Phoebe and Her Unicorn
| Phoebe and Her Unicorn | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Author(s) | Dana Simpson |
| Website | Phoebe and Her Unicorn at GoComics |
| Current status/schedule | Running |
| Launch date | April 22, 2012 (as a webcomic) March 30, 2015 (in newspapers) |
| Alternate name(s) | Heavenly Nostrils |
| Syndicate(s) | Universal Uclick/Andrews McMeel Syndication |
| Publisher(s) | Andrews McMeel Publishing |
| Genre(s) | Humor, fantasy, children |
Phoebe and Her Unicornis a dailychildren's comic stripby American cartoonistDana Simpson.Originally calledHeavenly Nostrils,the strip debuted as awebcomicon April 22, 2012, inUniversal Uclick'sGoComicswebsite.[1]It was later launched in more than 100 newspapers on March 30, 2015, under the current name.[2]
Overview
[edit]The strip begins when 9-year-old Phoebe Howell skips a rock across a pond and accidentally hits aunicornin the face. Freed from the trap of gazing at her own reflection in the pond, 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 sendtext messagesand broadcast aWi-Fi hotspotthrough 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.
Phoebe deals with childhood challenges both mundane and magical with Marigold, her friend Max, pen friend Sue, and even her arch frenemy Dakota in a quick-witted romp through a little girl's world.
Background
[edit]Following the end of her earlierOzy and Millie,Simpson provided illustrations forchildren's books.[3]She also submitted a new comic idea toAmazon.com's "Comic Strip Superstar" contest in 2009, entitledGirl,which was selected the winner and received a publishing contract fromAndrews McMeel Universal.[3][4][5]Girlcentered around an unnamed girl with a vivid imagination who interacts with forest creatures.[6]The strip's launch was delayed; according to Simpson, this was imposed by the syndicate due to its reluctance to launch two "talking animal"strips at the same time, as well as its request for further edits.[7]Simpson also noted she only had a limited number ofGirlstrips ready and needed more time to draw out more.[3]
During this time, Simpson had drawn oneGirlstrip that included a unicorn. Soon after drawing this strip, Simpson knew that the unicorn was a necessary character to make her comic work.Girlwas retooled and reimagined asHeavenly Nostrils,which is about a nine-year-old girl named Phoebe (essentially the same character fromGirl[6]) who comes across Marigold Heavenly Nostrils while the latter is enraptured by her reflection in a pond; Phoebe accidentally hits her with a rock, breaking the spell and receives a granted wish as reward.[3][6]
Heavenly Nostrilswas scheduled to debut on GoComics April 23, 2012,[8]but debuted a day early on April 22, 2012.[9]The strip entered into print syndication across 100 papers starting on March 30, 2015; the title of the strip was changed toPhoebe and her Unicornfor print syndication.[3][10]
Influences
[edit]Simpson drew inspiration from her real life. Phoebe herself is loosely based on Simpson's own personality.[11]Phoebe's best friend, Max, is based on Simpson's husband David.[3][failed verification]Dakota, a fellow schoolmate of Phoebe who initially teases her until she learns about the unicorn, was an amalgamation of several students that had given Simpson trouble when she was younger, but also incorporates elements of her younger sister Nicole.[6]Phoebe's parents are based on Simpson's friends who have become parents themselves but "they're also still the same weird people they were before they had kids".[11]Marigold is based partially on the unicorn character in the workThe Last UnicornbyPeter S. Beagle.[12]Marigold's name was based on the results of using Simpson's own name in an online unicorn name generator.[12]
The design of the unicorns draws inspiration from Medieval depictions, including the series of tapestries entitledThe Lady and the UnicornandThe Hunt of the Unicorn.Marigold is drawn withcloven hoovesand aswan-shaped body.[13]The latter set of tapestries was referenced in the opening sequence ofThe Last Unicorn.Simpson has stated thatthe bookwas one of the inspirations for her comic strip.
The strip has been favorably compared toCalvin and Hobbeswith a feminine slant;[14][15][16]in contrast toCalvin and Hobbes,where the character of Hobbes is only a stuffed tiger doll that Calvin imagines is alive, Marigold the unicorn has to use magic to appear as unremarkable.[6]
Publications
[edit]In addition, translations of the comic are published in France (renamed asLucie et sa licorne),Germany(asFibi und ihr Einhorn)Spain(asCloe y su unicornio),Portugal(asBia e o Unicórnio),PolandandRussia.
