Dennis the Menace (U.S.)
Encyclopedia
Dennis the Menace is a daily syndicated
Print syndication
Print syndication distributes news articles, columns, comic strips and other features to newspapers, magazines and websites. They offer reprint rights and grant permissions to other parties for republishing content of which they own/represent copyrights....

 newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...

 comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....

 originally created, written and illustrated by 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...

. It debuted on March 12, 1951 in 16 newspapers and was originally distributed by Post-Hall Syndicate
Publishers-Hall Syndicate
Publishers-Hall Syndicate was a newspaper syndicate founded in 1944 by Robert M. Hall, the company's president and general manager.Hall had worked for The Providence Journal during high school, followed by three years at Northeastern Law School and four years at Brown University...

. It is now written and drawn by Ketcham's former assistants, Marcus Hamilton and Ron Ferdinand, and distributed to at least 1,000 newspapers in 48 countries and 19 languages by King Features Syndicate
King Features Syndicate
King Features Syndicate, a print syndication company owned by The Hearst Corporation, distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editorial cartoons, puzzles and games to nearly 5000 newspapers worldwide...

. The comic strip usually runs for a single panel on weekdays and a full strip on Sundays
Sunday comics
Sunday comics is the commonly accepted term for the full-color comic strip section carried in most American newspapers. Many newspaper readers called this section the Sunday funnies, the funny papers or simply the funnies....

.

The comic strip became so successful that it was adapted to many other kinds of popular media, including several television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

 shows, both live-action and animated
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...

; and several feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...

s, including theatrical
Movie theater
A movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....

 and direct-to-video
Direct-to-video
Direct-to-video is a term used to describe a film that has been released to the public on home video formats without being released in film theaters or broadcast on television...

 releases.

Characters and setting

Dennis the Menace takes place in a middle-class suburban neighborhood in Wichita, Kansas
Wichita, Kansas
Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area...

.

The Mitchell family

  • Dennis Mitchell - a precocious but lovable, freckle-faced five-and-a-half-year-old boy with a famous blond cowlick
    Cowlick
    A cowlick is a section of hair that stands straight up or lies at an angle at odds with the style in which the rest of an individual's hair is worn. Cowlicks appear when the growth direction of the hair forms a spiral pattern. The term "cowlick" originates from the domestic bovine's habit of...

     and a penchant for mischief. His long-suffering parents can only shake their heads and try to explain their son's antics to others. Despite this, they really do love him very much. Dennis' wide-eyed curiosity, his well-meaning attempts to help, his innocent, matter-of-fact bluntness and his youthful energy and enthusiastic nature always seem to lead to trouble wherever he goes (most often at Mr. Wilson's expense). He wears a blue/black striped shirt, tennis shoes, and red overalls with pockets that are sometimes filled with snakes, frogs, or his slingshot
    Slingshot
    A slingshot, shanghai, flip, bean shooter or catapult is a small hand-powered projectile weapon. The classic form consists of a Y-shaped frame held in the off hand, with two rubber strips attached to the uprights. The other ends of the strips lead back to a pocket which holds the projectile...

    . He hates carrots and baths, loves root beer
    Root beer
    Root beer is a carbonated, sweetened beverage, originally made using the root of a sassafras plant as the primary flavor. Root beer, popularized in North America, comes in two forms: alcoholic and soft drink. The historical root beer was analogous to small beer in that the process provided a drink...

    , ketchup, mud puddles and TV Westerns (especially those starring Cowboy Bob), and has occasionally been depicted wearing a cowboy
    Cowboy
    A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...

     costume.
  • Henry Mitchell - Dennis' father is a workaday aerospace
    Aerospace
    Aerospace comprises the atmosphere of Earth and surrounding space. Typically the term is used to refer to the industry that researches, designs, manufactures, operates, and maintains vehicles moving through air and space...

     engineer
    Engineer
    An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...

