TO COMIC ICON

The idea for Dennis came when The Beano's editor heard a music-hall song with the chorus 'I'm Dennis the Menace from Venice'.

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■A US comic also called Dennis the Menace launched on the same day in 1951entirely coincidentally.

■Dennis's famous look was initially conceived on the back of a cigarette packet.

changed with society: “Dennis used to be at risk of the cane or slipper that doesn't happen any more. It's now also inferred that his mum is a jewel thief, which I think is hilarious.”

Dennis is also “a bit more hapless these days rather than deliberately naughty”, he says.

But as Steve points out: “At heart, he is still a menace. We wouldn't have him any other way.”

Steve is an advocate of cartoons and comic strips as a means of exploring difficult issues.