British author and illustrator Tony Husband, "who created almost four decades' worth of Private Eye cartoons as well as several books for Little, Brown," died October 18, the Bookseller reported. He was 73. In a statement, the publisher said, "Tony was best known as a cartoonist, poking fun at both the domestic and the political, in newspapers, and in every single issue of Private Eye for an astonishing 38 years, where his ongoing 'Yobs' strip was a firm favorite."
Husband was also one of the contributing editors of Oink! comic in the 1980s, and wrote for the children's TV series Round the Bend from 1989 to 1991. He published a number of collections of cartoons in book form during his career. Little, Brown's association with him goes back to the 1980s, with books for Sphere like Animal Husbandry; Use Your Head; Bye, Bye Cruel World; and The Kids Are All Right.
In 2014, his book Take Care, Son launched a new aspect of his career and he became known as a spokesperson for dementia awareness. "The book told the tale of his father's battle with vascular dementia and this deeply moving and relatable take on the disease led to Tony being invited to speak regularly to dementia charities and action groups, and he was always keen to contribute new artwork that could be used in fund-raising calendars, or to raise awareness in many other media," Little, Brown said.
His tale about dementia, Joe's Journey, was adapted into a short film in 2021, and in United (in 2022), he compiled real-life stories about people living with dementia and their carers. Take Care, Son was followed by From a Dark Place, which dealt with his son Paul's recovery from heroin addiction, and was co-written with Paul.
Tony Husband also illustrated other books for the Robinson list: Teenage Depression; Am I Depressed and What Can I Do About It?; After…; and United. "For the last two books, he insisted on only being credited as illustrator even though his artistic skill and ability to condense a bigger tale into pithy, visually impactful moments of emotion, was crucial to the writing of those books," Little, Brown said.
Robinson editorial director Andrew McAleer commented: "Tony was uniquely able to treat quite heavy subjects--dementia, depression, addiction, child abuse--with a light touch that made his books humorous and optimistic, making you laugh at the same time they made you cry.... He was able to bring out the best in humanity in his drawings and also rail against the cruelty he saw in the world with cutting political cartoons that highlighted bigotry, ignorance and inequality. He will be sorely missed."