Just missed Bronze!

Ollie and Quentin just miss out on bronze medal in Buzz Dixon's top 10 comic strips of 2011. Click here to see his choices.
Thanks Buzz.

The end?

Today's comic is the last for a while. The strip is too good to stop completely so I'm going to spend the next year finding new markets for it. My hope is to convince a national UK newspaper to run it and take things from there. I'm hoping to fund an animation short in the  'Wallace and Gromit' stop frame style but that may take some time. In the meantime don't disappear as I'll be posting about how I'm getting on here in the UK.

Ollie and Quentin in the Arctic Circle

WooHoo! Look at this! Ollie and Quentin make an appearance in the brilliant Arctic Circle by fellow Brit and all round good egg Alex Hallatt! Click here to have a look at Alex's website. Cheers Alex.

Christmas Week...

Boy I'm stuffed! Hope everyone had a great Christmas. I'll bet most of us are a good few pounds heavier. Think I am so went for a 10k run this morning. 

Sunday Strip in Full

Happy Christmas Everyone!

O&Q @ The Cartoon Art Museum, San Francisco

This may be your last chance to see some original Ollie and Quentin comic art so pop over to The Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco to have a look. We're in great company with the likes of Arctic Circle, Cul De Sac, Lio, Pearls Before Swine, Tina's Groove etc. Plenty of great artwork to see. Wish I could go. Thankfully Jonathan Lemon of Rabbits Against Magic fame did and took these photos. Thanks Lemon.

Don't forget your O&Q Book!

Don't forget the beautiful 124 page, full colour book of my favourite Ollie and Quentin strips from the last four years. That’s about 350 colour comics! It's too gorgeous to miss! Please click here to buy one if you're in the US or click here if you're in the UK.

Touching message from King Features Editor, Brendan Burford

Piers Baker’s OLLIE & QUENTIN Fly Away

Posted on DailyINK December 19, 2011 by Brendan Burford

Piers Baker’s OLLIE & QUENTIN has been one of my personal faves the past few years, and I’m sad to report that as of January 1^st, 2012, King Features will no longer syndicate new installments of the wonderful strip. The time had simply come for Piers to seek new opportunities for himself and for his creations.

This isn’t necessarily all somber news – Piers tells me that he wants to look for new ways to bring OLLIE & QUENTIN to the world. He’s just not going to do the intense work of creating it every single day. And lucky you, reader friend, we will continue to run the past four years of the strip right here on DailyINK! Beginning Monday, January 2^nd, we will post the very first OLLIE & QUENTIN strip (which originally ran on January 7^th, 2008), and roll out the entire run from that point on. It will be fun to revisit those first strips.

A personal note: I’d like to mention again that I really do enjoy OLLIE & QUENTIN, and I am extremely fond of Piers Baker – I have greatly enjoyed working with him these past few years. OLLIE & QUENTIN is my kind of comic strip. It’s beautiful and funny and subtle and quirky. The world is so charmingly realized, and so elegantly presented. The refinement of it all makes the zaniness that much more rewarding – there’s a wonderful dichotomy to the gentle look and feel combined with the unapologetic humor that I just love. Piers is a special cartoonist – more people should know that, and dive into his world and enjoy some stellar comics. Please join me in congratulating Piers on four fine years of syndication with King Features!

Ollie and Quentin to end in newspapers...

Ollie and Quentin simply isn’t attracting newspaper readers so King Features and I have reluctantly decided to end that part of our relationship at the end of the year. This is painfully sad but not unexpected. Ollie and Quentin is a gem of a comic but that just hasn't translated into newspaper sales which is so vital. I am however, delighted and flattered that Kings have chosen to rerun my comic online. A digital presence with Kings means my comic remains in an area of the business that I consider to have the brightest future. In January we'll be reposting strips from day one, four years ago. This is great because there are some real beauties from those early days that I'm sure few readers got to see. Do read it, the drawings are crap but the jokes are pretty good.

