Is that really a new character as much as a riff on an existing character?  I can't say because I have never even laid eyes on the character.  

I honestly can't answer that.  All I know is that her first appearance was causing all kinds of activity on the secondary market (much like the first appearance of Wolverine's alternate universe/non-canon daughter did last year) for a while, but as to her being something fresh or just templated off an existing character, I can't tell you.

If you are going to discount characters who are riffs of existing characters as not being new characters, there have been zero new characters in comics. All super-heroes are riffs off of the Superman and/or Batman templates and they were riffs off of existing pulp heroes like Doc Savage and the Shadow.

Taking something old and doing something new with it is the very nature of innovation and creativity.

I haven't read any of the Punchline stuff, I have read Tynion's newsletter discussing how he came up with her and what he hopes to achieve with her (and with the other new characters like Clown Hunter soon to be seen in the Batman book) and I can say he is genuine in his desire to add to the existing mythos because he (and a few more creators of his generation) feel one of the problems with big 2 direct market comics is that they have become stagnant and need an infusion of fresh ideas and characters. I think the difference between that generation of creators and previous ones is that they have come of age in an era of comics where creator-owned comics are part and parcel of the landscape and they have benefited from that as a result of having to make their name and break in in that field before being able to land work at Marvel and DC. They have the option and ability to benefit from their creations in that creator-owned field and have had it since they broke in. Some of them are feeling a desire to add to the legacy of the mythos that they grew up with in addition to benefiting financially form their creations. And since writers can do 4-5 books a month (as opposed to artists who usually can only do one), they can do 3 creator-owned books and get all the financial benefits and still be able to contribute to a work-for-hire mythos if they so choose.

In a sense it is the same idea behind doing work on a volunteer basis-why would a lawyer do pro bono work when they could get financial compensation for their efforts in billable hours on another job? Because they want to accomplish or contribute something beyond just financial gain. I don't know that every creator would be willing to do that, especially those who came in to the industry before creator-owned opportunities were readily available and never had the choice and those from the early years who got screwed, but the landscape is different now and it allows creators to have more options about how they bring their creations to market. I personally would have no desire to add to the Marvel or DC mythos, but I did jump at the chance to work with and add to the world Gary Gygax created when I was freelancing in the rpg industry, even if I had other opportunities I could have profited form more had I taken them instead (and since the Gygax project got buries by his widow after his death before it saw print, I probably should have taken a different path, but I don't regret the experience of working with him).

As for new Marvel/DC characters of the top of my head in the last 5-10 years

Kamela Khan
Miles Morales
Punchline
Clown Hunter
The Signal/Duke Thomas
Harper Row
Damien Wayne
Jon Kent
Kaldur "Kaldur'ahm" (the new Aqualad)
Ginny Hex

more for DC than Marvel, but that's likely because I've read more DC from the last 5-10 years than I have of Marvel form the same period, but I am aware that there was an influx of new mutant characters in the All New All Different/Marvel Now era of the X-books as well, I just haven't read those

-M

That is part and parcel of working within the framework of a shared sandbox universe. Was Batgirl/Barbara Gordon not considered a new character because she emerged from the Batman universe? Was Robin not a new character because he was part of the Batman dynamic? Was Vision not a new character because he emerged from the legacy of the Avengers and Ultron?

The courts have ruled that Superboy and Superman are different characters in terms of rights when the Siegel case was heard? Superboy was considered a new creation with separate rights and yet they are the same person at different ages.

If you are going to work within the confines of a shared sandbox, everything is going to emerge form what already exists there or it's not going to fit into that sandbox.

-M

I think there is a difference between a legacy character and one that simply builds on the existing mythos. Jon Kent is a legacy character, he's the son of existing characters... while I enjoyed him (Bendis messed him up imo), he's really more an add to Superman and Lois Lane than his own character. I would place Miles Morales in the category as well, since he did replace Spider-Man, even if he does have alot of originality to him.

Contrast that with Ms. Marvel... while Kamala is using a name and has a costume loosed based on a previous hero, she is a totally new character in a setting and with themes not explored before. I would say she's the most signifigant new creation in the big 2 recently (and not that recent, now...she's been around 7 years now)

X-Men do continually create new characters, but not nearly as successfully.. there's 'Generation Hope'.. before that Quentin Quire and that generation of mutants, but there are so many out there none really stand out

Over in DC, there was Gotham Academy, but that was only sort of in universe, and (sadly) hasn't really be re-visited. To bad, Maps could be an awesome addition to the Bat Family.

Damien's Bat is pretty new, I guess.

Have there been any characters created for the films who have transitioned over to comics?  Perhaps a bit of a cheat, but technically they'd still "created for DC and/or Marvel".  When you hear of secondary characters in the comics proving successful enough in the films to get their own TV series (I'm thinking of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents) it doesn't seem unlikely that either company would be looking for potential breakout characters for the comics within these films.