Sue Scheff: Parents - Take Some Ziggy Time!


As a fan of Ziggy - this character can always put a smile on your face. So parents, take a break and treat yourselves to some Ziggy Time.


New York, NY - (April 28, 2009) – The world’s ultimate optimist is larger than life. Now appearing through the end of June, in the heart of one of the business hubs of the world, Ziggy is shining down from the CBS Jumbotron Billboard in Times Square in New York City.

The Ziggy billboard, located at 8th Avenue and 42nd Street, is a huge monument of the major media marketing blitz that’s been happening for the launch of the new book, Zig-zagging: Loving Madly, Losing Badly – How Ziggy Saved My Life (HCI Books - $17.95), a memoir by Tom Wilson, Ziggy cartoonist.


Complimenting the billboard and a host of positive pre-release book reviews, and the viral video interview, Wilson has been receiving bountiful media exposure and praise regarding the new book. In addition to an in-depth personal interview that is appearing in a nationally syndicated newspaper article, Wilson has been on a nationwide book signing tour that started at the end of April. Along the way, Wilson is making several television appearances, stop-ins at radio stations, and participating in local newspaper interviews.


The tour will continue with several more city visits and signings leading up to the world’s premier publishing event, Book Expo America, held in New York City, May 28-30, where Wilson will participate in several autographing sessions.


The hype over Zig-zagging surrounds the chronicles of Wilson’s ability to provide the world with daily drawings one of the most inspirational characters in history, while coping with very traumatic periods in his personal life. In addition to being a moving story of a father and son, and the gift of the character they share, Wilson also reveals his struggles with depression over the loss of his wife to cancer at a very young age, and his life as a single father raising two young boys.


In this new memoir, readers have the opportunity to peek behind the scenes of an animated American icon. Zig-Zagging delivers a glimpse at the person who thinks up and drafts a cartoon strip and discovers how much of him is actually imbued in the character. Equally fascinating is witnessing the life of Ziggy from his inception at Tom Wilson, Sr.’s pen, to his current home on his son’s drafting table. Literally growing up with Ziggy, Wilson was unaware of the inspirational role that the character would play in his personal life.


Through the occasional appearance of Ziggy cartoons across the pages, the book deftly treats us to “comic relief” along Wilson’s sometimes-sad road.


Like Ziggy, Tom turns tragedy into a learning experience so he can move forward in his life with his two sons. Fans of the cartoon have been happy to learn that their illustrator’s outlook on life is in sync with his very own Ziggy.


Ziggy first appeared in newspapers in June 1971. Tom Wilson has drawn and written Ziggy since 1987, after the retirement of his father, the senior Tom Wilson , who first created Ziggy as a greeting card character. Now distributed through Universal Press Syndicate, a division of Andrews McMeel Universal , Ziggy is published in more than 600 newspapers, reaching 75 million readers daily, and maintains an online presence through http://www.ziggyzone.com/ and http://www.uclick.com/.


As SpokesCharacter for World Food Day, the Ziggy billboard will return to promote the cause on World Food Day, Oct. 16 th.


Video of Tom Wilson discussing the new book is available by clicking here.


Publishing Contact:Kim Weiss, Director of Communications, HCI Books, T: (800) 851-9100 x 212; KimW@hcibooks.com


Ziggy & Freinds, Inc. Contact:Greg Walsh, Walsh Public Relations, T: 203-292-6280; mailto:greg@walshpr.com

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