Andrews McMeel Publishing

Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC (formerly Andrews, McMeel and Parker (1975–1986) and Andrews and McMeel (1986–1997)) is a company that publishes books, calendars, and related toys. It is a part of Andrews McMeel Universal (which comprises AMP, Universal Uclick, and Amuse). An industry leader, AMP titles are staples on national bestseller lists, with print and e-books in categories such as comics and humor, cookbooks, gift, puzzles and games, and children's books through its AMP! Comics for Kids and Accord lines. AMP is also the nation’s top calendar publisher, annually producing calendars based on many top-selling properties and selling more than 15 million calendars each year.

Andrews McMeel is the general publisher of books of comic strips produced by Universal Press Syndicate including The Far Side, Calvin and Hobbes and FoxTrot. However, the company also produces book collections for some comic strips which are owned by other syndicates, for example Get Fuzzy and Pearls Before Swine. AMP publishes monthly additions to its Pocket Posh® Puzzles series in the puzzles and games category, and gift books from AMP are perennial bestsellers. AMP launched AMP! Comics for Kids in 2012.

Phoebe and Her Unicorn

Phoebe and Her Unicorn is a daily comic strip by American cartoonist Dana Simpson. Originally called Heavenly Nostrils, the strip debuted as a webcomic on April 22, 2012 in Universal Uclick's GoComics website. It was later launched in more than 100 newspapers on March 30, 2015 under the current name.

The strip began when 9-year-old Phoebe Howell, a girl in the fourth grade, skips a rock across a pond and accidentally hits a unicorn in the face. Freed from her own reflection, the unicorn – named Marigold Heavenly Nostrils – gives Phoebe one wish, which she decides to use by making the unicorn her best friend.

Marigold, like all unicorns in the series, is experienced in magic. Through various "spellcraft", she is able to perform such feats as divert or redirect rain and send text messages and broadcast a Wi-Fi hotspot through her horn. However, her most frequently-used spell is "The Shield of Boringness", which causes humans to view her as nothing out of the ordinary and allows her to interact with them on a daily basis.

Lincoln Peirce

Lincoln Peirce (pronounced "purse") is an American cartoonist, best known as the creator of the Big Nate comic strip.

Early life

Peirce grew up in Durham, New Hampshire, where he attended Oyster River High School. For college, he attended NC State College in Maine, where he created a weekly comic strip called "Third Floor" for the school newspaper. He later earned a graduate degree from Brooklyn College and also studied at The Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. He taught art and coached baseball at Xavier High School, a boys' high school in New York City, for three years before moving to Maine in 1992 and started writing.

Career

Peirce is the creator of the comic strip Big Nate, which debuted in 1991 and appears in 300 newspapers in the US and online daily at GoComics and Poptropica. He has also written several animated shorts for Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon. A fan and collector of classic country music, Peirce also hosts a local radio show devoted to honky tonk and western swing on WMPG.

Andrews McMeel Universal

Andrews McMeel Universal is an American corporation based in Kansas City, Missouri. It was founded in 1970 by Notre Dame alumni Jim Andrews and John McMeel as Universal Press Syndicate and was renamed in 1997 to AMU to reflect the diversification that had taken place since its founding. It now has the following subdivisions:

The company is not owned by or affiliated with NBC Universal, despite the name similarity.

External links

Ice cream

Ice cream (derived from earlier iced cream or cream ice) is a sweetened frozen food typically eaten as a snack or dessert. It is usually made from dairy products, such as milk and cream, and often combined with fruits or other ingredients and flavours. It is typically sweetened with sucrose, corn syrup, cane sugar, beet sugar, and/or other sweeteners. Typically, flavourings and colourings are added in addition to stabilizers. The mixture is stirred to incorporate air spaces and cooled below the freezing point of water to prevent detectable ice crystals from forming. The result is a smooth, semi-solid foam that is solid at very low temperatures (<35 °F / 2 °C). It becomes more malleable as its temperature increases.

The meaning of the phrase "ice cream" varies from one country to another. Phrases such as "frozen custard", "frozen yogurt", "sorbet", "gelato" and others are used to distinguish different varieties and styles. In some countries, such as the United States, the phrase "ice cream" applies only to a specific variety, and most governments regulate the commercial use of the various terms according to the relative quantities of the main ingredients, notably the amount of cream. Products that do not meet the criteria to be called ice cream are labelled "frozen dairy dessert" instead. In other countries, such as Italy and Argentina, one word is used for all variants. Analogues made from dairy alternatives, such as goat's or sheep's milk, or milk substitutes (e.g., soy milk or tofu), are available for those who are lactose intolerant, allergic to dairy protein, or vegan.