    . Henry seems to understand Dennis more than his wife does in affairs of the heart. One example was when a furious Dennis stormed in saying, "Wimmin can say some of the stupidest things!"; Henry knowingly said to Alice, "Margaret." Also, while on an outing with Dennis' friend Gina, Alice asked if Dennis would eventually come to know that he likes Gina. Henry, again knowingly, said, "I think he already does." Like his creator Hank Ketcham, Henry served in the US Navy. Sometimes, he and Alice will get into arguments (which even showed his chauvinistic side at times), but they remain devoted to each other.
  • Alice Mitchell, née Johnson - Dennis' stay-at-home mother Alice is usually the reassuring figure Dennis can run to when things get too overwhelming, ready to greet him with a warm hug. As a running gag
    Running gag
    A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling....

    , Alice Mitchell has a phobia of snakes. Another running gag involves Dennis' ever-changing parade of new babysitters. No one will take the job twice. Alice is also known for punishing Dennis' misbehavior by having him sit in the corner in a rocking chair for timeout.
  • Ruff - Dennis' big, lovable, faithful dog (an Airedale mix) and best pal. Ruff is always eagerly following him around, accompanying him while Dennis is running, riding his bike or his skateboard.
  • Hot Dog - Dennis' rarely seen cat, who usually commiserates with him while he sits in the corner and reflects on his wrongdoings.
  • Grampa Johnson (Carleton "Swede" Johnson) - Alice's father who spoils Dennis often. He evokes the unintentional jealousy of Mr. Wilson, for he gets to see Dennis only on occasion, but Mr. Wilson sees him all the time. Because they are so much alike, Dennis and Grampa Johnson get along beautifully. Mr. Wilson also thinks that Johnson should act his age, but this advice is often ignored. To Grampa, life is worth living and he encourages Dennis to live it to the fullest.

The Wilsons

  • George Everett Wilson - Dennis's cranky, cantankerous middle aged next-door neighbor; a retired postal carrier and (at least as far as Dennis is concerned) his best human friend. Dennis likes Mr. Wilson but unintentionally annoys him, as he regularly disrupts Mr. Wilson's attempts at a serene, quiet life. Dennis often interrupts Mr. Wilson's hobbies such as gardening, as well as coin and stamp collecting, at times accidentally damaging his property. As a result, the gruff old retiree displays a less-than-cordial attitude towards the young boy, though Dennis continues his well-meaning intrusions unabated. Actually, as many readers suspected, he is secretly fond of Dennis and misses him when he's away - although he'd never openly admit it. Mr. Wilson is named after a teacher Hank Ketcham knew. Dennis will often (especially in the TV series) refer to him as "Good Ol' Mr. Wilson".
  • Martha Wilson - Mr. Wilson's engaging wife, who adores Dennis. Mrs. Wilson freely dotes on him and plies him with freshly baked cookies and milk. Martha sees Dennis as a surrogate grandson, since the Wilsons never had any children.

Dennis's friends

  • Tommy Anderson - Dennis's best friend (after Mr. Wilson). This character eventually disappeared from the strip.
  • Joey McDonald - loyal, timid and not too bright (but he's a year younger), he usually plays the sidekick
    Sidekick
    A sidekick is a close companion who is generally regarded as subordinate to the one he accompanies. Some well-known fictional sidekicks are Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, Sherlock Holmes' Doctor Watson, The Lone Ranger's Tonto, The Green Hornet's Kato and Batman's Robin.-Origins:The origin of the...

     to Dennis's schemes, and sees him as a big brother figure. Dennis often gives him advice, and gives him little "nuggets" of wisdom and insight.
  • Margaret Wade - a freckled, red-haired, bespectacled know-it-all
    Know-it-all
    A know-it-all or know-all is a person who believes that he/she has an accurate comprehension of a topic and/or situation when in reality, his/her comprehension is inaccurate and limited. This belief may or may not be outwardly expressed. The German word Besserwisser is also used in some languages,...

