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
Beryl Mercer Beryl Mercer Beryl Mercer (13 August 1882 – 28 July 1939) was an actress of stage and screen who was based in the United States. Beryl Mercer was born to British parents in Seville on 13 August 1882. Her father was Edward Sheppard Mercer, said to be Spanish despite his name, and her mother was the actress Effie ("née" Martin). She became a child actor, making her debut on 14 August 1886 at the Theatre Royal, Yarmouth, when she was four. She returned to the stage when she was ten. In London she appeared in "The Darling of the Gods"