Dana Simpson

Dana Claire Simpson (born David Craig Simpson, April 23, 1977 in Pullman, Washington)^{[citation needed]} is an American cartoonist, best known as the creator of Ozy and Millie.

A graduate of Evergreen State College, Simpson was once a reporter for a weekly newspaper, and did a stint as a graduate student in communication at Washington State University.^{[citation needed]} As an undergraduate, Simpson was a finalist for the 1998 Scripps-Howard Foundation Charles M. Schulz College Cartoonist Award, and won the 1999 College Media Advisers award for Best Strip Cartoon. ^[1] Simpson lives in Auburn, Washington with husband David Brodbeck.^[2]

Simpson's other comics include I Drew This, Raine Dog and Girl.

Career

A comic artist from an early age,^[3] Simpson's first published comic strip – early web comic Ozy and Millie – began running regularly in 1998. The strip centered on Ozy (an arctic fox) and Millie (a red fox) as they and their friends dealt with everyday elementary school issues and more surreal situations. Ozy and Millie won the 1999 College Media Advisers award for Best Strip Cartoon, the 2002 Web Cartoonists' Choice Awards for Best Anthropomorphic Comic and the Ursa Major Award for both "Best Anthropomorphic Other Work" for 2002 and for "Best Anthropomorphic Comic Strip" for 2006 and 2007.^[4] The final regular strip was published on December 23, 2008.

Simpson's second published comic strip, I Drew This was primarily about politics and proudly admits to its liberal orientation. The May 16, 2005 edition, "Teaching Gravity", featured the first reference to the theory of intelligent falling.^[5]

After appearing at local open mike nights, Simpson went on to become a musician and songwriter, performing at local cafes and bars and selling works online – including the album Shiver, released in May 2005. Simpson cites as influences R.E.M. and Elliott Smith.^{[citation needed]}

On January 16, 2009, Simpson posted the first page of Raine Dog, a graphic novel which follows an anthropomorphic dog living among humans with other recently-liberated house dogs. The most recent update was in January 2010.^[6]

Simpson's third comic strip, Girl, was the winner of Amazon.com's "Comic Strip Superstar" contest.^[7] The winner was to receive a publishing contract from Andrews McMeel Universal.^[8] Despite this, as of February 2011, the Andrews McMeel Universal website displays no evidence of having published Girl or any other work by Simpson. According to Simpson, the delay has been imposed by the syndicate, GoComics, due to its reluctance to launch two "talking animal" strips at the same time, as well as its request for further edits.^[9]

References

1. ^ El Santo (2010-01-29). "The Webcomic Overlook #106: Raine Dog". http://webcomicoverlook.com/2010/01/29/the-webcomic-overlook-106-raine-dog. Retrieved 2011-02-22. 
2. ^ "Raine Dog: Creator's corner". Keenspot. http://www.rainedog.com/creator.html. Retrieved 2009-05-03. 
3. ^ "About Dana Simpson". Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?docId=1000442601. Retrieved 2009-11-07. 
4. ^ El Santo (2010-01-29). "The Webcomic Overlook #106: Raine Dog". http://webcomicoverlook.com/2010/01/29/the-webcomic-overlook-106-raine-dog. Retrieved 2011-02-22. 
5. ^ Simpson, D.C. (May 16, 2005). "Teaching Gravity". I Drew This. Keenspot. http://www.idrewthis.org/d/20050516.html. Retrieved 11 November 2009. 
6. ^ Simpson, D. C. (2009-01-16). "1. The Smell of the City". Raine Dog. http://www.rainedog.com/d/20090116.html. Retrieved 2009-04-03. 
7. ^ "Comic Strip Superstar". Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/Comic-Strip-Superstar-Books/b?node=2128878011. Retrieved 2009-11-10. 
8. ^ [Staff] (August 18, 2009). "Amazon and Andrews McMeel Universal Announce First Comic Strip Superstar Competition". The Wall Street Journal. 
9. ^ Simpson, D.C. (November 02, 2010). "Status report". http://girlcomicstrip.typepad.com/girlblog/2010/11/02/index.html. Retrieved 22 February 2011. 

External links

• Ozy and Millie
• I Drew This
• Raine Dog
• Dana Simpson's Blog
• David Craig Simpson discography at MusicBrainz

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Name	Simpson, Dana Claire
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Date of birth	April 23, 1977
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