Dennis the Menace (US)
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| Dennis the Menace | |
|---|---|
| Current/last artist | Marcus Hamilton and Ron Ferdinand |
| March 12,1951 - present | |
| Regular characters | Dennis Mitchell, Alice Mitchell, Henry Mitchell, George Wilson, Martha Wilson, Margaret Wade, Joey McDonald, Peebee Kappa, Gina Gillotti, Grampa Johnson, Ruff and Hot Dog |
- For the British comic strip of the same name, see Dennis the Menace (UK).
Dennis the Menace is a daily comic strip (single panel on weekdays, full strip on Sundays) originally created, written and illustrated by Hank Ketcham, which made its début in 1,000 newspapers in 48 countries and 19 languages. Dennis was so successful that he was later made into many kinds of popular medium including a live-action 1960s television sitcom, a 1981 animated prime-time special, a 1980s television cartoon, a 1987 movie, a 1993 live-action film, and another animated series based on that film; there is also a 1998 direct-to-video sequel that followed the 1993 film and a 2002 animated television movie.
The comic strip follows the misadventures of Dennis Mitchell, a loveable young boy who is complete with a cowlick, a mischievous grin and is dressed in overalls and carrying a slingshot in his pocket. He had nothing but one fault: His penchant for mischief. Everywhere he went, Dennis' wide-eyed curiosity, well-meaning attempts to help out and his simply being a normal, red-blooded American boy growing up always seemed to lead to trouble. Usually on the receiving end in recent years was his next-door neighbor, retired postal carrier George Wilson. Dennis worshiped Mr. Wilson but usually annoyed him as he spent all his time disturbing Mr. Wilson's serenity, but the gruff old man overtly displayed a less-than-cordial attitude around the young lad. Mr. Wilson's engaging wife, Martha, adored Dennis and saw him as more like a surrogate grandson figure to him (since the Wilsons never had any children). Dennis' long-suffering parents were Henry (an engineer) and Alice (a stay-at-home mother); all they could do is shake their heads and try to explain their son to others as he spent most of his time making life miserable for them originally. Followed along the way is Dennis’ big sheepdog, Ruff, who usually followed him when he is running, riding his bike or his skateboard and intend to cause mischief too. Also involved in the fun are Dennis’ friends -- his pal, Joey McDonald, who usually bumbles around while Dennis tries to help him control his movements; his ex-girlfriend, Margaret Wade, whose impatience and humiliation is always getting on Dennis’ nerves; and Gina Gillotti, who is a respectful inferior to Margaret and is always a tomboy. Grampa Johnson and Dennis’ cat Hotdog are in the involvement too, while the '80s animated series includes other friends as well. In tone, Dennis is most like an escapee from a 1930s movie, such as an Our Gang film and is almost an inferior to another mischievous comic strip creation, The Kaztenjammer Kids.
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[edit] History
The inspiration for the comic strip came from Dennis Lloyd Ketcham, the real life son of Hank Ketcham who was only 4 years old, when he refused to take a nap and somehow messed up his whole room. Dennis attended Arnold School on Randall Street in Pembroke, Massachusetts, a reformatory school for delinquent boys. Hank tried many possible kid names for the character he was drawing in his desktop in his home at Carmel, and translated them into some his rough pencil sketches, but they seem unsuitable for a character of such immense depiction. That is until his studio door flew open and his then-wife Alice, in utter exasperation, exclaimed, "Your son is a menace!" thus the “Dennis the Menace” name was used, the "menace" epithet and the image of the tornado stuck. The character of Henry Mitchell even bore a striking resemblance to Ketcham himself, who also became a fixture in the strip and the Dennis the Menace comic strip made its debut on March 12, 1951, in the following year in 16 newspapers across the US for the first time.
Coincidentally, another cartoon strip titled Dennis the Menace was published in the United Kingdom on March 15 (cover dated March 17 - the "off sale" date) of the same year. In the UK, the US cartoon series is known simply as Dennis. Ketcham received the Reuben Award for the strip in 1953. Dennis the Menace has been published in comic books and comic digests from the 1950s through at least the 1980s by a variety of publishers, including Standard/Pines (1953-58), Fawcett Comics (during their only return to comics after losing the Captain Marvel lawsuit) (1958-80), and Marvel Comics (1981-82). These were produced by others, in particular Al Wiseman in the 1950s and 60s, who was one of Ketcham's assistants and Ron Fredinand in the 1980s, a Sunday page artist who drew several of the Dennis stories of the Marvel books, including the cover for issue #11. There have also been paperback book collects of the comic strips and comic books during the same time period from Avon Books, Gold Medal, Crest, and others.