     whose cloying and self-important demeanor is always getting on Dennis’ nerves. She is attracted to Dennis and is stubbornly confident in the belief that she will marry him when they are adults, but he will have none of it because Dennis clearly has no interest in her. She always tries to improve Dennis and his manners, but only succeeds in annoying him. She has a certain amount of dislike for Gina, whom she sees as her competition. Gina gains Dennis's respect and admiration by just being herself and Margaret's pretensions fail to make a mark on him.
  • Gina Gillotti - a fiercely independent young Italian American
    Italian American
    An Italian American , is an American of Italian ancestry. The designation may also refer to someone possessing Italian and American dual citizenship...

     girl, who Dennis secretly has a crush on. Gina is tomboyish yet still feminine in appearance. He likes her because she is as independent minded as he is, and she enjoys the same things that he does. Gina is also highly aware that she is a girl, and woe betide anyone who doesn't think so. It is presumed that Gina is the oldest of the kids.
  • Jackson - in the late 1960s, Ketcham decided to add an African American
    African American
    African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

     character to the cast named Jackson. Ketcham designed Jackson in the tradition of a stereotypical cartoon pickaninny
    Pickaninny
    Pickaninny is a term in English which refers to children of black descent or a racial caricature thereof. It is a pidgin word form, which may be derived from the Portuguese pequenino . In the Creole English of Surinam the word for a child is pikin ningre...

    , with huge lips, big white eyes, and just a suggestion of an Afro
    Afro
    Afro, sometimes shortened to fro and also known as a "natural", is a hairstyle worn naturally by people with lengthy kinky hair texture or specifically styled in such a fashion by individuals with naturally curly or straight hair...

     hair style. In one cartoon that featured Jackson, he and Dennis were playing in the backyard, when Dennis said to his father, "I'm havin' some race trouble with Jackson. He runs faster than me." The attempt to integrate the feature did not go over well. Protests erupted in Detroit, Little Rock, Miami, and St. Louis, and debris was thrown at the offices of the Post Dispatch
    St. Louis Post-Dispatch
    The St. Louis Post-Dispatch is the major city-wide newspaper in St. Louis, Missouri. Although written to serve Greater St. Louis, the Post-Dispatch is one of the largest newspapers in the Midwestern United States, and is available and read as far west as Kansas City, Missouri, as far south as...

    . Taken aback, Ketcham issued a statement explaining that his intentions were innocent, and Jackson went back into the ink bottle. However, a similar African American character named Jay Weldon appeared in the 1986 animated series to far less controversy.

Inspiration

The inspiration for the comic strip came from Dennis Ketcham, the real life son of Hank Ketcham, who was only four years old when he refused to take a nap and somehow messed up his whole room. Hank tried many possible names for the character, and translated them into rough pencil sketches. But when his studio door flew open and his then-wife Alice, in utter exasperation, exclaimed, "Your son is a menace!", the "Dennis the Menace" name stuck. The character of Henry Mitchell bore a striking resemblance to Ketcham. The Mitchell family of Dennis, Hank/Henry and Alice were all named after the Ketchams.

Visuals

Ketcham's linework has been highly praised over the years. A review on comicbookbin.com states:
"...a growing legion of cartoonists, scholars, aficionados, etc. have come to appreciate the artistry of Dennis’ creator, Hank Ketcham. Ketcham’s beautiful artwork defines cartooning elegance. The design, the composition, and the line: it’s all too, too beautiful." AV Club reviewer Noel Murray wrote: "Ketcham also experimented with his line a little early on, tightening and thickening without losing the looseness and spontaneity that remains the strip's best aspect even now."

In 2005, Dennis appeared as a guest for Blondie and Dagwood's 75th anniversary party in the comic strip Blondie.

Awards

Ketcham received the Reuben Award for the strip in 1953.
He also was made honorary
Title of honor
An honorary title or title of honor is a title bestowed upon individuals or organizations as an award in recognition of their merits.Sometimes the title bears the same or nearly the same name as a title of authority, but the person bestowed does not have to carry any duties, possibly except for...

 mayor of Wichita. He was quoted as saying, "I set the whole thing in Wichita, Kansas, and as a result I got made an honorary
Title of honor
An honorary title or title of honor is a title bestowed upon individuals or organizations as an award in recognition of their merits.Sometimes the title bears the same or nearly the same name as a title of authority, but the person bestowed does not have to carry any duties, possibly except for...

 mayor of Wichita."

