'Beastenders' (Buster Book 1992).
Anthony Hutchings is a British comic artist, cartoonist and greeting cards designer from Leigh-on-Sea, Essex. During the 1980s and 1990s, he worked for the IPC comic magazines, most notably Buster. His best-remembered comic series was 'Beastenders' (1987-1990). As a cartoonist, he has signed most of his work with simply "Anthony", and appeared in all sorts of publications, from juvenile to risque. Anthony Hutchings the cartoonist should not be confused with the British comic artist Tony Hutchings and the London-based concept artist and illustrator Anthony J. Hutchings.
Early life and career
Anthony Hutchings was born in 1946. He studied commercial art at Southend-on-Sea College of Art, and in 1977 became a freelance cartoonist and illustrator. His earliest work appeared in Weekend magazine.
IPC children's magazines
During the 1980s and 1990s, Hutchings was a regular contributor to the children's comic magazines published by IPC, such as Whoopee!, School Fun, Whizzer and Chips, Nipper and Buster. One of his early strips was 'Walt Teaser' (1983-1987), which first appeared in School Fun and then continued in Buster. It revolved around a kid whose pranks always backfire. When Whoopeee! merged with Whizzer and Chips in 1985, Hutchings was present with 'Captain Kid, the Pint-sized Pirate', starring a young boy who is a pirate captain, although his crew doesn't seem to acknowledge his authority and often conspire against him. Later in the decade, Hutchings remained a regular in Whizzer and Chips with comics like 'Neighbours', 'Puss and Pooch' and especially 'Bobby's Ghoul', starring a boy with a ghostly girlfriend.
'Walt Teaser', from the first issue of School Fun (15 October 1983).
Buster
During the 1980s, Hutchings was also part of a new wave of artists which filled the pages of Buster, alongside Steve Bright, Jerry Swaffield and Pete Dredge. For this magazine, he continued his School Fun creation 'Walt Teaser' until 1987 and took over 'The Winners' (1988, previously drawn by Mike Lacey and Jimmy Hansen). Both School Fun and Whizzer and Chips eventually merged with Buster, respectively in 1984 and 1990. In 1987, Hutchings also appeared in IPC's new title Nipper, drawing the feature 'My 'Dad' Mum', although this magazine also merged with Buster after only a couple months. Between 1992 and 2000, his 'Bobby's Ghoul' feature ran again in Buster, although some episodes were reprints.
'Bobby's Ghoul' (Whizzer and Chips, 29 April 1989).
Beastenders
For Buster, Hutchings also created 'Beastenders' (1987-1990), based on the popular TV soap 'Eastenders', but with horror characters in the starring roles, such as Arfur Growler and Pauline, Pete Brawl the pizza specialist, Dot Rotten the launderette owner, Dr. Legs the vampire, Lazy Len, Angry Angie Witts, Herman and Lizzy, Weeksy the cook and Lofty the midget bellboy and clerk. The gruesome inhabitants of Beastenders are in many ways similar to Charles Addams' 'The Addams Family' in that they look scary but are actually harmless eccentrics. One person who couldn't stand them in the series was Mr. Grott, who wanted to turn their neighborhood in a new building block. The first episodes of 'Beastenders' were drawn by Hutchings from 30 May 1987 on, after which Reginald Parlett took over the series from 1988 until 1990. The writer was Mike Knowles.
Watch Out, Beagle's About
Another comic by Hutchings for Buster was the shorter-lived 'Watch Out, Beagle's About', which ran from 14 September until 28 December 1991. The gag comic was a parody of the hidden camera TV show 'Beadle's About' starring Jeremy Beadle, who now appeared in the role of an anthropomorphic beagle.
'Walt Teaser' (Buster Book 1988).
Other work
Adult readers could enjoy Hutchings' cartoons in Punch, Private Eye, The Daily Mail, The Daily Mirror, The Daily Star, The Sun, Club International, Men Only, Accountancy, Weekend, Fiesta and Knave. He has also been co-author of a variety of cartoon books, including 'Columbus' with writer Les Lilley (Millbank Books, 1992), 'Chunky 'n' Hunky' (Powerfresh, 1996), 'Crinkled 'n Wrinkled: The Oldies Guide to Survival' with Cliff Carle (CCC Publishing, 1998). He has worked as greeting card artist for Royle and Otter House and created advertising cartoons for ICI. In 1987 and 1989, Hutchings was voted CCGB Joke Cartoonist of the Year. From 1983 on, he has also illustrated various books in A. Gelman and M. Young's 'SuperTed' series.
Cartoon by Anthony Hutchings.