David Law
Encyclopedia
David "Davey" Law was a Scottish
cartoonist best known for creating Dennis the Menace
and Beryl the Peril
for Dundee
publishers D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd
.
Law was born and raised in Edinburgh
and educated at Edinburgh College of Art
. He first worked for Odhams Press
as an illustrator, before moving to D. C. Thomson in the early 1930s. He drew cartoons for Thomsons newspapers like the Evening Telegraph, including a strip called The Wee Fella.
His most famous creation, Dennis the Menace, first appeared in The Beano
issue 452, dated 17 March 1951 - a mere five days after Hank Ketcham
's identically named Dennis the Menace
began syndication in the USA. 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 briefly to The Beano in 1971, but died in April that year, aged 63.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
cartoonist best known for creating Dennis the Menace
Dennis the Menace (UK)
Dennis the Menace, later called Dennis the Menace and Gnasher and now Dennis and Gnasher, is a long-running comic strip in the British children's comic The Beano, published by D. C...
and Beryl the Peril
Beryl the Peril
Beryl the Peril is a fictional character created by David Law, the creator of Dennis the Menace, for Issue 1 of The Topper comic published by DC Thomson & Co. Limited. Like Dennis, she had black and red apparel, and devilishly tormented her parents and other members of her community...
for Dundee
Dundee
Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...
publishers D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd
D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd
D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd, is a publishing company based in Dundee, Scotland, best known for producing The Dundee Courier, The Evening Telegraph, The Sunday Post, Oor Wullie, The Broons, The Beano, The Dandy and Commando comics...
.
Law was born and raised in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
and educated at Edinburgh College of Art
Edinburgh College of Art
Edinburgh College of Art is an art school in Edinburgh, Scotland, providing tertiary education in art and design disciplines for over two thousand students....
. He first worked for Odhams Press
Odhams Press
Odhams Press was a British publishing firm. Originally a newspaper group, founded in 1890, it took the name Odham's Press Ltd in 1920 when it merged with John Bull magazine. By 1937 it had founded the first colour weekly, Woman, for which it set up and operated a dedicated high-speed print works...
as an illustrator, before moving to D. C. Thomson in the early 1930s. He drew cartoons for Thomsons newspapers like the Evening Telegraph, including a strip called The Wee Fella.
His most famous creation, Dennis the Menace, first appeared in The Beano
The Beano
The Beano is a British children's comic, published by D.C. Thomson & Co and is arguably their most successful.The comic first appeared on 30 July 1938, and was published weekly. During the Second World War,The Beano and The Dandy were published on alternating weeks because of paper and ink...
issue 452, dated 17 March 1951 - a mere five days after Hank Ketcham
Hank Ketcham
Henry King "Hank" Ketcham was an American cartoonist who created the Dennis the Menace comic strip, writing and drawing it from 1951 to 1994, when he retired from drawing the daily page and took up painting full time in his studio at his home. He received the Reuben Award for the strip in 1953...
's identically named Dennis the Menace
Dennis the Menace (U.S.)
Dennis the Menace is a daily syndicated newspaper comic strip originally created, written and illustrated by Hank Ketcham. It debuted on March 12, 1951 in 16 newspapers and was originally distributed by Post-Hall Syndicate...
began syndication in the USA. Law's Dennis was a juvenile anti-hero
Anti-hero
In fiction, an antihero is generally considered to be a protagonist whose character is at least in some regards conspicuously contrary to that of the archetypal hero, and is in some instances its antithesis in which the character is generally useless at being a hero or heroine when they're...
, uncontrollable and destructive, drawn in spontaneous, edgy lines, and was an immediate hit; the strip eventually displaced Biffo the Bear
Biffo the Bear
Biffo the Bear was a fictional character who had his own comic strip in the British comic The Beano. Biffo was an anthropomorphic bear resembling Mickey Mouse who gained the front cover of the comic starting from issue 327, dated January 24, 1948, replacing Big Eggo...
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
Topper (comic book)
The Topper was a UK comic published by D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd that ran from 7 February 1953 to 15 September 1990, when it merged with The Beezer....
in 1953, and the accident-prone soldier Corporal Clott
Corporal Clott
Corporal Clott was a strip in the British comic The Dandy. It started in the issued dated 12th November 1960 and was drawn by Dennis the Menace artist David Law. The strip was drawn by David Law until issue 1496 dated 25th July 1970. The strip continued after David Law lef it with these strips...
for The Dandy
The Dandy
The Dandy is a long running children's comic published in the United Kingdom by D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd. The first issue was printed in 1937 and it is the world's third longest running comic, after Detective Comics and Il Giornalino...
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 briefly to The Beano in 1971, but died in April that year, aged 63.