Baxendale, Leo (1930– )

English strip cartoonist. From 1953 he freelanced strips to the Beano comic, beginning with ‘Little Plum’ and ‘Minnie the Minx’, the female counterpart to ‘Dennis the Menace’. A large cartoon series, ‘When The Bell Rings’ (1954), evolved into ‘The Bash Street Kids’. He designed the weekly comic Wham (1964) and, despite leaving the field in 1974, remains the most imitated artist in British comics.

Baxendale was born in Lancashire. Initially a label designer, he joined the Lancashire Evening Post in 1950, drawing sports cartoons, and writing and illustrating articles.