UK Dennis the Menace

Coincidentally, another cartoon strip titled Dennis the Menace was published in the British comic 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...

 on March 15 (cover dated March 17 - the "off sale" date) 1951. The UK Dennis is quite different in appearance and character, characterised by his red-and-black striped jersey, his dog Gnasher, and his gang of friends. Like the American character, the UK one remains popular to this day and has made the transition to television cartoons. Ketcham's comic strip was dubbed Just Dennis or The Pickle there to avoid confusion with the native UK version of Dennis the Menace. The television version screened in the UK simply as Dennis.

Ketcham retires

Hank Ketcham retired from the comic strip in 1994, turning the production of the strip over to his assistants Ron Ferdinand and Marcus Hamilton. They continued it after Ketcham's death in 2001, and they still produce it to this day.

Comic books

Dennis the Menace has been published in comic books and comic digests
Digest size
Digest size is a magazine size, smaller than a conventional or "journal size" magazine but larger than a standard paperback book, approximately 5½ x 8¼ inches, but can also be 5⅜ x 8⅜ inches and 5½ x 7½ inches. These sizes have evolved from the printing press operation end...

 from the 1950s through the 1980s by a variety of publishers, including Standard/Pines
Nedor Comics
Nedor Publishing was a comic book imprint of publisher Ned Pines, who also published pulp magazines under a variety of company names that he also used for the comics...

 (1953–58), Fawcett Comics
Fawcett Comics
Fawcett Comics, a division of Fawcett Publications, was one of several successful comic book publishers during the Golden Age of Comic Books in the 1940s...

 (1958–80, during their only return to comics after losing the Captain Marvel lawsuit), and Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...

 (1981–82). These included both newspaper strip reprints and original Dennis the Menace comic book stories, produced by others besides Ketcham. Al Wiseman
Al Wiseman
Al Wiseman was an American cartoonist who worked on both comic strips and comic books, notably his long stint on the Dennis the Menace comic books....

, one of Ketcham's assistants in the 1950s and 60s, worked on many of them. Ron Ferdinand, Ketcham's Sunday page artist, drew several of the Dennis stories in the Marvel books, including the cover for issue #11.

Giant series

The main comic book series (simply named Dennis the Menace) ran in tandem with the “Giant” series. The Dennis the Menace Giant Vacation Special and Dennis the Menace Christmas Issue were published by Standard in 1955. Those issues inaugurated the Giants series, which was published by Pines for issues 2-6, and continued by Hallden/Fawcett for issues 6-75. The Giant series was later renamed the Dennis the Menace Bonus Magazine Series, which started with issue #76 in 1970. CBS and Hallden later retitled the series as The Dennis the Menace Big Bonus Series, which it ran through issue #194 in October 1979.

Other series

By October 1979, Fawcett began publishing a separate series of 36 issues entitled Dennis the Menace and Mr. Wilson. By the second issue, the Dennis and Mr. Wilson series was re-christened Dennis the Menace and His Friends which now involved Dennis, Mr. Wilson and friends, Joey, Margaret and dog, Ruff. Because of this, the Mr. Wilson stories were alternated with the three characters as Ruff, Joey and Margaret who each shared a #1 issue with Dennis.

There were also other series of Dennis the Menace comic books published in 1961, first there was Dennis the Menace and His Dog, Ruff and Dennis the Menace and His Pal, Joey published the summer and the last but not least was Dennis the Menace and Margaret published in the winter of 1969.

In 1972, as part of a bonus magazine series Fawcett published a "Short Stuff Special" where Dennis visited Children's Fairyland
Children's Fairyland
Children's Fairyland, U.S.A. was the first theme park in the United States created to cater to families with young children. Located in Oakland, California on the shore of Lake Merritt, Fairyland includes 10 acres of play sets, small rides, and animals...

 in Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...

.

