Jim Petrie was born in Dundee, Scotland, and worked for DC Thomson and its magazine The Beano for forty years. He was an art teacher at Dundee's Kirkton High School when he took over the 'Minnie the Minx' comic from its creator Leo Baxendale in June 1961. Petrie drew over 2000 stories with this rebellious girl until his retirement in January 2001, and thus defined the character for generations of readers. 'Minnie the Minx' is currently continued by other artists.