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‘Ollie and Quentin’ replaces ‘Lio’ in Q-C Times comics

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By Times staff | Monday, January 07, 2008 |

Today marks the arrival of “Ollie and Quentin,” a new entry on our daily and Sunday comics pages.

The comic strip features the adventures of Ollie and Quentin, who are best friends despite an obvious food chain disparity that suggests Ollie, a seagull, should be more interested in Quentin, a lugworm (yes, a lugworm) as a snack than as a friend.

During their romps together, Ollie remains rather oblivious to the dangers presented by his finger-long friend’s small size. Quentin also has a knack for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, which often results in unfortunate accidents such as being inflated as a party balloon or briefly hospitalized after being mistaken for a piece of chewing gum. Quentin manages to take these humiliating moments in stride, never letting his size deter him from having fun with his feathered cohort.

The comic strip, created by Piers Baker, a Briton, already appears in numerous newspapers in England, Ireland and Scotland and is launching now in papers across the United States.

Baker, who originally worked as a graphic designer in a variety of advertising and design agencies, decided in 2000 to pursue his lifelong ambition of becoming a cartoon illustrator. He created “Ollie and Quentin” in 2002, he says, in homage to all of the poor lugworms he used as bait while fishing in the sea during his youth.

“Ollie and Quentin” immediately replaces “Lio” in the Quad-City Times comics lineup.