Bible kids series

In 1977, Word Books, Inc. commissioned Hank Ketcham Enterprises, Inc. to produce a series of ten comic books under the title Dennis and the Bible Kids, with the usual cast of characters reading (and sometimes partly acting out) the stories of Joseph
Joseph (Hebrew Bible)
Joseph is an important character in the Hebrew bible, where he connects the story of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in Canaan to the subsequent story of the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt....

, Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...

, David
David
David was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible and, according to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, an ancestor of Jesus Christ through both Saint Joseph and Mary...

, Esther
Esther
Esther , born Hadassah, is the eponymous heroine of the Biblical Book of Esther.According to the Bible, she was a Jewish queen of the Persian king Ahasuerus...

, Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...

, and other Biblical characters. These were sold through Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

 bookstores and related outlets. Each issue contained several inspirational renderings by Hank Ketcham himself.

Marvel series

The Dennis the Menace Fun Fest and the Dennis the Menace Big Bonus Series were revived for a short issue run in 1980.
January: The Dennis the Menace Fun Fest #16

February: The Dennis the Menace Big Bonus #10

March: The Dennis the Menace Fun Fest #17

April: The Dennis the Menace Big Bonus #11

After this revival series, the Hallden and CBS comics run came to an end in 1980. Ketcham had half of the comic book rights purchased by Stan Lee
Stan Lee
Stan Lee is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, producer, publisher, television personality, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics....

 and Marvel Comics, so they were able to produce a new series of Dennis the Menace comic books. The new Marvel series started in December, 1981 and ended in November, 1982. The smaller Dennis the Menace comic digests
Digest size
Digest size is a magazine size, smaller than a conventional or "journal size" magazine but larger than a standard paperback book, approximately 5½ x 8¼ inches, but can also be 5⅜ x 8⅜ inches and 5½ x 7½ inches. These sizes have evolved from the printing press operation end...

 were published continually by Fawcett and Hallden between 1969 and 1980, and they were briefly resurrected in reprints by Marvel in 1982 for a run of three issues.

"Spider-Kid"

The seventh issue featured a Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...

 spoof called “Spider-Kid”. The story featured Dennis arriving at Margaret's Valentine's Day party dressed as a pint-sized Spider-Man when asked to come to the party dressed as a "Romantic Hero". The cover showed Dennis as Spider-Kid jumping from a cloud and unmasking himself.

Main series

Title Starting year Publisher
Dennis the Menace (#1-14) 1953 Standard
Dennis the Menace (#15-31) 1956 Pines
Dennis the Menace (#32-166) 1959 Hallden/Fawcett/CBS
Dennis the Menace (#1-13) 1981 Marvel

Other series

Title Starting year Publisher
The Best of Dennis the Menace (#1-5) 1959 Hallden
Dennis the Menace Pocket Full of Fun digest (#1-50) 1969 Fawcett
Dennis The Menace and the Bible Kids (#1-10) 1977 Word Books

