ComicBookGuy

The ninth, 1958:

The tenth, 1959:

The seventh, 1957:

The eighth, 1958:

The fifth, 1955:

The sixth, also 1955:

BB has already posted the first two hardcovers. Here are some more...

The third, 1954:

The fourth, 1955:

Wow, CBG and BB, you guys are the masters of the Dennis universe!

 

I'd never seen Ketcham's early Dennis strips before, being a kid who only came of reading age in the early 1970s, so it's interesting to see that his early style was much tighter and clearly influenced Wiseman's depiction of Dennis. My memory of the Dennis comic strip by the time I started reading it in the early 1970s was a much looser style, which perhaps not surprisingly was mimicked by the much looser post-Wiseman depiction in the comic book. Was this Ketcham himself getting lazier through the years, or the result of ghost artists taking over the drawing duties?

Both, I would say. I am much more of a fan of the early Ketcham than the later Ketcham style.

Here's some later art that HK did. You won't see this anywhere cause I own it! Contrast this with the early book covers I will post after this.

All right. Back for a few more scans. There was some interest in seeing some of the early issues of Dennis in my collection. Obviously, I'll start with # 1. I don't think the condition is as good as CBG's, but I also, don't think it's bad either.

 

BTW, after going years and years not even finding one copy of Dennis # 1 - I now own two. Bought them both on eBay several months apart. Found a copy in worse shape and then upgraded when I found a better condition copy with that relatively few people were bidding on. (So if any of y'all need a # 1, send me a personal message):

 

I love it!

I'm not sure mine's much better than this at all. VERY NICE!!!

By the way, I would think twice about selling your extra Dennis #1. Why not keep it so you can have a reading copy? Also, its price could be tricky to determine. I hoped when I started this thread that some people would post some nice copies (true high grade) of #1; instead, no one seems to have them, confirming what I've always suspected: This book may be non-existent in high grade. Your copy may be one of the best known, so keep the lower grade copy to read. Just some friendly advice, for what it's worth.

Joe

BB, here is the data I've collected on the 12 Dennis hardbacks. I have fully indexed them, counted the cartoons in them and the paperbacks, and I will post the other ten hardbacks if you don't. Great idea for a "next step" in this thread. I was going to post all the giveaways, but I will do that after doing this. The early books, specifically the first one, are far more common than the later ones. Condition is tough on all, first for condition, and second for lack of "spots" and discoloration. There were 12 total cartoon hardback collections and 48 of the regular-sized paperback collections (to be discussed later).

Joe

Dennis the Menace Hardbacks

* The following are the only 12 hardbacks I have seen.

* The ones with the same year copyright, like 1955, I listed in the correct order according to the info on the back covers. For example, WANTED mentions that RIDES AGAIN is available, and VS EVERYBODY mentions the previous two. In 1958, I assume TEACHER‘S THREAT came out after IN THIS CORNER cause of a higher cover price, and Ketcham copyrights the book for 1959 and the cartoons for 1958, whereas IN THIS CORNER has both copyrights for 1958.

* I double-checked all cartoon counts. I was surprised to see the cartoons in the hb don’t coincide with the paperback counts.

1) Dennis the Menace (white cover) 1952 62 cartoons

2) More Dennis the Menace 1953 62 cartoons (paperback has 121

cartoons - the hardback has some the paperback doesn’t have &

vice-versa)

3) Baby-Sitter’s Guide 1954 - a mix of cartoons & text

4) Rides Again 1955 62 cartoons (old version of pb has 123 cartoons; new version has 124 cartoons)

5) Wanted 1955 62 cartoons (pb has 124 cartoons)

6) VS Everybody 1955 62 cartoons (pb has 124 cartoons; I have a 1950s pb edition and a 1970s pb edition, and they both match up)

7) Household Hurricane 1957 62 cartoons

8) In This Corner 1958 ($1.00 cover price) 62 cartoons (pb 124)

9) Teacher’s Threat 1958 ($1.25 cover price) 62 cartoons (pb 124)

10) A.M. Ambassador of Mischief 1959 62 cartoons

11) Happy Half-Pint 1961 62 cartoons (pb 124)

12) Who Me? 1962 62 cartoons (pb 124)

Here it is:

Nice!

Adam, that Action is incredible! I cannot believe how nice the books you have are. Those 1950s 10 centers are just impossible to find in any kind of grade. You and Burntboy....words fail me...

Here's a great picture of Dennis the Menace creator Hank Ketcham in 1951 posing with his real life son, whose name is Dennis. As the story goes, his wife, who is also seen here, came to Hank one day and said, "Our son is a menace!" Thus, the legend was born. Here is a publicity shot of all three:

 

I seem to recall reading that things were not so good in the Ketcham household, and that Dennis became estranged from his father and was leading something of a hand-to-mouth existence in his later years.

