so um lolwat
Yes.
What do you use to make your comics?
Prior to about 2009, I was all about ink and paper, but I’m all pixels now. I use Manga Studio for 90 percent of what I do, with the rest being Adobe Photoshop (an almost unavoidable piece of software) and Corel Painter.
Why is your strip called “Heavenly Nostrils”? Wasn’t it originally called “Girl”?
During almost two years of development, the strip changed a lot, including its title.
Why such a weird title, then?
The phrase appears in a translation of the Iliad. But I got it from a unicorn name generator.
Are you ever going to do more Ozy and Millie?
Probably. I won’t ever do it as a daily strip again, but there are lots of other possibilities.
What about Raine Dog?
Less Likely. Raine Dog was a creation of a particular time in my life, and would be hard to revisit; it’s an orphaned project for the foreseeable future.
Is there a chance if your unicorn strip does so well, you could make a TV series?
Anything’s possible! There is language about TV, movies, etc. in my contract, so it exists as a future possibility if the strip continues to do well.
I love unicorn books
What happened to the idrewthis.org site?
The domain expired because of an oversight on the part of Dana and me. Eventually that stuff will get posted elsewhere.
EDIT: You can find most of it under the “i drew this” tag on this site.
I really hope you get to do Raine Dog someday. I liked both versions, and it was nice to see you finally stop playing it safe all the time. I know you got a lot of blowback, but that’s a good thing in my book.
Hey Dana! I grew up with Ozy and Millie, and I’d like to buy some books. Where can I order them? Take my money, please. 🙂
P
You can order them from Lulu here:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/dcsimpson
so um lolwat
Hee hee :0)!
Ozzy and Millie sometimes seems to be influenced by zen/taoism (obviously).
Is that your philosophy?
It’s certainly something I respect, and have always been influenced by. I think my individual philosophy is harder than that to label.
Hi Dana,
My daughter handed me a sealed, self made envelope addressed to “The Author of Pheobe & her Unicorn.” Where should I send it?
Best,
FP
Ooh, wonderful! That’d be PO Box 98512, Seattle, WA, 98198.
Is That still a current address? My daughter wants to mail you a letter too. 💕
I’ve relocated! It’s now PO Box 158, Goleta, CA, 93117. <3
Like most Americans, I have a hard time letting go of the things I loved growing up. Ozy and Millie was a big part of that, and it had the distinction of having one of the only two finales to make me cry 🙂 (Opus was the other.)
Out of curiosity, when you say you wouldn’t try it again as a daily but might try something else, what was your reservation about going back to dailies?
From a Portlander to a Seattleite, peace 🙂
Hi, first, I’d like to thank you for all the wonderful work you’ve done. Seeing your comic in my local paper made me remember Raine Dog and Ozy and Millie. I was wondering, would you be willing to put back up the original Raine Dog? Also, I have a vague memory of some artwork being done of Millie when she’s older, looking similarly to her mother, but I can’t seem to recall where to find it. If you have the time, I’d be very appreciative of either, if not both, of these favors, and thank you in advance.
I should dig up whatever art I’ve done of older Ozy and Millie and put that up as a blog post, because that would actually be a pretty interesting one.
As for Raine Dog, people do ask me that sometimes. For a long time I resisted having it anywhere official online, just because, while there’s still a lot about it I like, I kind of regard it as a lesson in how not to write a graphic novel–I’m working on another project now, and what I learned about how you should actually do story outlines and plan ahead, I am applying there. Still, it is what it is and deserves to be seen. I should post it here as a pdf. Watch this space, I guess.
Ok, thank you again for your consideration!
Seems like artists are always their own harshest critics. Raine Dog never felt aimless to me. The tales of Raine’s development were truly compelling to read. I’d love to see the original story posted somewhere again.
Hi Dana! I always wanted to thank you for your work. I have followed your comics since Ozy and Millie when I was younger. Ozy and Millie was a major inspiration that helped shape me into the person I am today. I am happy to see you doing yet another great strip, with unicorns!
I notice that bullying is an issue that comes up a lot in your comics, especially Ozy and Millie. I worked for years in public schools and I have seen first-hand how badly children who are “different” in any way can be bullied and how schools themselves will often do little about bullying. Was bullying something you experienced when you were a child? If so, do you feel like your work speaks to those, including children, who have experienced bullying too?
That is a yes for me, and an even bigger yes for my husband. I got knocked around some; he got it a lot worse, and had a school administration that looked the other way or even sided with the bullies (I got that from individual teachers, but never from an entire administration). It’s something that can leave deep scars; I hope I’ve written some things that let kids who are suffering now know they’re not alone.
If not for being bullied (and not having friends) I might not have become what I have.
Which not necessarily would be a bad thing, I fear (sometimes).
I do love both Ozzy and Millie, as well as Heavenly nostrils. I’ve also wondered what the Foxy pair of Ozzy and Millie will be like after so long, and what they might mature to be like. I’m not worried about if they’ll become a Daily comic again. Even if they only update 2 or 3 times a week, they’d be great to see again. I have loved the mix of humor and philosophy, and weird dragon stuff they go through. I think I became a fan of yours just shortly before they finished. So I was lucky to get the whole thing. Do you ever just go back to them, just to enjoy reading them again? I wonder.