Book compilations

Dennis the Menace has also been published in mass market paperback collections, made up of newspaper strip reprints:
  • Dennis the Menace (1952) Avon (also published in hardcover by Henry Holt & Co.)
  • More Dennis the Menace (1954) Avon (also in hardcover by Holt)
  • Baby Sitter's Guide by Dennis the Menace (1955, 1961) Pocket Books, Fawcett (also in hardcover by Holt)
  • Wanted: Dennis the Menace (1955) Fawcett (also in hardcover by Holt)
  • Dennis the Menace Rides Again (1956, 1971) PB, Fawcett (also in hardcover by Holt)
  • Dennis the Menace vs. Everybody (1957) PB (also in hardcover by Holt)
  • Dennis the Menace: Household Hurricane (1958, 1963) PB, Fawcett (also in hardcover by Holt)
  • The Adventures of the Pickle (1958) Corgi Books
  • In this Corner... Dennis the Menace (1959) Fawcett (also in hardcover by Holt)
  • Dennis the Menace ...Teacher's Threat (1960) Fawcett (also in hardcover by Holt)
  • Dennis the Menace: Voted Most Likely (1960) Fawcett
  • Dennis the Menace, A.M. *Ambassador of Mischief (1961) Fawcett (also in hardcover by HRW)
  • Dennis the Menace: Happy Half-Pint (1962) Fawcett (also in hardcover by Random House)
  • Dennis the Menace ...Who, Me? (1963) Fawcett (also in hardcover by Random House)
  • Dennis the Menace: Make-Believe Angel (1964) Fawcett
  • Dennis the Menace ...Here Comes Trouble (1966) Fawcett
  • Dennis the Menace and Poor Ol' Mr. Wilson (1967) Fawcett
  • Dennis the Menace: All-American Kid (1968) Fawcett
  • Dennis the Menace and His Pal Joey (1968) Fawcett
  • Dennis the Menace: Your Friendly Neighborhood Kid (1969) Fawcett
  • Dennis the Menace: Perpetual Motion (1969) Fawcett
  • Dennis the Menace ...Everybody's Little Helper (1970) Fawcett
  • Dennis the Menace: Non-Stop Nuisance (1970) Fawcett
  • Dennis the Menace: Surprise Package (1971) Fawcett
  • Dennis the Menace: Short 'n Snappy (1971) Fawcett
  • Dennis the Menace: Where the Action Is (1971) Fawcett
  • Dennis the Menace: Dennis Power (1972) Fawcett
  • Dennis the Menace: Just for Fun (1973) Fawcett
  • Dennis the Menace: The Kid Next Door (1973) Fawcett
  • Dennis the Menace: Busybody (1974) Fawcett
  • Dennis the Menace: Little Pip-Squeak (1974) Fawcett
  • Dennis the Menace: Play It Again, Dennis (1975) Fawcett
  • Dennis the Menace to the Core (1975) Fawcett
  • Dennis the Menace: Little Man in a Big Hurry (1976) Fawcett
  • Dennis the Menace: Short Swinger (1976) Fawcett
  • Dennis the Menace and His Girls (1977) Fawcett
  • Dennis the Menace: "Your Mother's Calling!" (1977) Fawcett
  • Dennis the Menace: Ol' Droopy Drawers (1978) Fawcett
  • Someone's in the Kitchen with Dennis the Menace (1978) Fawcett
  • Dennis the Menace: Driving Mother Up the Wall (1979) Fawcett
  • Dennis the Menace: I Done It MY Way (1979) Fawcett
  • Dennis the Menace: Short in the Saddle (1979) Fawcett
  • Dennis the Menace: Ain't Misbehavin (1980) Fawcett
  • Dennis the Menace: Stayin' Alive (1980) Fawcett
  • Dennis the Menace: Good Intenshuns (1981) Fawcett
  • Dennis the Menace: One More Time! (1981) Fawcett
  • Dennis the Menace: The Way I Look at It... (1982) Fawcett
  • Dennis the Menace: Dog's Best Friend (1982) Fawcett
  • Dennis the Menace: Supercharged and Ever Ready (1983) Fawcett
  • Dennis the Menace: Sunrise Express (1983) Fawcett

In 1990, Abbeville Press published Hank Ketcham's fully illustrated autobiography: The Merchant of Dennis (ISBN 9780896599437, hardcover). The book was reprinted by Fantagraphics in 2005 (ISBN 1560977140, trade paperback). Abbeville also published a softcover retrospective of the strip in 1991, Dennis the Menace: His First 40 Years.

Hank Ketcham's Complete Dennis the Menace

In 2005, comics publisher Fantagraphics began to reprint Ketcham's entire run on Dennis the Menace (excluding Sunday strips) in a projected 25-volume series over 11 years. They are published in hardcover editions as well as paperback.
  1. Hank Ketcham's Complete Dennis the Menace (1951–52) ISBN 1-56097-680-2
  2. Hank Ketcham's Complete Dennis the Menace (1953–54) ISBN 1-56097-725-6
  3. Hank Ketcham's Complete Dennis the Menace (1955–56) ISBN 1-56097-770-1
  4. Hank Ketcham's Complete Dennis the Menace (1957–58) ISBN 1-56097-806-7
  5. Hank Ketcham's Complete Dennis the Menace (1959–60) ISBN 1-56097-966-6
  6. Hank Ketcham's Complete Dennis the Menace (1961-62) ISBN 1-56097-311-8

