Hank Ketcham's Complete Dennis the Menace 1957-1958

From my third-grader-to-be son... I have read the comic strip a lot, but this is the first book of Dennis the Menace that I have seen. It's so funny! Dennis does so many things that I've never thought of but sure do love the ideas. I have read it and then enjoyed going back to the pages, taking it with me to read on trips, in boring places when I've had to wait on something...it's great company.

The first season of the Jay North TV show was mean and hillarious. Various groups complained (it was the early 60's and it was okay for the Rifleman to kill someone or two or three every week) and the show was toned down to gentle stupidity. And so was the comic. No more cutting off girl's pigtails and swinging them, or knocking at the neighbor's door, nekkid. So, enjoy the early books for the brilliant art and laughs, and the later books, for the art.

excellent book. Hilariously written. Item came on time & in excellent shape. Takes ME BACK TO THE 50S as a kid. Strongly recommend getting it.

The story of our culture can be told through comic strips. If we consider the historical movements throughout the world in the decades from the early 1900's to the present, every era has had one strip that captured the prevailing spirit and provided a segue to the next generation of cartooning. If we disregard the rise, peak and fall of the adventure strip (which could be discussed another time), the family/gag strips have retained their readerships. Blondie began as a strip with 2 flappers who foun d love, each other and raised a family over 70 years ago. It has changed with the times, but still celebrates Dagwood's love of sandwhiches and Blondie. Other strips have represented time periods that have audiences today. Beetle Bailey, Hi and Lois, Dennis the Menace, for Better or For Worse and Peanuts play off the same market. The newest addition to the Dennis the Menace line covers 1957-58 in what has become typical Fantagraphics style. Squarebound and printed on high quality paper, the series looks good on any bookshelf, but will not find itself there often. You can't put these down. Innocence can be so charming, and the Ketchum slice of life cut through readers everywhere. In one strip, Dennis prays 'God, I goofed again...' That could be any of us. Dennis yells at his parents, 'Go Home' during a particularly noisy New Years Party. I tried that once, and stayed up to eat the snacks. There are so may ways to describe why these books are so good. If I could make up a word, it would be 'Ketchamisms: Timeless vignettes resonating eternal youth and optimism. [...] Tim Lasiuta