You're right, Tim. Tragically, Ketcham became estranged from his son at some point. To hear his side of it, he admits being too caught up with his career, but he also says that his son was having lots of trouble at school when he was eight, saying he had learning disabilities. His wife's way of dealing with it was with alcohol and in taking young Dennis with her and leaving. That's his story. But there is a lot to consider here. Consider what it must have been like to be young Dennis, the basis for Dennis the Menace. Every kid in the school knows you and your "story." It had to be tough. How could the poor could ever go about creating his own identity? In the meantime, the dad can't just drop a franchise that is about to be launched as a prime time CBS tv show, that is syndicated internationally, that is being published in comics. Ketcham's biography doesn't talk about Dennis after his wife left; instead, HK talks about his travels and virtually everything else except his son and wife. I don't know much about what his son did later on, but I know he joined the military and did get closer to his dad before HK passed away. If you know any details, I'd love to hear more.

Joe

Adam, here is a comic that I found just for you. Looks like they had Dennis's mom in a tub shot after all! To be honest, I think this is a lot funnier than the cover to #5...

Given all the discussion and interest about Wiseman, I thought I'd post this playful picture with Fred Toole (left), Ketcham with the mop, and Wiseman cringing. This picture is from Ketcham's book, THE MERCHANT OF DENNIS. In it, he says Wiseman was a free-lance advertising artist. Does this mean he was NOT a comic artist before Dennis? Anybody know if he did work before OR after Dennis?

Ketcham was born in 1920 and this picture is from the early 1950s. Wiseman looks much older than Ketcham.

Here's a great picture of Dennis the Menace creator Hank Ketcham in 1951 posing with his real life son, whose name is Dennis. As the story goes, his wife, who is also seen here, came to Hank one day and said, "Our son is a menace!" Thus, the legend was born. Here is a publicity shot of all three:

Thanks for the confirmation! That's exactly how the run looks in my set.

By the way, here is a link to a Dennis Bonus Magazine 100 on ebay right now since I know you need this.

Dennis Bonus Mag 100 on EBAY

I'll be very interested to see your "Dennis on Safety."

 

Now, I've tried three times to attach a file according to the instructions you gave me. The file is a simple jpeg (30kbs). Each time I was told that I could not post because it was coming from an invalid host (whatever that means).

 

Any suggestions?

I'll try to find the safety giveaway by tomorrow. I'm getting ready to go out for the night right now.

I'm curious: Can you confirm that no Dennis the Menace Bonus Magazine #96 exists? Overstreet says there isn't one, there are two different #95's, and I have never seen one. That would seem to confirm it as far as I can tell, but there is always that lingering possibility!

If you want to use the CGC boards as your host, I would make two suggestions based on past experiences:

1) Rename your files so that they include only numbers or letters and no symbols such as !@#$%^&*( ). This board rejects any of those symbols in file names for some reason.

2) If it still doesn't accept your file, rescan the comic at the lowest possible settings. I changed mine to 75 dpi (the lowest setting for my scanner) and the scans look every bit as good as the ones on the highest settings for some reason.

Good luck!

Joe

Do you know if there has been a feature on Dennis or on Wiseman-Toole in Comic Book Marketplace? That seems to be the main place where notable events or artists/writers get broken out for public consideration.

Tim, no, there has not been an article in CBM about Dennis. There is a certain snobbery in the comic hobby, I feel, where some titles are not deemed worthy of recognition. Many Archie & Harvey collectors I know feel the same way. It is an egregious oversight, especially considering Dennis has had numerous movies, tv shows, multiple comic series ranging across decades, and continuous worldwide syndication for over fifty years even after the death of his creator. Dennis is more of a household name in this day and age than Uncle Scrooge or even Tarzan. (If not for the recent Disney movie, I'm not sure any of today's kids would even know who Tarzan is.) It's a blight on the hobby that Ketcham could not see his creation on the cover of the Overstreet Guide or CBM before his death. The only homage I've seen paid toward Ketcham in our hobby is by Fred Hembeck and one of Ketcham's biggest fans, Matt Groening.

Joe

This thread is getting more and more amazing! You guys rock! By pooling our knowledge together here we are going to make some great things happen.

Questions were raised about Dennis Giant / Bonus Series #40, #100, and #103, and I have definitive answers to all three questions since I own all three copies. Scans will follow. This series actually consists of 196 issues. It has two NoNumbers, No #1, two #6's, two #95's, no #96, and runs to #194.

Here is Dennis Giant #40, from Summer 1966, a reprint of #15:

Here is Dennis Bonus Magazine #100 from January 1972:

And here is Dennis Bonus Magazine #103 from April 1972:

I agree that ebay is the best way to complete a set of these. It took me about five years on ebay looking at least once every three days. What's tough is knowing what number an issue is when there are reprints and no numbers on many covers. Now that you've seen the covers, you should be able to find them.

To add to the list, we have Dennis On Safety, a very rare giveaway not listed in Overstreet. I will scan a copy later. Also, the two Television Specials, #1 and #2.

