Hank Ketcham's Complete Dennis the Menace 1955-1956

I'm glad that I waited long enough for the next book (1957-1958) to arrive so I could purchase this book. I'm quite fond of Dennis the Menace as far as I can remember - a great seller in everything!

Many talented people lose their "Id". Shultz in the last fifteen years, Ketchum much earlier. When the Dennis TV Show first appeared, he was mean! But the letters came in and they niced him up. This is also when the comic crapped out. No more cutting off little girl's pigtails, swinging them in the breeze, or insulting guests or running aound the hood nekkid. No, Dennis turned into another generic kid, who caused trouble by not shutting a door or waking up Mr. Wilson. A real shame because Hetcham was the Babe Ruth of comics for 10 years and I guess we should be grateful for that and for this wonderful series of books. Jump the shark, anyone?

The brain child of cartoonist Hank Ketcham, Dennis the Menace became an American favorite and a staple of the comic section of newspapers across the country. Ketcham's mischievous little boy was so popular that the character also appeared in comic books, a television series, and even the movies. Fantagraphic Books has been compiling the Dennis the Menace series for a new generation of readers and has now released the third volume which covers the newspaper cartoons published from 1955 and 1956. Very highly recommended for academic and community library American Popular Culture reference collections, this Dennis the Menace series is a 'must' for American comics buffs in general, and the legions of Hank Ketcham fans particular. For those new to this series, or who have an interest in American comics art and history, visit the Fantagraphics Books website for a complete listing of their available cartoon and graphic novel titles.

I love Dennis the Menace, he is so rotten, but oh so cute. Ketcham based Dennis on his own son, who ironically ended up time and time again a resident of the California Penal System..uh food for thought..but i digress...this is a fantastic collection and it is complete, which i appreicate, this is Ketcham at his best and Dennis where he should be, in the Fifties, really I hate to see Dennis with a cell phone or a computer, it just does not work, and the current incarnation of Dennis makes you want to scream, he is so bland and boring, it's like reading family circus, without the great drawing, it's so sad Ketcham sold out, I wish he had had the strength watterson had with Calvin, and let Dennis end with him. I recommend this to anyone with a sense of humor, you cant help but laugh at his antics and the funny way Ketcham draws his expressions, in a word: Classic. Highly recommended.

Dennis the Menace is one of those classic comic strips, like Charles Schulz' Peanuts, that will endure forever. Still, it doesn't hurt to have just a little bit of help and that's where the wonderful people of Fantagraphics come in...Just as they did with Peanuts, Fantagraphics has been reprinting Hank Ketcham's wonderful Dennis the Menace daily strips in chronological order. This is the third volume in the series and reprints each daily strip from 1955 - 1956. By this time Ketcham had really hit his stride. Dennis Mitchell complete with overalls and cowlick, and his parents are now fully developed as is irascible neighbor Mr. Wilson who now becomes the main target of Dennis'..umm...mischievous behavior. The slice-of-American-Pie, 1950's life-style simply exudes from these strips. Dad is generally always wearing a tie and mom an apron in this ode to less complicated times. Ketcham's work certainly had a huge influence on the work of Bill Watterson (Calvin & Hobbes) and Bill Amend (Foxtrot) and their own, too smart of their own good creations of Calvin and Jason Fox. Dennis is an equal opportunity offender whose wisecracks to police officers often get him, although more his dad, into hot water. If there's one strip that maybe defines Dennis best it may one from January 29, 1955 in which Dennis is dressed up in a suit and tie at a kids party but tells a little girl, "I Don't really look like this, Y'know." Absolutely classic! Then there is the call he gets from his parents to check on him as Dennis explains that the babysitter "chickened out and went home." Another strip which perfectly defines his character is from July 11, 1955. Dennis has opened a fire hydrant and proclaims proudly, "Why should I shut it off? I start trouble, I don't stop it!" Never were truer words ever spoken in the annals of comic strips. Dennis' schemes range from trying to sell dad's neckties for .5 cents, to getting even with a cop by letting the air out of his patrol car tires. The Christmas strips are simply delightful as Dennis behaves as any other kid does as he scours the house to find his hidden presents, and wakes up mom & dad in the dim hours of the morning to let them know that Santa has arrived. Ketcham was a brilliant cartoonist. He was capable of displaying such vivid emotions just with his character's expressions. You didn't need captions to know what they were thinking. We all knew a kid just like Dennis (or were one ourselves) and that's what makes Dennis so great, we can all relate to the character. This volume is testament to Dennis' enduring popularity, nicely packaged in a neat little 672 page hardcover book with dust-jacket. Reviewed by Tim Janson