Misplaced Pages

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25-528: The Mini Page began in August 1969 and appears weekly in hundreds of newspapers in the United States as an offering of Andrews McMeel Syndication . Its regular features include short articles, puzzles, jokes, and recipes. Andrews McMeel has also published several Mini Page spinoff books covering subjects such as the U.S. military, science, the states, history, geography and the environment. The supplement

50-521: A "Faces in the News" section asking readers to identify a picture of Spiro Agnew . When Debnam created the Mini Page, she had been an elementary school teacher for twelve years and had never drawn before. Initially, she handled all tasks involved in the Mini Page's production, including researching, producing, laying out and editing all the content. She was also responsible for selling advertising, which

75-415: A daily basis. On the name Ziggy, Tom Wilson II noted: The name Ziggy derived from his father's school experience of being the last alphabetically. When a new classmate arrived with a last name beginning with "Z," the idea took root with the friendly sounding "y" ending, such as Billy or Tommy. "Ziggy is a last-in-line character," the son said in a phone interview. "The last picked for everything and kind of

100-451: A lovable kind of loser character." Ziggy is seen throughout the years as an animal lover, and he is the owner of a number of pets, including a dog (Fuzz), a cat (Sid), a parrot (Josh), and a duck (Wack) all of whom seem to possess some anthropomorphic qualities. For example, in a strip written in the 2000s, his pet fish Goldie and his pet cat expressed noticeable displeasure with their owner because he told them that he ate catfish for dinner

125-606: A number of lifestyle and opinion columns , comic strips and cartoons and various other content. Some of its best-known products include Dear Abby , Doonesbury , Ziggy , Garfield , Ann Coulter , Richard Roeper and News of the Weird . A subsidiary of Andrews McMeel Universal , it is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri . It was formed in 2009 and renamed in January 2017. Universal Press Syndicate (UPS)

150-495: A popular comic to keep it afloat. A deal was struck, a name was given, and Ziggy was born. The strip began in 15 newspapers in June 1971, and that number eventually grew to over 600 publications. A Sunday strip premiered on April 1, 1973. In 1987, after years of preparation, the strip was taken over by Tom Wilson's son, Tom Wilson II. Tom Wilson I died on September 16, 2011, at the age of 80. As of 2022, his son continues to produce

175-1174: A selection of syndicated comic strips from Creators Syndicate and Tribune Content Agency . In October 2008, Uclick launched a GoComics gadget for iGoogle which allows users to read comic strips on their iGoogle pages. As of 2016, the company syndicated more than 80 comic strips to over 2,000 newspapers worldwide. Andrews McMeel Syndication syndicates the editorial cartoonists Don Asmussen , Tony Auth , Stuart Carlson , Lalo Alcaraz , Glenn McCoy , Pat Oliphant , Ted Rall , Rob Rogers (cartoonist) , Ben Sargent , Tom Toles , Matt Davies , Matt Bors , Matt Wuerker , Ruben Bolling and Kerry Waghorn . Andrews McMeel Syndication distributes daily puzzles and games in newspapers and other print media. The company also distributes puzzles and casual games online through consumer and news web portals as well as through its own puzzle and game portals, PuzzleSociety.com and UclickGames.com. Andrews McMeel Syndication products include crossword puzzles and games edited by David Steinberg and Pat Sajak , number placement puzzles like Sudoku and Kakuro , jigsaw puzzles and other casual games. Andrews McMeel Syndication distributes

200-428: Is an American cartoon series about an eponymous character who suffers an endless stream of misfortunes and sad but sympathetic daily events. It was created by Tom Wilson , a former American Greetings executive, and distributed by Andrews McMeel Syndication . In 1987, his son Tom Wilson II took over writing and drawing the comic strip. Ziggy, nameless at his conception, has been visible in some form or another since

225-679: Is no longer included in the supplement. Debnam sold The Mini Page to Andrews McMeel in 2007 but continued to consult on the feature. In 1999, as the Mini Page celebrated its thirtieth anniversary, Debnam was inducted into the North Carolina Journalism Hall of Fame and received the first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award from the Newspaper Association of America . Debnam was inducted into the Association of Educational Publishers ' hall of fame in 2001, and

250-598: The Bleachers , Non Sequitur , Stone Soup , Real Life Adventures , Cornered , Liō , Cul De Sac , Thatababy , Wumo , editorial cartoonists and columnists. Universal Uclick was formed in July 2009 following the merger of Universal Press Syndicate with Andrews McMeel's digital entertainment company Uclick . In late December 2010, it was announced that Dilbert would move from United Feature Syndicate to Universal Uclick beginning in June 2011. Dilbert

275-672: The Duck , Ink Pen , Liō , Cul de Sac , Ziggy , Tom the Dancing Bug , Ozy and Millie , The Far Side and Peanuts (since February 27, 2011) in newspapers, calendars and books. Andrews McMeel Syndication also owns and operates GoComics (launched in 2005), a comics aggregate website featuring comic strips syndicated in print, online and on mobile devices by Andrews McMeel Syndication, as well as discontinued titles such as Calvin and Hobbes , The Boondocks and Bloom County , webcomics such as Pibgorn and Kliban , plus