I do! I enjoy their company.
Hi Dana! You probably get this often, but will you ever go back to Ozy and Millie in the near future? And if you do want to continue Ozy and Millie, I recommend Ozy and Millie updated on Mondays and Thursdays, and for you to have a break every Saturday and Sunday (you can somehow have the energy to make a comic strip every day, you NEED at least one day off) and Phoeboe and Her Unicorn every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. And have you heard of the webcomic Sandra and Woo?
My daughter just finished her cereal box book report project and she is super proud of her “One Wish” cereal. I’m not sure how to include a picture?! She is 8 years old so — you know. However, she loves Phoebe and dreams everyday of finding a unicorn in the woods.
Hello Dana,
I’m a great admirer of your work, and I’d very much like to send you a letter, but I’m a little confused about the addresses you mention on your site:
Further up on this page it says ‘PO Box 98512, Seattle, WA, 98198’, but on the ‘About-page’ it says ‘PO Box 98512, Des Moines, WA, 98198’.
Seattle and Des Moines is quite close to each other, but which is correct?
Sincerely
Mads Aggerholm
Technically Des Moines is correct, but for some reason Seattle works just as well. (When I look my zipcode up, half the time it lists as Des Moines and half the time as Seattle.)
Thank you Dana. I’ll write you soon. (Christmas is a long season over here 🙂 )
Hi, Dana! I have set myself the goal of commenting on every Ozy & Millie strip you have done. I am about three-quarters through or so.
Don’t feel pressured to do an Ozy & Millie strip a couple times a week…I know you cannot force creativity, and it’s good you did not jump the shark, but I would like to see five or ten strips of the characters in college or adulthood. Any chance?
saw your comic Raine Dog today and read it all, it was kinda touching for me and I read it all knowing that it was “cancelled” but wanting more after every page, it really makes me sad that the comic won’t be continued anytime soon, maybe never, but I understand you have your reasons to do so and I’m glad you moved on to make new projects that seem to be very successful and seem to bring you a lot of joy. I can only hope that you would consider in revisit that project and maybe finish it sometime, not as something unpleasant from the past but as an old history that could help you or others to explore themselves a little and grow a bit in some ways, it seems to have potential and it could use some closure to finish to tell its story.
thank you for making something that made me feel like this, it’s a little sad, but I always appreciate histories that make me think and really touch my feelings, it makes me feel a little more human. also, hope you have a good day and that your future projects bring you joy and happiness, take care.
I once found some old Ozy and Millie strips that were an expiriment in rebooting the continuity when the art style was redesigned in 2000. I can’t seem to find them again, where are they?
Nevermind, I found them. Glasswings archive, starting on february 9th 2005.
I also found a Christmas arc in those archives that didn’t make it to the main site. It was at the end of 2001. Seems like every archive has something the rest don’t.
Our local paper is getting ready to “drop” Phoebe and her Unicorn. Can we read new, daily panels of them anywhere on line?
Boo hiss to your local paper. And, you can read the strip every day at http://www.gocomics.com/phoebe-and-her-unicorn.
Ever read Calvin & Hobbes? Of course Marigold has a distinctly different personality than Hobbes, but the similarities are sometimes striking. Especially on this particular Sunday…
http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1994/01/05
Of course when you have a sentient character with a tail the joke is bound to come up. But I thought you should know Bill Watterson did it.
Have I read Calvin and Hobbes. Ha. No, I have spent the past 30 years living on Mars! In a cave, with my eyes shut, and my fingers in my ears! (Bonus points if you recognize that as a Simpsons quote.)
(I actually have the same book editor as Mr. Watterson.)
I think that IS an inevitable joke when you have a character with a tail, and Mr. Watterson isn’t the only person who ever did a version of it. I think mine is unique because it was built around wordplay. Also, Phoebe, unlike Calvin, attempts to help her friend out.
(I think the tail thing actually works better with a canine character than either a tiger or a unicorn, actually. So “Freefall” probably did it best.)
Well I had to ask. I have some friends who have never even heard of Calvin & Hobbes. And they look at me funny when I quote a comic. Did I mention they’re not very close friends? :p
I never saw the other versions though. But yeah, a canine would work better. I always wondered why Hobbes’ tail would be writhing… felines usually only lash their tails when they’re royally ticked off.
I’m going to go see if I can google up the freefall version. Now I’m all curious.
My cat Gladys used to swish her tail when she was about to pounce on something.
Okay, so more of a sugestion, but should Ozy and Millie ever become a T.V. series, I believe the perfect theme somg for it would be an instrumental version of “From the Rain” from your “Shiver” album on bandcamp.
You’ll get no objections from me!
Well, I guess it would make more sense to have it be an origional composition, but certainly something in the Rain Ruin style.
Hello, Dana. How can I contact with you apart from here and gocomics? I’ve tried but couldn’t find your e-mail anywhere…
It’s dcsimpson at gmail dot com.
I love Phoebe and Her Unicorn, but today’s strip seems to say that it’s okay to feed bread to ducks and other waterfowl. Bread can be deadly. There are lots of other options.