Ketcham gradually turned the production of the strip over to his assistants Ron Ferdinand and Marcus Hamilton, who continued it after his death in 2001, due to a heart attack at age 81.
[edit] Dennis The Menace (comic book)
According to the introduction panel shown above, Dennis had being produced in comic book format for many years. The first issue of Dennis the Menace was published in August, 1953 by Standand/Pines, the original series ran for a total of 155 issues until January, 1978. Meanwhile, Fawcett Comics purchased the half of the comic book rights to the character and Dennis made his only return to the comics after Fawcett lost the Captain Marvel lawsuit in 1958. At that point, Fawcett Comics and Hallden Publishing became a subsidiary of CBS Consumer Publishing (A publishing imprint of CBS Corporation) and the Dennis the Menace comic book title became The Dennis the Menace Fun Fest series, the comic books continued through the issue #166, published in November, 1979.
The comic book series was running in tandem with the “Specials” series. First, there was The Dennis the Menace Winter Special, then The Dennis the Menace Spring Special, The Dennis the Menace Summer Special and then finally The Dennis the Menace Christmas Special, To continue this tandem, Fawcett published an anthology series of his previous adventures called The Best of Dennis the Menace, which ran from 1959 to 1961 in a total of 5 issues and follow this with The Giant Dennis the Menace series, and concluded the specials series with their most-famous of their Dennis the Menace titles, The Dennis the Menace Travel Special Series. These Travel issues included Dennis and his family going to places like Mexico or camp in Yosemite Park and the most popular issue "Dennis Goes To Hollywood" which has him wrecking havoc on various movie sets and encountering assorted movie stars. The specials series was then later re-christened as the Dennis the Menace Bonus Magazine Series forerunners, the series, which bore the title Bonus Magazine, started with issue #78 in March, 1970 and continued through issue #173 in February, 1978. CBS and Hallden later retitled the series as The Dennis the Menace Big Bonus Series, which it ran through issue #194 in October, 1979. By October, 1979, Fawcett began publishing a separate series of 36 issues entitled Dennis the Menace and Mr. Wilson, which involved the simple adventures of Dennis and Mr. Wilson going into all sorts of mischievous capers. By the second issue, the Dennis and Mr. Wilson series was re-christened as Dennis the Menace and His Friends which now involved the adventures of Dennis, Mr. Wilson and friends, Joey, Margaret and dog, Ruff going to cause more troublesome mishaps. 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 1977, Word Books, Inc. commissioned Hank Ketcham Enterprises, Inc. to produce a series of ten comic books under the title of Dennis and the Bible Kids, with the usual cast of characters reading (and sometimes partly acting out) the stories of Joseph, Moses, David, Esther, Jesus, and other Biblical characters. These were sold through Christian bookstores and related outlets. Each issue contained several inspirational renderings by Hank Ketcham himself.
For some unknown reason, the Dennis the Menace Fun Fest and the Dennis the Menace Big Bonus Series were revived for a short issue run in 1980. The numbering system was even more of a mystery.
- 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. Fortunately, Ketcham had the half of the comic book rights purchased by Stan Lee and Marvel Comics, they were able to produced a new series of Dennis the Menace comic books. The Marvel series started in December, 1980 and ended in November, 1981. The seventh issue in the Marvel Comics adaptation featured a Spider-Man spoof story called “Spider-Kid”, the story featured Dennis imagining himself as a pint-sized Spider-Man fighting crime with Mr. Wilson as J. Jonah Jameson, Gina Gillotti as his girlfriend Mary Jane Watson and Joey, Margaret and Ruff being themselves, the cover even displayed Dennis is Spider-Kid jumping from a cloud and unmasking himself revealing to be Dennis! The smaller Dennis the Menace comic digests 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.
Several special issues also appeared in the 1970s, with book-length stories of Dennis and his parents visiting the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum in San Jose, California, the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, Mexico via cruise ship, and also Washington, D.C..