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300-641: The Raleigh Hall of Fame in 2013. She won a 2007 Distinguished Achievement Award from the AEP for The Mini Page Guide to the Constitution , a nine-part series that was released as a book by Andrews McMeel after appearing in newspapers. Debnam credited her inspiration for the Mini Page to her family, especially her grandmother, who ran a small weekly newspaper in Snow Hill, North Carolina . Her grandfather

325-436: The United States, as United Media — along with King Features Syndicate and Creators Syndicate — was one of Andrews McMeel's main competitors in the industry. Existing and formerly syndicated comics by Andrews McMeel Syndication include Dilbert (until February 2023), For Better or For Worse , FoxTrot , Calvin and Hobbes , Garfield , The Boondocks , Doonesbury , Cathy , Pooch Cafe , Baldo , What

350-662: The advice columns Dear Abby and Miss Manners , conservative columnist Ann Coulter , film critic Roger Ebert , and News of the Weird. In 2006, Universal Uclick launched the United States' first comic book reader application for mobile phones. The introductory line of titles included Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles , The Five Fists of Science , Godland , PvP and Too Much Coffee Man . Andrews McMeel Syndication has also published mobile versions and iPhone applications featuring comic book titles from Devil's Due Publishing , Image Comics , IDW Publishing and Jeff Smith's Bone series. Ziggy (comic strip) Ziggy

375-450: The comic strip is how Ziggy himself deals with the endless stream of misfortunes which befall him on a daily basis. The character is frequently depicted in surreal or arbitrary situations that allow the reader to relate to Ziggy's misfortunes and his take on life. For comedic effect, the strip often mines typical comic strip pop culture territory, such as computers, dating, office relationships, pet ownership, customer service , and many of

400-540: The daily Jumble online (but not in print, where Tribune Media Services distributes the puzzles). Andrews McMeel Syndication syndicated columns and text features are distributed in newspapers and other print media worldwide and online through consumer and news web portals, as well as through the Andrews McMeel Syndication syndicated column and text feature consumer site, uExpress.com. Popular Andrews McMeel Syndication columns and text features include

425-492: The latter company's 150 comic strip and news features (under the banners United Feature Syndicate and the Newspaper Enterprise Association ) beginning on June 1 of that year. The United Media deal brought over such long-running comic strips as Alley Oop , Marmaduke , Nancy , and Tarzan . As a result of this acquisition, Universal Uclick became one of the largest print syndicators in

450-418: The mid-1960s. Greeting card writer Tom Wilson first drew a Ziggy-like character as an elevator operator offering political commentary in editorial cartoons , but no one would syndicate it. Ziggy eventually appeared in an American Greetings gift book, When You're Not Around (1968) which caught the eye of Kathleen Andrews, a founder of the fledgling startup Universal Press Syndicate , which badly needed

475-464: The night before. Despite them often playing a part in Ziggy's mishaps and misadventures, the love and affection he gives to and receives from his animals is often very different than his interactions with the various human beings he encounters during his days. Tom Wilson often juxtaposed Ziggy's human interactions with his animal interactions for comedic and emotional effect. One of the great appeals of

500-481: The other perils of modern life. Since the strip has been in existence for 50 years, Ziggy has experienced the waves of societal and technological change that have swept through our culture in the last five decades. For instance, early strips show him using rotary phones, while strips put out in recent years displays Ziggy's adoption of modern technology like cell phones and flat screen TVs . The animated 1982 Christmas television special Ziggy's Gift , which contained

525-439: The strip. Ziggy, the constantly unfortunate but sympathetic protagonist, is a diminutive, bald, barefoot, almost featureless character (save for his large nose). He is often drawn in just his shirt with no pants on, though the lower half of his torso is never seen. He lives in a simple house with a garden, and he is often seen working at an office job, at which his foibles often reflect the absurdities that many readers encounter on

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550-515: Was a school superintendent and edited the newspaper; her father was a newspaper reporter in Norfolk, Virginia . Debnam was married to Richard Hunt, a former Associated Press reporter and military adviser to Hubert Humphrey and died on November 1, 2020. Andrews McMeel Syndication Andrews McMeel Syndication (formerly Universal Uclick ) is an American content syndicate which provides syndication in print, online and on mobile devices for

575-553: Was conceived as a cross between the Weekly Reader and a newspaper comics section, with an underlying mission of encouraging family-centered reading and literacy . It was the first supplement of its kind when it debuted in August 1969 in the Raleigh, North Carolina News & Observer . The Mini Page's first issue had a "Back to School" theme and included a mini-profile of Los Angeles Rams quarterback Roman Gabriel and

600-654: Was founded in 1970 by Jim Andrews and John McMeel. The company began syndicating Garry Trudeau 's Doonesbury comic strip in October 1970 . Trudeau won the Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning in 1975 for his work on Doonesbury . The strip as of 2009 was syndicated in more than 1,400 newspapers worldwide. Over decades, the syndicate added other well-known comic strips including Ziggy , Cathy , For Better or For Worse , Calvin and Hobbes , The Far Side , FoxTrot , Baldo , The Boondocks , In

625-465: Was with Universal Uclick/Andrews McMeel Syndication until they severed their relationship with Adams in February 2023. Several newspapers have chosen to replace Dilbert with a new comic strip Andrews McMeel syndicates, Crabgrass by Tauhid Bondia which was introduced in 2022. On February 24, 2011, Universal Uclick signed a deal with E. W. Scripps Company 's United Media to handle syndication of

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