Hi Dana!
Will you be at GeekGirlCon Seattle next month? My daughter LOVES your books. I could only buy the first one at ECCC, which you signed and she now has the rest. She would love to have you sign the others.
I’m afraid it doesn’t look like I’ll be able to make GGC! But I *will* be at the University Bookstore in Seattle for my book launch party on the 21st, and at the Kitsap Regional Library on the 24th.
Hope to see you there, and hello to your daughter!
Hi Dana, love phoebe and her unicorn!
I have a question, and I apologise if you have already been asked this.
Drawing a strip myself, I find it difficult to decide the size the strip should be. I’ve tried different sizes but it’s either too small or too big.
What size do you draw Phoebe and her unicorn? Has the size changed at all?
I do everything digitally now! But before I did that, I worked at 13 inches by 4 inches. That size seems to be pretty standard, although lots of people work bigger or smaller (I experimented with some bigger ones before deciding it didn’t work as well for some reason).
Thanks for the tip. Will try experimenting with that size.
What kind of tech do you use to draw digitally?
Sadly at the mo I don’t have the funds to go digital so I’m still drawing the old fashioned way with a gas lamp and pencil! (Okay, the gas lamp is slight exaggeration.)
It’s how all the greats did it!
I use a Wacom drawing tablet, and a piece of art software called Manga Studio, which I swear by.
Don’t know where else to ask this — do you take commissions? Thanks!
At the moment I’m just too busy!
What is your favorite color? Do you have a favorite treat or snack?
Blue. And corn nuts.
My paper ( Daily News) cancelled your strip. I am so mad. I needs my unicorn. I am afraid I might go through unicorn withdrawal. Anyway it’s a fantastic comic. Hopefully I survive this unicorn withdrawal thing. Lol.
Boo hiss!
Just finished reading Ozy & Millie, is there anywhere to find other artwork/ strips after the end? Any plans on new ones any time soon? I really loved the pen and ink illustrations and the art style in early 2000’s would really love to see some sort of comeback
Hello Ms. Dana, I am from Philippines and I am currently searching for a book that I can give to my niece this coming Christmas Season. Its my first Christmas as a working woman, and I really want to give something to my niece that she’ll like forever and your book is the perfect fit. I just want to ask if your books are available in my country? Because bookstores I know aren’t yet familiar to your creations. 🙁 I will really appreciate your response to my question.
TO be exact: Your book Phoebe and Her Unicorn (and the series).
I don’t actually know! Good luck, though, I hope it’s available.
Is shipping in your shop (cafepress) available to Russia, Ukraine and Belarus?
I don’t actually know! I hope so.
I wonder if this might turn the thread into “Questions asked with varying frequency” but here goes anyway.
In one early Ozy and Millie strip, there was a sign in French Fry Hut’s window that said “No shoes, no shirt, no service”. In a much later strip, Mrs Mudd went into French Fry Hut without any shoes. (Millie probably wasn’t wearing shoes either but her feet weren’t visible in any frame of that strip.) Do you have any explanation?
Shortly after that first strip, that universe’s Congress passed the You Don’t Have To Wear Shoes Act of 2000.
So, we know that “Portable hole” means Portal, “Pastel Unicorns” – MLP… What do “Horse story” and “Confetti Canyon” refer to? (And have I missed something?..)
“Horse Story” is made up, though it’s sort of an amalgamation of various horse books, like “Black Beauty,” “My Friend Flicka,” etc. Likewise, “Confetti Canyon” is sort of a loose cross between “Gravity Falls” and “Steven Universe.”
In my head, anyhow.
What’s Dakota’s surname?
Reed.
Dear, Dana; In the Ozy & Millie story arc where Millie’s punished for hitting Jeremy who was bullying her.
I get you were making a point about how school systems are often unjust and favor thee bully.
However; You had the mom just give up like a wuss and bake Millie cake….not start a lawsuit and FIGHT THE POWER like a real vixen!
Remember; Evil triumphs when good people do nothing. The system can be changed.
You should’ve put in more comics of Jeremy getting “his”…..at least for “wish fulfillment’s sake”.
You even ruined the sage adage….WHICH IS TRUTH….that living well is is the best revenge. You made a mockery of that truth.
Therefore the heroes, the good guys, whom Karma and the Law of Return favors….get nothing but bupkus and injustice.
The message seems to be that there’s bad people out there under a bad system and you can’t change it….
….Which is, of course….a lie.
Why didn’t you have Ms. Mudd sue? That’s how the story should have ended. She threatens to sue and thee teachers change their tune.
How about that cake being an Ex Lax cake that is given to the teachers and Jeremy?
SOMETHING!
I have an idea! Show the fruits of being like Millie. Just one more comic where Millie and her friends shown to be successful and Jeremy’s a fat slug rotting in a tiny apartment with a drinking problem because he was too stupid to accomplish anything, was only good at sports and, though he got a sports scholarship, was passed up by the NFL for someone better and he busted his knee.
The majority of bullying Dumb Jocks end up that way. They’re too stupid to be bullying gazillionares or politicians. Jeremy’s fate is a sure dead-end.