[edit] Book Compilations
Dennis the Menace has also even been published in paperback book collects of the comic strips and comic books during the same time period, they are consisted of reprints of the previous comic strip adventures from the past decades. Avon Books, Gold Medal, Crest, Pocket Books, Corgi (UK) and Fawcett Books were all responsible for the publication of these books. This is a list of all the Dennis the Menace book compilations published so far (Note: All of the books carry the name ‘Dennis the Menace’ in their title.):
- Babysitter’s Guide by Dennis the Menace (1955)
- Wanted: Dennis the Menace (1955)
- Dennis the Menace Rides Again (1956)
- Dennis the Menace vs. Everybody (1957)
- Dennis the Menace: Household Hurricane (1958)
- Adventures of the Pickle (1958, UK)
- In this corner… Dennis the Menace (1959)
- Dennis the Menace …Teacher’s Threat (1960)
- Dennis the Menace Voted Most Likely (1960)
- Dennis the Menace A.M.* *Ambassador of Mischief (1961)
- Babysitter’s Guide by Dennis the Menace (1961, reprint)
- Dennis the Menace: Happy Half-Pint (1962)
- Dennis the Menace …Who Me? (1963)
- Dennis the Menace: Household Hurricane (1963, reprint)
- Dennis the Menace: Make-Believe Angel (1964)
- Dennis the Menace …Here Comes Trouble (1966)
- Dennis the Menace and Poor Ol’ Mr. Wilson (1967)
- Dennis the Menace: All-American Kid (1968)
- Dennis the Menace and his pal Joey (1968)
- Dennis the Menace: Your Friendly Neighborhood Kid (1969)
- Dennis the Menace: Perpetual Motion (1969)
- Dennis the Menace …Everybody’s Little Helper (1970)
- Dennis the Menace: Non-Stop Nuisance (1970)
- Dennis the Menace Rides Again (1971, reprint)
- Dennis the Menace: Surprise Package (1971)
- Dennis the Menace: Short ‘n Snappy (1971)
- Dennis the Menace: Where the Action Is (1971)
- Dennis the Menace: Dennis Power (1972)
- Dennis the Menace: Just for Fun (1973)
- Dennis the Menace: The Kid Next Door (1973)
- Dennis the Menace: Busybody (1974)
- Dennis the Menace: Little Pip-Squeak (1974)
- Dennis the Menace: Play it Again, Dennis (1975)
- Dennis the Menace: To the Core (1975)
- Dennis the Menace: Little Man in a Big Hurry (1976)
- Dennis the Menace: Short Swinger (1976)
- Dennis the Menace and His Girls (1977)
- Dennis the Menace: “Your Mother’s Calling!” (1978)
- Dennis the Menace: Ol’ Droopy Drawers (1978)
- Dennis the Menace: Driving Mother Up the Wall (1979)
- Dennis the Menace: I Done It MY Way (1979)
- Dennis the Menace: Short in the Saddle (1979)
- Dennis the Menace: Ain’t Misbehavin’ (1980)
- Dennis the Menace: The Way I Look at It… (1982)
- Dennis the Menace: Dog’s Best Friend (1982)
- Dennis the Menace: Supercharged and Ever Ready (1983)
- Dennis the Menace: Sunrise Express (1983)
[edit] Other Adaptations
Dennis has been the subject of a number of animated adaptations, as well as a CBS sitcom from 1959 to 1963 starring Jay North as Dennis and both Joseph Kearns and Gale Gordon, successively, as Mr. (George and John) Wilson. A 1993 live-action film starred Walter Matthau as Mr. Wilson. This was followed up with Dennis the Menace Strikes Again! in 1998 starring Don Rickles as Mr. Wilson.
For some years, Dennis the Menace was the "spokestoon" for Dairy Queen; he has since been supplanted by other cartoon characters.
In 2005, comics publisher Fantagraphics began to reprint Ketcham's entire run on Dennis the Menace in a 25-volume series over 11 years.
- Hank Ketcham's Complete Dennis the Menace (1951-52) ISBN 1-56097-680-2
- Hank Ketcham's Complete Dennis the Menace (1953-54) ISBN 1-56097-725-6
- Hank Ketcham's Complete Dennis the Menace (1955-56) ISBN 1-56097-770-1
On October 25-26, 2006, a 125-lb statue of Dennis the Menace, installed in a city park in Monterey, California, USA was stolen during the night. The statue had been commissioned by Hank Ketcham and executed by artist Wah Ming Chang.
A live-action film with the working title A Dennis the Menace Christmas is slated for release in December 2007. The Warner Brothers film stars Robert Wagner as Mr. Wilson, Louise Fletcher as Mrs. Wilson, and Maxwell Perry-Cotton as Dennis. For the first time, Dennis will be played by a "real" six-year-old.