Film and television

Dennis the Menace has been the subject of a number of adaptations. The first one produced is a CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...

 sitcom that aired from 1959 to 1963 starring Jay North
Jay North
Jay North is an American actor. Beginning a prolific career as a child actor at the age of six, North became a household name during the early 1960s for his role as the well-meaning, but mischievous, Dennis Mitchell on the CBS situation comedy Dennis the Menace, based on the comic strip created...

 as Dennis, Herbert Anderson
Herbert Anderson
Herbert Anderson was an American character actor from Oakland, California, probably best remembered for his part as Henry Mitchell in the classic television sitcom Dennis The Menace.-Career:...

 as Henry Mitchell and father to Dennis; Joseph Kearns
Joseph Kearns
Joseph Sherrard Kearns was an American actor, who is best remembered for his role as George Wilson in the CBS television series Dennis the Menace from 1959 until his death in 1962.-Biography:...

 as George Wilson, and subsequently Gale Gordon
Gale Gordon
Gale Gordon was an American character actor perhaps best remembered as Lucille Ball's longtime television foil—and particularly as cantankerously combustible, tightfisted bank executive Theodore J. Mooney, on Ball's second television situation comedy, The Lucy Show...

 as his brother, John Wilson. North also appeared as Dennis on an episode of The Donna Reed Show
The Donna Reed Show
The Donna Reed Show is an American sitcom starring Donna Reed as the upper middle class housewife Donna Stone. Carl Betz appears as her pediatrician husband Alex, and Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen as their teenage children Mary and Jeff. The show originally aired on ABC at 10 pm from September...

 in 1960.
A live-action film starring Walter Matthau
Walter Matthau
Walter Matthau was an American actor best known for his role as Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple and his frequent collaborations with Odd Couple star Jack Lemmon, as well as his role as Coach Buttermaker in the 1976 comedy The Bad News Bears...

 as Mr. Wilson and Mason Gamble
Mason Gamble
Mason Wilson Gamble is an American actor known for his portrayal of Dennis Mitchell in the 1993 film Dennis the Menace and as Jason Schwartzman's sidekick, Dirk Calloway, in Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson's critically acclaimed 1998 film Rushmore. He also appeared in Anya's Bell with Della Reese,...

 as Dennis was released to theaters in 1993. It was originally titled "The Real Dennis the Menace" before the final name was approved. This was followed with Dennis the Menace Strikes Again
Dennis the Menace Strikes Again
Dennis the Menace Strikes Again is a 1998 direct-to-video sequel to the 1993 theatrical feature Dennis the Menace. It was produced by Outlaw Productions and released by Warner Bros...

 in 1998 starring Don Rickles
Don Rickles
Donald Jay "Don" Rickles is an American stand-up comedian and actor. A frequent guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Rickles has acted in comedic and dramatic roles, but is best known as an insult comic....

 as Mr. Wilson. The most recent film adaptation, A Dennis the Menace Christmas
A Dennis the Menace Christmas
A Dennis the Menace Christmas is a 2007 direct-to-video movie starring Maxwell Perry Cotton and Robert Wagner, based on the comic strip by Hank Ketcham. It is a sequel to Dennis the Menace and Dennis the Menace Strikes Again. The plot is based on Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol...

 was released to DVD on November 6, 2007. The Warner Brothers production starred Robert Wagner
Robert Wagner
Robert John Wagner is an American actor of stage, screen, and television.A veteran of many films in the 1950s and 1960s, Wagner gained prominence in three American television series that spanned three decades: It Takes a Thief , Switch , and Hart to Hart...

 as Mr. Wilson, Louise Fletcher
Louise Fletcher
Louise Fletcher is an American actress best known for her role as Nurse Ratched in One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress, and as Kai Winn Adami in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. She also guest starred on the science fiction television series Heroes...

 as Mrs. Wilson, and Maxwell Perry Cotton
Maxwell Perry Cotton
Maxwell Perry Cotton is an American child actor who portrayed Cooper Whedon in the television series Brothers & Sisters.Cotton was born on May 7, 2000 in San Diego, California. His younger brother Mason Vale Cotton is also an actor....