Other media
[edit]Scrapped television series adaptation
[edit]Phoebe and Her Unicornhas been optioned for a possible animated television and/or movie series adaptation twice, first byAmazon Studiosin 2017 and later byNickelodeonin 2020.[17]Neither project ever materialized. On December 28, 2022, Dana Simpson announced that Nickelodeon was no longer pursuing the project, as the executives who had greenlit the project had been replaced by new ones who felt it would not attract a male audience.[18]
Awards
[edit]- Washington State Book Award,Scandiuzzi Children's Book Award, 2015: Books for middle readers (ages 9 to 12)[19]forPhoebe and Her Unicorn: A Heavenly Nostrils Chronicle
- PNBA Book Award,2016 forUnicorn on a Roll[20]
References
[edit]- ^"Phoebe and Her Unicorn".GoComics.Universal Uclick.Retrieved21 May2015.
- ^"Universal Uclick Launches Phoebe and Her Unicorn in more than 100 Newspapers Worldwide".Universal uClick.Retrieved21 May2015.
- ^abcdefBently, Rick (2015-03-29)."Artist Dana Simpson gets magic touch for her new comic strip from a unicorn".Fresno Bee.Retrieved2016-12-05.
- ^[Staff] (August 18, 2009). "Amazon and Andrews McMeel Universal Announce First Comic Strip Superstar Competition".The Wall Street Journal.
- ^"Comic Strip Superstar (via Internet Archive)".Amazon.Archived fromthe originalon January 3, 2010.Retrieved2010-01-03.
- ^abcdeWolfe, Billy (2015-03-29).""Phoebe and Her Unicorn" cartoonist draws inspiration from life ".Charleston Daily Mail.Archived fromthe originalon 2015-05-02.Retrieved2015-03-29.
- ^Simpson, D.C. (November 2, 2010)."Status report".Retrieved22 February2011.
- ^Simpson, D.C. (April 5, 2012)."The 23rd".Archived fromthe originalon May 3, 2012.RetrievedApril 20,2012.
- ^Simpson, D.C. (April 22, 2012)."In stealth, we have begun!".Archived fromthe originalon August 14, 2012.RetrievedNovember 18,2012.
- ^Hanson, Merridee (2015-03-29)."Columbian adds 'Phoebe and Her Unicorn' to comics lineup".The Columbian.Retrieved2015-03-30.
- ^abSholley, Diana (2015-03-30)."'Phoebe and Her Unicorn' to debut, add whimsical flair to the funny pages ".Los Angeles Daily News.Retrieved2015-03-30.
- ^abBrutsch, Rachel (March 28, 2015)."'Unicorns are everywhere': Cartoonist Dana Simpson shares lessons on friendship in comic strip 'Phoebe and Her Unicorn'".Deseret News.Archived fromthe originalon April 2, 2015.RetrievedMarch 30,2015.
- ^Simpson, Dana (May 2014)."How to draw Marigold".Dana Simpson's deviantArt account.
- ^Doctorow, Cory (February 2, 2015)."Heavenly Nostrils: If Hobbes was a snarky unicorn and Calvin was an awesome little girl".Boing Boing.RetrievedMarch 29,2015.
- ^Doctorow, Cory (June 13, 2015)."Unicorn on a Roll: more comics in the tradition of Calvin and Hobbes".Boing Boing.RetrievedJune 13,2015.
- ^Janoski, Steve (2015-03-30)."Cartoonist Dana Simpson speaks on new comic" Phoebe and Her Unicorn "".The Record.Retrieved2015-03-30.
- ^Anthony D'Alessandro (June 18, 2020)."Nickelodeon Closing In On Comic StripPhoebe And Her UnicornAs Potential Multi-Franchise ".Deadline Hollywood.RetrievedJuly 22,2020.
- ^https://twitter.com/thecartoonnews/status/1608287653761253383
- ^Simpson, Dana (October 10, 2015)."Winners of the Washington State Book Awards (2015)".The Seattle Times.RetrievedOctober 11,2015.
- ^Simpson, Dana (October 10, 2015)."2016 PNBA Book Awards".Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association.RetrievedJanuary 14,2016.
- American comic strips
- Fantasy comics
- Child characters in comics
- Female characters in comics
- 2012 webcomic debuts
- Fiction about unicorns
- Fictional unicorns
- Comics about children
- Comics about anthropomorphic horses
- Comics about talking animals
- Comics about friendship
- Comics adapted into television series
- Comics characters introduced in 2012
- Comic strips started in the 2010s