[edit] List of characters
- Dennis Mitchell - perpetually age 5 1/2, known for his trademark cowlick. Despite the nickname, his only trouble is irritating Mr. Wilson and the occasional incident which lands him in the corner, sitting on a chair.
- Alice Johnson Mitchell - Dennis' mother
- Henry Mitchell - Dennis' father who works at Trask Engineering
- Grandpa Johnson, Alice's father and Dennis' grandpa
- Grandpa Mitchell
- Ruff the dog
- Hotdog the cat (but seldom seen)
- Willie the frog (TV cartoon only)
- Mr. George Everett Wilson - Dennis' long-suffering neighbor
- Mrs. Martha Wilson - George's very tolerant, genial wife, who is like a grandmother figure to Dennis
- Joey McDonald - portrayed as younger than Dennis
- Margaret Wade - usually Dennis' foil, portrayed as more of a typical girl (compared to Gina)
- Gina Gillotti - portrayed as a tomboy (but with a feminine appearance; she has waist length black hair and pierced ears), usually she and Dennis get along well but she has slugged him on occasion
- John Wilson - George's brother (TV series only)
- Mrs. Eloise Wilson - John's wife (TV series only)
- PeeBee Kappa - Dennis' nerdy friend who is always inventing things. (TV cartoon only)
- Jay Weldon - Dennis' athletic African-American friend who especially loves basketball (TV cartoon only)
- Tommy Anderson - Dennis' friend
- Gunther Beckman - Dennis' friend (TV series and movies only)
[edit] Adaptations
- Dennis the Menace (1959 TV series)
- Dennis the Menace in Mayday for Mother (1981 TV special)
- Dennis the Menace (1986 animated series) (1986 TV series)
- Dennis the Menace: Dinosaur Hunter (1987 film)
- Dennis the Menace (1993 film)
- The Incredible Dennis the Menace (1993 TV series)
- Dennis the Menace Strikes Again (1998 film)
- Dennis the Menace in Cruise Control (2002 film)
- A Dennis the Menace Christmas (2007 film, in production)
[edit] Dennis the Menace in other languages
The Cartoon TV series and the Comics have been translated into 19 languages since the invention of the character, whom they have made famous world wide.
- Arabic: 'ّماهر الصغير' (Little Dennis)
- Hebrew: דני שובבני (Danny Shovevani)
- Finnish: Ville Vallaton
- French: Denis la malice
- Polish: Dennis Rozrabiaka
- Serbian: Денис Напаст
- Spanish: Daniel el Travieso
- Swedish: Dennis
- Italian: Dennis la minaccia
- Portuguese: Pimentinha
- German: Dennis der Lausejunge, aka Dennis die Nervensäge·
- United Kingdom: Just Dennis (The Pickle)·
- Hungarian: Dennis, a komisz
- Dutch: "Dennis de Bengel"
- Russian:"Дэннис непоседа"
[edit] Broadcast History (Animated Series)
- USA
- Syndication (1986-2006)
- CBS (1988)
- USA Network (1996-1998)
- FOX Family Channel (1998-1999)
- Cartoon Network (2001)
- Black Family Channel (2005)
- Boomerang (2007-present)
In addition, the live-action Dennis the Menace TV show (1959-63) was rerun on Nickelodeon in the USA from about 1986 to 1993.
[edit] Trivia
- The Sugar Bowl, the ice cream counter Dennis frequents, is based on a real ice cream counter of the same name in Scottsdale, Arizona frequented by cartoonist Bil Keane
- Mr. Wilson was named after a teacher Hank Ketcham had known.
- Dennis' friend Gina Gillotti was named after Gina Lollobrigida.
- 1952 saw the construction of the Dennis the Menace Playground, spearheaded by Hank Ketcham, assisted Arch Garner and his two children. It opened at Monterey Park, California in 1956. The exuberant bronze rendering of Dennis welcomes children of all ages to the playground in Monterey, the statue was sculpture by Wan Ming Chang.
- Dennis was a longtime mascot and spokesperson for ice cream restaurant chain Dairy Queen. Many of the characters appeared on their packaging and in advertising.
- The working title for the 1993 live-action film before the simple name stuck was The Real Dennis the Menace.
- According to Hank Ketchum's biography on the Internet Movie Database, Ketchum said that Dennis the Menace was set in Wichita, Kansas. "I set the whole thing in Wichita, Kansas, and as a result I got made an honorary mayor of Wichita."1
[edit] See also
- Dennis the Menace (UK)
- Hurricane Dennis - nicknamed Dennis the Menace