, a six-year-old actor, as Dennis.

List of film and TV adaptations

Films

Dennis the Menace: Dinosaur Hunter
Dennis the Menace: Dinosaur Hunter
Dennis the Menace: Dinosaur Hunter is a live-action telefilm directed by Doug Rogers and starring Victor DiMattia as Dennis Mitchell and William Windom as Mr. Wilson...

 (1987, live-action)

Dennis the Menace
Dennis the Menace (film)
Dennis the Menace is a 1993 live-action American family film based on the Hank Ketcham comic strip of the same name....

 (1993, live-action)

Dennis the Menace Strikes Again
Dennis the Menace Strikes Again
Dennis the Menace Strikes Again is a 1998 direct-to-video sequel to the 1993 theatrical feature Dennis the Menace. It was produced by Outlaw Productions and released by Warner Bros...

 (1998, live-action)

Dennis the Menace in Cruise Control (2002, animated)

A Dennis the Menace Christmas
A Dennis the Menace Christmas
A Dennis the Menace Christmas is a 2007 direct-to-video movie starring Maxwell Perry Cotton and Robert Wagner, based on the comic strip by Hank Ketcham. It is a sequel to Dennis the Menace and Dennis the Menace Strikes Again. The plot is based on Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol...

 (2007, live-action)

TV shows

Dennis the Menace (1959, live-action)

Dennis the Menace in Mayday for Mother (1981, animated)

Dennis the Menace
Dennis the Menace (1986 TV series)
Dennis the Menace is an American animated series produced by DIC Entertainment , based on the comic strip by Hank Ketcham....

 (1986, animated)

All-New Dennis the Menace (1996, animated)

Merchandising

  • From 1971 to 2001, Dennis the Menace was licensed by Dairy Queen
    Dairy Queen
    Dairy Queen, often abbreviated DQ, is a chain of soft serve and fast food restaurants owned by International Dairy Queen, Inc, who also owns Orange Julius and Karmelkorn. The name "Dairy Queen" is taken from the name of their soft serve product, which the company refers to as "Dairy Queen" or...

     as their official mascot, appearing in many commercials and on the chain's cups, bags and other promotional items.

  • Dennis the Menace
    Dennis the Menace (video game)
    Dennis The Menace is a multiplatform video game based on the 1993 movie of the same name. The object in all versions of the game is to defeat a burglar who managed to find Dennis' town via the local railroad connection. Stages include Mr...

    , a video game tie-in
    Tie-in
    A tie-in is an authorized product based on a media property a company is releasing, such as a movie or video/DVD, computer game, video game, television program/television series, board game, web site, role-playing game or literary property...

     to the 1993 feature film was released that same year by Ocean Software
    Ocean Software
    The British company Ocean Software was one of the biggest European video game developers/publishers of the 1980s and 90s...

     for the Super NES
    Super Nintendo Entertainment System
    The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...

    . A Game Boy
    Game Boy
    The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...

     version was released in 1994.

Playground

In 1952 Hank Ketcham spearheaded the construction of the Dennis the Menace Playground, designed by Arch Garner. It opened in Monterey
Monterey, California
The City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California. Monterey lies at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,810. Monterey is of historical importance because it was the capital of...

, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 on November 17, 1956. The playground featured a bronze statue of Dennis sculpted by Wah Chang
Wah Chang
Wah Ming Chang was a Chinese American designer, sculptor, and artist. He is known primarily for his sculpture and the props he designed for Star Trek , including the tricorder, and communicator...

. On the night of October 25, 2006, the 125-lb statue, which was estimated to be worth $30,000, was stolen from the playground. It was not recovered, but in April 2007 it was replaced by a reproduction of another Dennis statue Chang made for the Ketchams.

Dennis the Menace in other languages

The comic strip has been translated into many foreign languages, which has helped make the strip's characters famous worldwide.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK