Tony Hannan

Tony Hannan (born 11 June 1963 in Bradford, Yorkshire, England) is an author, journalist and publisher who specialises in British popular culture.

Among his other titles are On Behalf of the Committee, a comprehensive history of northern English comedy, and Being Eddie Waring, a critically acclaimed [1] biography of the BBC rugby league commentator of that name [2].

Founded in May 2008, it is primarily devoted to the production of books inspired by aspects of northern English culture and produces the monthly rugby league magazine Forty20.

Hannan was the creator and illustrator of the popular and long-running satirical cartoon character 'Walt', whose pithy comments were a nightly feature in the Bradford Telegraph and Argus newspaper from March 1987 until April 2002.

[5] Having first appeared alongside Brad Ford, a cheeky bear based on the 'Bradford's Bouncing Back' regeneration campaign figurehead of the late 1980s, Walt soon took over the strip.