaper The ''Indianapolis Star'' polls college newspaper editors within the state on their opinion on publishing the cartoons.
** Ivan Brunetti is interviewed by '' Nashville City Paper''.
* February 19, 2006:
** Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy:
*** 45 people reportedly die after rioting in Nigeria in protest against the cartoons.
*** Security forces in Pakistan disperse a protest against the cartoons.
*** The United States embassy in Jakarta is attacked by protestors.
*** A small group of protesters gather outside the Danish embassy in Tehran.
** Paul Pope discusses '' Batman: Year 100'' with the ''Toronto Star''.
* February 20, 2006:
** Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy:
*** The New York Times'' previews Marvels new crossover event, ''Civil War''.
*** Denmark's Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen defends the handling of the controversy.
*** The Danish flag is burnt by protestors in Jakarta.
*** ''The Nation'' ask Art Spiegelman and Joe Sacco for their thoughts on the current controversy.
*** Russian newspaper ''Our region+'' closes after publishing the cartoons.
** JM Thevenet is reportedly fired as the director of the Festival International de la Bande Dessinee.
** Nominees for the 2006 Shuster Awards are announced.
** icv2.com report on January's Direct Market sales figures.
** ''The Guardian'' reports on the new cartoon museum in London.
* February 21, 2006:
** Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy:
*** A number of Muslims protest against the cartoons in India.
*** Christopher Hitchens, writing for ''Slate'', examines the issue.
*** The Danish Ambassador returns to Jakarta having left in the wake of protests over the cartoons.
*** A second Russian newspaper, the weekly ''Nash Region'' closes after having printed a montage of the cartoons.
** JM Thevenet confirms he has been fired from his position with Festival International de la Bande Dessinee, although he claims he was employed as a consultant.
** ''The Guardian'' sketches the history of the political cartoon as a prelude to the opening of The Cartoon Museum in London.
* February 22, 2006:
** Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy:
*** Corpses are burnt on the streets of Onitsha, Nigeria, as part of an ongoing confrontation between Christians and Muslims regarding the cartoons.
*** Protestors stage a demonstration outside the Danish embassy in Jakarta.
*** The Danish Prime Minister, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, notes the controversy has become something greater than the initial furor over editorial cartoons, noting "It's about everything else and different agendas in the Muslim world."
*** Danish volunteers and non-government officials are withdrawing from the relief effort aiding those areas of Pakistan hit by the recent earthquake and leaving the country as a result of the Pakistani people's protest against the cartoons.
** Naushad Waheed, a political cartoonist and artist sentenced to 15 years imprisonment in the Maldives for political unrest, has been freed.
** iBooks, the publishing company founded by Byron Preiss