Beryl the Peril appeared in the first issue of "The Topper" in 1953. She was created to be a female equivalent to "The Beano"'s Dennis the Menace. Davey Law, her artist and creator, drew inspiration from his daughter, who would often pull faces during her tantrums. The strips were similar in concept to the Dennis the Menace ones in that she would cause chaos through menacing her neighbours, parents and school teachers. In 1958, Beryl was chosen as one of the few of D.C. Thomson's characters to earn an annual all to herself, consisting solely from reprints in past years. When Law retired
Nero (comic book character) Nero is an anti hero. He is a complex character with many good character traits, but also many human fallities. He is sometimes stupid, lazy, naïve, egotistical and vain, but in other situations he proves himself to be clever, friendly, determined and melancholic. When Marc Sleen started a comic strip series in 1947 for "De Nieuwe Gids" Detective Van Zwam was originally the central character, therefore naming the series after him. In the very first story, "Het Geheim van Matsuoka" ("Matsuoka's Secret") (1947) Nero made his debut. Van Zwam meets him while trying to solve a case, yet Nero is