 His office was next to that of animator Stephen Hillenburg, his friend who years later would create SpongeBob SquarePants.Olson read a comic book Hillenburg drew in college called "The Intertidal Zone" and enthusiastically encouraged Hillenburg to create an underwater television series like the comic, hosted by its narrator, a sponge.Hillenburg has stated that his idea for the Spongebob series hatched during this conversation with Olson about the comic.