He is the co-creator of the comic book Tank Girl with Alan Martin and the virtual band Gorillaz, alongside Blur frontman Damon Albarn.

Hewlett created the original artwork for a pilot animated cartoon series for Thames Television directed by Bob Godfrey with voiceovers by Peter Hawkins, the voice of Bill & Ben.

While studying at Northbrook College Worthing, Hewlett, Alan Martin and fellow student Philip Bond created a fanzine called Atomtan.

[1][2] A magazine called Deadline featured a mixture of comic strips produced by English creators like Hewlett and articles on music and culture.

Hewlett's eccentric style proved popular and he started to work with bands Senseless Things and Cud providing covers for record releases; he also contributed artwork sporadically to Commodore User magazine.

The decor featured red and green stripes, a wall of blown-up panels from Tank Girl set against 1970s wallpaper, a Ford Escort hung from the ceiling, and toilets pasted with pages from old comic book annuals.

The shop, at 49 Rowlands Road, Worthing, was managed by girlfriend Jane Oliver, originally a member of Elastica, but this was a short-lived venture and closed within a year.

[6] Deadline was eventually cancelled in 1996 due to falling sales in a changed market and Hewlett concentrated on working in advertising and designs for television, most notably the children's series SMTV Live, featuring Ant & Dec.

The stories, all set in London, followed the exploits of Terry Phoo, a gay, Buddhist kung-fu law enforcement officer and his sidekick Whitey Action, an enigmatic young anarchist with a bad attitude, as they tackle their primary adversaries The Freebies Gang.

The dynamic between the two heroes was much like that of Tank Girl and her mutant kangaroo boyfriend Booga, with the episodes from the female protagonist's point of view.

The strip's primary function was for Hewlett to vent his spleen against the media idols and trends of the day, the story often taking second place to the jokes.

In a 2013 interview with Consequence of Sound, Hewlett stated that his primary influences were the works of cartoonists such as Mort Drucker, Carl Giles, Jack Davis, and "Ronald" (sic) Lowe.

[25] Hewlett has also admitted to being heavily inspired by the likes of artists such as Robert Crumb, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Martin Kippenberger, and Richard Caton Woodville.