So, what has my experience been like? Well, I have never worked harder or longer, never sacrificed more and have never earned less in my whole cartoon career. That said I wouldn’t have missed the last four years for anything. My ambition in life was to be a newspaper syndicated cartoonist and for four wonderful years I lived that dream. Not many people can say they did exactly what they were meant to do in life. I’m glad I can. (I just wish I'd done this 50 years ago!). I was never happier than when sat in a coffee shop writing my comic as ‘Ollie and Quentin World’ became my favorite place to visit. It has got me through some very difficult times as readers of this blog will know. Writing a comic is great therapy!

I have no doubt I am very good at this. I couldn't be more proud of the work I have produced. I gave it my very best shot and know I did everything I could. It’s a great shame only a small newspaper audience saw what I had to offer. I appreciate that a Seagull and a Worm must have been difficult characters to sell and for that my gratitude to the King Features Sales Team who had to work really hard to get my comic noticed. I believe my drawing style and colouring are more suited to online viewing rather than in black and white newsprint. Ollie and Quentin’s future lies on screens, as do most comics. 

I will take some time off to consider the next step for Ollie and Quentin. The response I have from British and European readers tells me that there is a bright future for my comic this side of the Atlantic and I will self syndicate over here. I will also market my gorgeous Book and eBook which I am really looking forward to. (See my commercial at the end of this post).

My editor, Brendan Burford at King Features, has been a delight to work with. Barely out of shorts he is quite the most talented guy I’ve ever met and someone I know I can consider a friend. His "Editor's Despatch" blog post on Daily Ink this week is very humbling. A fantastic cartoonist himself he’s proved himself a worthy successor to Jay Kennedy. I’m only sorry the faith he had, and the gamble he took, in syndicating my comic didn’t bring him the return he so deserved.

The cartoon community is a very special one and, although I'm not vanishing from the scene completely I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the stars of the comic world who have offered their support and encouragement over the years, no matter how large or small. This can be a lonely pursuit and every little vote of confidence made the long days and late nights worthwhile. So thanks to Alex Hallatt, Jonathan Lemon, John and Anne Hambrock, Norm Feuti, Mark Tatulli, Stephan Pastis, Rina Piccolo, Richard Thompson, Mike Lynch, Tom Racine, Sandra Bell Lundy, David Hurley, Dan Piraro, and Kieran Meehan to name drop a few. With encouragement from ‘Comic Royalty’ like this I know I did something right.

I won’t miss the weekly deadlines and, as a Brit, I won’t miss having to think and write ‘American’ (note the correct English spelling in this post). I won’t miss working under the 'Sword of Damocles' as I call it, or the threat of comic cancellation as it's more commonly known. I won’t miss hearing that my comic has been dropped from a newspaper or reading my depressing monthly sales reports. I won’t miss comic polls, I won’t miss despairing at the decisions of newspapers (a fight that can never be won) and I won’t miss staying up too late, never reading books, rarely traveling and being poor. I look forward to rediscovering weekends, long walks, tall beers, watching movies, seeing friends and spending more time with my two wonderful children rather than talking to them over my shoulder from my computer in the corner.

Thanks to the very loyal readers Ollie and Quentin does have. I hope you enjoyed something a little different and will continue to support the strip. Remember you'll still be able to see it online (Daily Ink, Comics Kingdom, Facebook, my Website, blogs etc) and I may even post new ones from time to time just to keep my eye in. I have a gorgeous 125 page, full colour 'Best of Ollie and Quentin' printed book out now. It really is lovely. Click Here to buy one if you're in the US or Click Here if you're in the UK. Oh, and for Mugs, Prints, T-shirts etc Click Here. OK, boring commercial break over.

That’s it. Cheers everyone!

Piers

Sunday 3D Strip in Full

I have wanted to do a 3D comic for a long time and finally got round to it. This took me about 3 days to do but I think it was time well spent. I used Bryce to create the pod and background. It's a great little programme, and it's FREE!

O&Q at the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco...

