Cruella de Vil was recently given a new backstory by Disney; the Wicked Witch of the West’s past was reimagined by Gregory Maguire in Wicked. Now the Beano is to reveal an origin story of its own: that of Dennis the Menace’s red and black stripy jumper.

The roguish Dennis made his first appearance in the pages of the Beano on 17 March 1951, wearing a shirt and tie. A month later, the 10-year-old hero was clad in his iconic jumper, which was originally portrayed in black and white. Colour was added shortly afterwards, with the red and black tones chosen because they were the strongest colours of ink available to printers in the 1950s. Now a new comic strip created to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Beano’s longest-running character will unveil the jumper’s secret history.

The Epic Yarn of Awesomeness, published today as part of the Ultimate Dennis and Gnasher Comic Collection, will reveal that the jumper once belonged to Dennis’s ancient ancestor, also called Dennis. His Gran, a friendly witch, knitted it from a spider wool infused with magical potions, using her magical wands.

“The red and black stripy jumper has become a genuine British fashion icon. It returns to catwalks across eras, but it’s remained stylish in Beanotown since 1951,” said Beano Studios editorial director Mike Stirling.

The order of the jumper’s stripes might have changed over the years, but Dennis only rarely removes the garment: in 1991, as part of 50th anniversary celebrations, he swapped it briefly for a shell suit, and in 2018, he wore a festive jumper in aid of Save the Children.

Minnie the Minx also wears a red and black jumper; in an issue of November 1978, she claimed it was her trademark, not Dennis’s. The Beano did not comment on whether Gran had also knitted Minnie’s outfit.