Ziggy 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. History Ziggy, nameless at his conception, has been visible in some form or another since 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 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. His son continues to produce the strip . Ziggy's traits 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 a daily basis. On the name Ziggy, Tom Wilson II noted: 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 the night before. Despite them often playing a part in Ziggy's mishaps and misadventures, the love and affection he gives to and