I never met Tony Husband in person but I did have the opportunity to speak with him on the phone a few times over the years and online. He was always so enthusiastic about OiNK and everyone who had worked on it. His passion for the comic was infectious, his love for all of its contributors clear as day and he was always so open to chatting and reminiscing.

Tony loved people, adored animals of all kinds and cared deeply for our planet. He often reflected these aspects of his character in his cartoons, not only in OiNK but across the spectrum of his output since going full-time in 1984, including publications such as Private Eye, Punch, Playboy and The Spectator amongst others. He also released his own critically-acclaimed books, including the highly regarded Take Care, Son: The Story of my Dad and his dementia.

For me he was best known as the creator of Horace (Ugly Face) Watkins in OiNK, the comic he co-created with Mark Rodgers and Patrick Gallagher. Starting off as a strip giggling at the situations he found himself in, it matured over time, developing into an ongoing serial covering Horace’s trials and tribulations as he tried to live a normal life, but often while being treated as an outsider. It contained a strong message to never judge anyone based on their looks and delivered this with plenty of laughs, the best way to teach life lessons to children.

In the end Horace became a successful footballer and met the woman of his dreams, with him and Mandy marrying after one last adventure in a Holiday Special after OiNK’s cancellation. Tony’s humour was key in my development as a kid and his messages (always delivered in a way that never felt like important messages) had a profound effect on me. I’m sure I’m not alone in thinking that.

This particular cover brings back happy memories too. Later in OiNK’s run my cousin gave me a few of his back issues that I’d missed and while sitting next to my late Nanny at his house she saw this cover, looked at me and giggled like a little schoolgirl. She knew my mum (her daughter) would tut and shake her head, but my Nanny found it so funny. I miss her greatly and this is one of my earliest, happiest memories of her. This cover brings a smile to my face for that reason every time I see it, all thanks to Tony.

Of course many know Tony for his cartoons in Private Eye and the like, his quick gags always raising a chortle. When OiNK went weekly for a few months in 1988 a whole page was given over to Tony to bring us that same kind of humour. With a completely different scenario every issue, a quick gag played out in a large format every seven days. I loved them as a kid, they were just so silly. As an adult reading OiNK for the blog, these were just bliss for sixteen weeks.

Tony wasn’t just known for his own OiNK pages, he also wrote the scripts for some absolute fan favourites drawn by a mixture of brilliant cartoonists. The Spectacles of Doom was an incredible serial that spoofed fantasy films of the 80s and was drawn by Andy Roper, The Slugs saw Tony bring his love of punk music to the comic with suitably raucous art from Les ‘Lezz’ Barton and for Tom’s Toe he ingeniously brought in John Geering to parody his own work from other, more traditional comics.

It’s sad to realise everyone involved in these strips is no longer with us. However, Tony’s unique sense of humour, so prevalent in each one, ensures the laughs are never too far away. His deliciously dark sense of humour could also come to the forefront upon occasion, such as when Ian Knox drew Tony’s Crablad, the ending of which was certainly delicious.

In the first musically themed issue Tony interviewed the lead singer of one of his favourite bands, The Cult after he found out they were fans of his work and of OiNK, something which Tony told me about with such joy in his voice; it was a special moment for him, to be sure. Tony also said he had a surreal moment after the interview when Ian Astbury asked him about some missing OiNK merchandise he’d ordered, which Tony then chased up for him. It was a crazy time.

Tony would team up frequently with Chas Sinclair for many a random strip, however he also created serial The Wonder Pig, whose name would have a different spelling in every outing. Chas’s style was the perfect fit for Tony’s loveable, heroic, yet completely daft pig. Most memorable of all their collaborations was Tony’s take on Wuthering Heights, which had one of the most random and thus completely laugh-out-loud funny moments in all of OiNK for me.

Tony won many awards over his career including the prestigious Pont Award and during OiNK’s lifetime the Cartoonists’ Club of Great Britain’s Strip Cartoonist of the Year Award, which the comic proudly told us all about. Just right. He also co-wrote The Psycho Rap for the flexidisc and OiNK 45 record, so all of you pig pals who can’t get “Don’t eat pigs, ‘Cause they’re made from hhhaaammm, Eat that Nast-y Butch-er Man” out of their heads all these years later have Tony to thank/blame.

Above are some photos Tony shared (taken by Ian Tilton) of the time they teamed up with Spitting Image to hand out the OiNK Awards to various rubberised celebrities (and the occasional real one). That’s friend of the comic John Peel with him, and a photo taken for early promotional material showing who was responsible for editing the new comic.

After OiNK finished Tony, alongside Mark and Patrick, moved on to create the award-winning Round the Bend TV series for CiTV with the Spitting Image team. I’ve very fond memories of that show. I didn’t know who was writing it, I never looked at the credits at that age, but it spoke to me in a way other children’s comedy shows didn’t, it really made me laugh! I really should’ve clicked who was behind it.

For the first anniversary of the previous OiNK Blog I received a surprise parcel in the post. It was this marvellous birthday card from Tony! I couldn’t believe it when it arrived, I’d no idea Tony had drawn it or that he was even paying that much attention to the blog until I saw this. That was Tony, always thinking of others but never making a big deal out of it. It was just his nature, to be kind and thoughtful.

I wish I’d had the opportunity to meet him and I can’t quite believe he’s actually gone, taken far too early. Tony was such a huge, formative part of my life and his work, his humour and his humanity will continue to be an inspiration to myself and countless others for the rest of our lives.

On that note, I think it’s only fitting to let Tony himself round things off as the sun sets on an incredible life and an incredible person.

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