Comics / Comics News

ANNOUNCING HANK KETCHAM’S COMPLETE DENNIS THE MENACE!

By The Editor
April 22, 2005 - 19:58

Dennis The Menace

An American icon defined: the first two years of Hank Ketcham’s classic comic strip, in one handsomely thick hardcover volume.

From the publisher of the New York Times bestselling series THE COMPLETE PEANUTS comes the most exciting comics publishing project of 2005! DENNIS THE MENACE began on March 14, 1951 (four months after Ketcham’s friend and colleague, Charles Schulz started his own historic comic strip) — and went on to become the 2nd most popular cartoon kid in the world after Charlie Brown.

DENNIS THE MENACE first appeared in 16 American newspapers; by the end of 1951, it was appearing in over a hundred. The strip’s success in only the first 10 months of syndication was a harbinger of greater success to come — as Ketcham himself put it, “The sales chart was not an upward curve but more the flight of an arrow.” The timing was perfect: the post-war generation, at the height of the baby-boom, embraced the perennial troublemaker and turned Dennis into a global publishing, merchandising, and multi-media phenomenon, with over 50 million book collections sold, the fondly remembered live-action TV show from 1959-63, a cartoon from 1986-89, theatrical productions, TV specials, a major motion picture in the ’90s, and a full-length animated film in 2002. The strip is still enjoyed by readers of over 1,000 newspapers every day.

The reason for Dennis’ success is easy to figure out: It was one of the most brilliantly observed and empathetic comic strips about childhood ever drawn. Ketcham captured the mischievousness, rambunctiousness, and anarchy of a kid’s world better than any other cartoonist. The strip appeals to both parents and children —while parents shake their head ruefully at how accurately Ketcham caught the essence of children’s natural zest for mayhem, children identify with Dennis and the chaos that he leaves in his wake — just a hop, skip, and a jump away from their own fantasy of themselves! Ketcham was a cartoonist with a vivacious line that was exquisitely suited to depicting adults and children. His gags were funny, subtle, and touching.

Ketcham drew DENNIS THE MENACE from 1951 to 1994, when he retired and let his assistant take over the strip. This first volume of HANK KETCHAM'S COMPLETE DENNIS THE MENACE publishes every single panel strip from 1951 and 1952 in one handsome and thick hardcover volume resembling a Big Little Book on steroids. HANK KETCHAM'S COMPLETE DENNIS THE MENACE will continue with new chronological volumes annually until the entire run of Ketcham’s strip is collected.

The series is designed by Fantagraphics Lead Designer Jacob Covey (THE PIN-UP ART OF DAN DeCARLO, HANGING WITH THE DREAM KING: CONVERSATIONS WITH NEIL GAIMAN AND HIS COLLABORATORS, BUDDY DOES SEATTLE, etc.) and edited by Fantagraphics President and Founder Gary Groth.

Hank Ketcham was born in 1920 and created Dennis the Menace in 1950. He passed away in 2001.

DENNIS THE MENACE FACTS:

• Over 50 million Dennis books have been sold worldwide

• The strip continues today in more than 1000 newspapers

• Dennis has been a “spokesman” for UNICEF, the Boy Scouts, and the Red
Cross

• Dennis is one of the most recognizable characters in the world.

HANK KETCHAM'S COMPLETE DENNIS THE MENACE 1951-1952
By HANK KETCHAM
Foreword by PATRICK McDONNELL (Mutts)
Introduction by BRIAN WALKER (The Comics After 1945)
624 pages • HARDCOVER
5.5” x 6.25” • Black-and-white
ISBN 1-56097-680-2 • $24.95
Humor / COMIC STRIPS
Sales Area: World (Except the UK)
Publication Date: Sept. 25, 2005

Published by
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS
7563 Lake City Way NE
Seattle, WA 98115 USA
www.fantagraphics.com

ALSO COMING IN SEPTEMBER! THE PERFECT COMPANION TO HANK KETCHAM’S COMPLETE DENNIS THE MENACE:

THE MERCHANT OF DENNIS THE MENACE
An Illustrated Memoir By Hank Ketcham
$19.95
Graphic Novels / NONFICTION
256 pages, fully illustrated, 9” x 9”
Paperback, ISBN 1-56097-714-0

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12