BLACK AND WHITE AND READ ALL OVER: COMICS OF THE NEW MILLENNIUM

December 17, 2011 – May 6, 2012

“I never thought my art would be displayed anywhere other than my mother’s refrigerator. And even she tried to hide it under large magnets and grocery lists.”

-Stephan Pastis, Pearls Before Swine

The newspaper comics page is known for its sense of tradition.  The Katzenjammer Kidsis still in syndication more than 110 years since its debut, and popular favorites Peanuts, The Family Circus, Blondie, Beetle Bailey and Dennis The Menace are among the comics still going strong as they’ve passed the half-century mark.  New strips are introduced every year, however, and millions of readers worldwide enjoy classic comics—and new ones—on a daily basis.

The Cartoon Art Museum is proud to announce its latest exhibition, Black and White and Read All Over:  Comics of the New Millennium, a showcase featuring nine comic strips introduced between the years 2000 and 2010.  From talking animals to beleaguered cartoonists, childhood fears to childhood nightmares, the perils of adulthood to the trials of arrested development, the nonsensical to the political (which often goes right back around to nonsensical), the modern comic strip page really does include something for everyone.

Featured artists in this exhibition include Harvey Award and Glyph Award Winner Keith Knight; three National Cartoonists Society winners for Best Comic Strip of the Year, Stephan Pastis (Pearls Before Swine), Mark Tatulli(Lío) and Jeff Parker and Steven Kelley (Dustin); and the 2011 Winner of The National Cartoonists Society’s Reuben Award for Best Cartoonist of the Year, Richard Thompson.
Comic strips featured in Black and White and Read All Over: Comics of the New Millennium include:

• La Cucaracha by Lalo Alcaraz
• Ollie and Quentin by Piers Baker
• Arctic Circle by Alex Hallatt
• The Knight Life by Keith Knight
• Dustin by Jeff Parker & Steve Kelley
• Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis
• Tina’s Groove by Rina Piccolo
• Lío by Mark Tatulli
• Cul de Sac by Richard Thompson

“Wow.  If a newspaper ran this lineup of comics, it would be flying off the news stands and I’d be a subscriber.”  -Alex Hallatt, Arctic Circle

O&Q Printed Book on Lulu for UK Buyers

UK buyers of my book might prefer to get it off Lulu as the delivery is much faster than the US Create Space website. Click Here to go to Lulu. It's a little more expensive than Create Space but cheaper if you factor in the faster delivery. Sorry to those of you who have already ordered the book and are waiting patiently for it to slowly crawl it's way over from the US, I've only just thought of doing this. 

You have got to watch this!

Jeb Corliss is completely fearless and hence able to do the most incredible stuff. At 1.30 in this clip my head nearly blew off!

Sunday Strip in Full

Fear of Flying

This comic was written for my good 'running buddy' James' lovely new wife Kelly who has a fear of flying. Not sure this is going to help her much but as someone who has been in a 737 plane crash myself (Luxor, Egypt 1981) I do know you can conquer the fear. My sister highly recommends those 'Fear of Flying' courses you can go on.

This comic also gives me the opportunity to wish both James and Kelly all the best in their new lives together. A happier couple I have rarely seen.

Great wedding reception too. Hic. Burp.

Last of the Lost Series

Only in comics can I get away with a 3-in-a-bed romp to finish!

Ollie & Quentin Book OUT NOW!

At last! I've finally put together a beautiful 125 page, full colour book of my favourite Ollie and Quentin strips from the last four years. That's about 350 colour comics! Please click here to buy one.

Ollie and Quentin Online Store Opens!

I've finally opened an Ollie and Quentin Online Store! Click Here to have a look at some of the fun stuff you can buy. I've chosen some of my own favourite comics and graphics to put on the various merchandise but if you have a particular favourite you'd like to see on a particular item just email me piers@ollieandquentin.com with a brief description or comic date and I'll add it to the store.

Sunday Strip in Full

Lost in the Woods Series...