Gordon Hutchings
Gordon Hutchings was a British comic artist and children's book illustrator, whose comics work appeared in preschool and TV-related magazines during the 1950s and 1960s. He was the second artist to continue 'Gulliver Guinea-Pig' in Playhour, and the original illustrator of 'Num Num and his Funny Family' (1966) in TV Toyland and Playhour.

Gordon Hutchings was born as the son of a painter, whose wife was also artistically gifted. His brothers Tony Hutchings and Roger Hutchings would later become graphic artists in their own right. He started his career drawing comics for the British Disney magazine Mickey Mouse Weekly by Odhams Press in the early 1950s. Later on, his feature 'Professor Bobble' (1958), the title launched by Odhams Press for its own strips when the publisher lost the Disney license. For the celebrity comics publication TV Comic, he drew 'Nick the TV Star' (1953) and 'Pancho and Pepe' (1954).

Near the mid-1950s, Hutchings became affiliated with the nursery comics of the Amalgamated Press. He was part of the regular artists team, along with Hugh McNeill, Philip Mendoza, Bert Felstead, Peter Woolcock, Jim Turnbull, Antonio Lupatelli and Sergio Astertiti. His first jobs were creating 'The Little Mermaid' for Playhour's 1957 annual and an episode of 'Peter Puppet in Puzzle Land' (1956) in Playhour. Hutchings took over Philip Mendoza's 'Gulliver Guinea-Pig' (1958-1965) from 1961 on, until the comic's conclusion four years later.

By the turn of the decade, Hutchings was the main artist of the cover feature 'Sooty' (1960-1961), based on the TV puppet show created by Harry Corbett, whose previous comics adventures appeared in TV Comic, drawn by Tony Hart.

In Jack and Jill, children could enjoy Hutchings' comic strips 'The Merry Adventures of Pixie Pip' (1958-1961) and 'Tiny Tales of Gregory Grasshopper' (1958-1960), alongside occasional fill-in work of 'Freddie Frog', a character created by Peter Woolcock. He additionally served as the colorist for Hugh McNeill's 'The Fun and Frolics of Harold Hare' (1960), which also appeared in Jack and Jill. From 1959 on, Hutchings was present in Harold Hare's Own Paper, a preschool magazine named after McNeill's creation, published by IPC. Hutchings contributed 'Dagwood Duck' and 'The Little Horses'.

Gordon Hutchings' brothers Tony Hutchings and Roger Hutchings were also active as comic artists for most of the same magazines. In 1963, they set up their own studio in Soho where they worked on design, animation and book illustrations. During this period, Gordon Hutchings illustrated 'Num Num and his Funny Family' (1966) which appeared as an illustrated text feature written by Barbara Hayes in TV Toyland and was continued a year later as a picture story in Playhour.

For the latter magazine's front cover, he also drew 'The Magic Roundabout' (1967), based on the British version of the French TV show 'Le Manège Enchanté' by Serge Danot. Hutchings' stories with the elephant 'Pinkie Puff' (1969) appeared in Bobo Bunny, while 'Jenny the Gingerbread Boy' (1974) could be read in Bonnie. Most of the nursery turned to reprints during the 1970s, and Gordon Hutchings' later career and life are shrouded in mystery.
Source: Lambiek