David Law character was actually created first. Law's "Dennis" was a juvenile anti-hero, uncontrollable and destructive, drawn in spontaneous, edgy lines, and was an immediate hit; the strip eventually displaced "Biffo the Bear" on the comic's full colour front cover in 1974. Law went on to create "Beryl the Peril", a similarly anarchic female character, for the "Topper" in 1953, and the accident-prone soldier "Corporal Clott" for "The Dandy" in 1960. He was taken ill in 1970, and his strips were taken over by other artists, including David Sutherland on "Dennis the Menace" and John Dallas on "Beryl the Peril". Law returned
Off the Dole the role of John Willie; Beryl was his co-star. According to Formby's biographer, the cultural historian Jeffrey Richards, the two films "are an invaluable record of the pre-cinematic Formby at work". Notes References Off the Dole Off the Dole is a 1935 British film starring George Formby. Formby appeared as John Willie, a stage character originally developed by his father, George Formby, Sr.; Beryl Formby, Formby Jnr's wife, also appeared in the film. John Willie has his dole money denied him for moonlighting and not trying to find work. His uncle asks him to take over his detective agency. "Off