Joe

Perhaps now is the time to start.

I think we already HAVE started!

Here is a virtually perfect file copy I bought from Jay Maybruck of Sparkle City Comics back in the 1980s. That guy was a character and always had phenomenal books. Anyone know what happened to him? I should probably ask Joe V next time I see him. Here is Giant #22:

BB, you make a great point about Wiseman not receiving the recognition he deserves. I totally agree. I would think that always being in Ketcham's shadow hurt him - legacy-wise - in the long run. Look at Frazetta for instance. He did Li'l Abner for Al Capp for a time and received less recognition than Wiseman did. Li'l Abner strips gave Frazetta no credit at all as the strip said, "Li'l Abner by Al Capp." Frazetta, however, moved on and made a name for himself outside of this. Wiseman did receive credit on the insides of Dennis covers with even photos of him in some issues, but bottom line is that Dennis was Ketcham's creation, and to my knowledge Wiseman didn't achieve as much fame on his own or with other books as much as he did with Dennis.

You mention the popularity of these comics. I can remember how much my siblings, friends, neighbors, etc, loved Dennis comics and the reruns of the Jay North show. I have said it before and will say it again: These comics were read to death cause they were GOOD, and that's why they are tough to find in high grade even in later years when the printing numbers are high.

I think I will start posting some stuff that Ketcham did draw next after I post a few more giants. Here is Giant #21:

BillyBatson, WELCOME!

This has been an amazing week to come on here and find two new forum members who were drawn here based solely on Dennis collecting. It's especially rewarding cause I haven't posted as much just lately cause I've been working 12-16 hour days. I will have to do another google search to see if this appears. There really is NO website about Dennis comics, so once this thread really gets all the collectors and info together, it can serve as the basis for a website.

My "origin" story is almost identical to yours. The first comics I read as a kid were the Dennis comics, typically as reprints in the 1970s. Even as a kid, I noticed that Wiseman's art DID stick out. I remember a conversation with my younger brother when we were looking at the comics in a stack. We would fight for ones by the "good artist." Whenever I hear Disney collectors refer to Barks as the "good artist," I always recall that Dennis had his "good artist" as well. Like you, I also "graduated" to superhero comics.

It's interesting that you mention the comic database. I haven't visited that for a while so should probably recheck it out.

You said that Ketcham didn't do the covers that bear his signature. I've heard that before as well, but I've never been able to verify the source of information. Any help you can offer in this regard would be appreciated.

I can't wait to see what your comics look like, especially the Dennis 1.

In the meantime, spring is almost here, so it seems appropriate to post Dennis Giant #20, as I continue to post the giant series:

Just found this site..... THANKS for all the great covers that have been posted.

 

I've been a Dennis fan all my life, and its nice to finally see some of these early gems.

 

Has anyone ever attempted a Dennis index? With story titles, art credits, etc for the first 100 or so issues? I've started collecting data related to the early Giants. As the years went on, Fawcett reprinted heavily from the 50's and 60's books. Just wondering if anyone has ever taken on an indexing project for Dennis....

 

Thanks again for starting this thread! Peanut butter samiches and root beers for ALL involved!

 

escape

Escape, I echo Tim when I say... WELCOME TO THE BOARDS!

I am very pleased to find yet another Dennis fan out there. I have begun compiling an index of Dennis stuff. I completed the info on the twelve hardbacks and 48 paperback collections. I have just started writing down info on the Dennis regular series and will post that soon. ANY info you have, please share! That's what this thread is for. I see this thread as a long-term project. In answer to your question about indexing, it has NOT been done to my knowledge except for what I have done so far. I think with the large amount of reprinting that has occurred it's very helpful to create an index. I am sure we can have the 166 regular series, the friends series, the 194 giant/bonus series, all the odd titles, and digests indexed within a year. Eventually I'd like to take all the info from this thread and just create a website from it.

Joe

With regards to the SA, this is not my first transgression in the thread. Should I create a different thread for the '"tweeners? Should I post it in GA or SA?

 

I've been thinking of starting a Ducks thread, but wasn't sure where to put it, as they run from GA to modern day. So in the general forum? GA? SA? thoughts, recommendations?

Tim, sounds like a great idea. I wouldn't put it in the general section cause it'd be buried too quickly. I agree with Adam that the GA thread is the best. The duck fans are all mostly Barks fans and he is primarily a GA artist.

By the way, I'm hoping they pin your 10 cent thread. It is the best.

Joe

And speaking of Western Penn, I just got this in the mail today from Chris Cole. This book is so hard to find with a snow-white cover AND with nice centering. More often than not it's off-center. Needless to say, I am thrilled to be the owner of this:

Dennis the Menace Giant #19. Notice that these latest ones are published by Hallden / Fawcett. It seems that one of Fawcett's last hurrahs in the comic industry would be Dennis comics, which they will publish right up until the end in the late 1970s, early 1980s, when Marvel takes over...