The strip was first drawn by Hugh Morren in 1958, who drew it until 1984 when Dave Gudgeon took over. He drew the strip until 1986, after which the strip was handed over to Brian Walker, around the time the "The" was dropped from the title. Walker made some changes to the character, giving Smasher a more teenaged look, a slightly longer hairstyle and a jacket in place of his jumper; his attitude was also toned down somewhat (The character was rewritten to be a more accident-prone figure), as the editor felt that he had become too openly malicious by that time. Walker carried on drawing the strip for most of the next two decades; its appearances became more sporadic in the late 1990s however, and the strip was finally dropped completely with the comic's relaunch in 2004.