Article by Andrea Foster of the North Devon Journal. Online version available here.

I messed about with this one for ages. When I just had Ollie and Quentin swopping places (ie. half rotations) to simulate the spinning of the draining water no-one else got it. So I've included quarter rotations too in the second version. Think it's better. What do you think?

So, I'm 2 months into my development period with King Features Syndicate. At the moment they're only after 3 or 4 rough strips a week which is fine (see above). Really quite enjoying it. By my launch in September 2007 I'll have to be supplying 7 a week including the big Sunday strip which is twice the size of a daily. Hopefully by then I'll be accustomed to the higher output rate. The problem is I've still got to earn a living so all this is extra to my workload and probably will be for a few years to come. Even then the strip could fizzle out and I've worked my brains out for nothing.

Wouldn't change it for the world.

Here's an idea for a product: "New Quentin Gum...the first gum NOT to stick to the pavement, or if you're in the USA: sidewalk!"


I was worried Editors might think this was too rude but having drawn it....nah!...it's fine!

The punchline could have been any number of things but I love Quentin in frame 3 as he's just noticing he's being sucked down.


I really wanted to draw Ollie in the hamster ball but I knew it would be funnier to imagine him squeezed into it and rolling slowly away in it.

Some more redrawn favourites.

I've redrawn a few of my old favourites because the old drawings were pants. It's amazing how different Ollie and even Quentin look now compared to the early days.

October 16th 2006. Call from King Features Syndicate in New York saying they are interested in the strip.

Time we met Quentin's overprotective Mum. Mrs Shortstuff loves her boy. He's the apple of her eye. This relationship is based on that of my lovely Mum and my youngest brother Quentin (yes, Quentin).

More of the fox series.

Many of my lazy neighbours put their bins out the night before the binmen come to collect. By morning their rubbish is all over the road because a fox has chewed a hole in their bags and spread muck all over the street. The following week it all happens again. Dur! Put your rubbish out in the morning!
...Anyway, this is why I got to thinking about foxes.

The continuing saga of Quentin's love life. Treading a fine political correctness line with these but, hey, they're worms and maggots, they'll get their revenge eventually.

Quentin's most precious possession is his Box Set of Baywatch DVD's. Appologies to Mr Hasselhoff.

Why is it so many beautiful girls date pug-ugly guys?

Poor little Quentin thinks having antlers surgically attached to his head will give him greater sex appeal. He hopes that by looking like a stag he'll get a girlfriend.

The rest of us know that cosmetic surgery just makes you look ridiculous.

I love the idea of introducing new words into the language. (As a child I was convinced "Grotty" was invented by my mum). Sadly I didn't have the imagination to come up with my own so thanks to www.boredatuni.com for these. Visit their site for translations. I hope it helps that they'll be published in newspapers around the UK. I don't think they're too rude.

In memory of Ann Denny's father Bill ("You Daft Bugger Piers") who used a similar line "I'm 78, the best I can do is amble for it".

We discover Quentin's surname.

I was thinking about what role Quentin could have in the house. The most ridiculous job I could think of was 'Guardworm'- in charge of security. This 'pencil' strip gives him the idea. I thought he'd take his responsibilities far too seriously and drive Ollie and Nobby crazy. He'd demand to see security passes at every opportunity etc. Does your company have security staff like this? They recognise you but still demand to see your pass.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to meet yourself? Would you like you? I have a feeling I might not recognise myself.

All I did here was imagine what it must be like crawling everywhere. And worms are slimy and juicy too, a bit like a tongue.
Yes, I know a lugworm doesn't have a belly button!

You know that feeling when you're sunburnt, you don't want anyone to come near you and you're radiating heat...

Chucking stones into the sea is one of life's more simple pleasures. There's not much to aim at though so when an object floats past you've just gotta bombard it to hell.

How does Quentin hold things? Clever muscle control I guess.
In this case I just wanted to throw something big at him to see how he'd cope.

My lovely daughter Esme is an adrenelin junkie (like her mother) and loves the terrifying rides at theme parks. When she was little she'd get really upset when she stood next to these damn height chart things to discover she wasn't tall enough to ride the ride. She's now very tall (like her father) and has no problem. "No excuses now Dad!"

My sister has a couple of fantastic, clever, funny but naughty kids. Spook and Rosanna. I could do a whole cartoon strip based on them.

Really excited about this idea. I started thinking about black holes (as you do) and thought it would be fun to have one appear in Ollie and Quentin's kitchen. The more I thought about this the more I realised it had to be a gateway to a parallel universe where they could meet their parallel selves. All sorts of trouble will follow...
Watch this space!

Another of my favourites. I wrote this after watching Alien and thinking how much the alien that burst out of John Hurt's chest looked like a scarey version of Quentin. I'd also been thinking about how much Quentin looked like a sausage. It was just a case of putting the 2 jokes together. Made my nephew, Spook, laugh!