The Ultimate Dennis the Menace Thread 3 3

[BillyBatson4360]

I think the style change was the result of Ketchum's personal style evolving and a desire to keep the look of the strip changing so it wasn't perceived as looking "dated."

 

A while back on this thread someone requested some examples of Wiseman's style. We were treated to a nice "Joey" story, so I thought I'd post an example of the kind of full-page panels that Wiseman pioneered. This one's from "Dennis in Hawaii" (Dennis Giant # 6):

 

[BillyBatson4360]

Here's another scan - from "Dennis in Washington, D.C." The photo-realism Wiseman put into the background (the buildings and the cars) is incredible:

 

[adamstrange]

Thanks for the scans. I don't think I'll ever get tired of beautiful renditions of the capitol building. It's very cool seeing these large-scale, accurate backgrounds in Dennis -- similar to the big splashes in Tintin or Asterix.

 

I'm not bored yet, whatever scans you want to post are AOK with me!

Edited March 15, 2005 by adamstrange

[Mister_Comics]

Here's a few little known facts...

 

Hank Kechum personally picked Jay North to be DENNIS THE MENACE for the TV role.

 

Did you know Jay North was also the voice of Bamm-Bamm on the Flintstones for a time.

 

My contribution to this great thread.

[ComicBookGuy]

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

[ComicBookGuy]

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.

 

 

[ComicBookGuy]

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

 

The third, 1954:

 

 

The fourth, 1955:

 

[ComicBookGuy]

The fifth, 1955:

 

 

The sixth, also 1955:

 

[ComicBookGuy]

The seventh, 1957:

 

 

The eighth, 1958:

 

 

 

[ComicBookGuy]

The ninth, 1958:

 

 

The tenth, 1959:

 

[ComicBookGuy]

The eleventh, 1961:

 

 

And - finally! - the twelfth and final hardback collection, from 1962:

 

 

Unless you have ever tried to get a full set of these, you cannot imagine how hard they are to find in high grade. The problems seem to be corners that are very weak, bindings that crack, inside covers that have spots, inside pages that tan easily, covers that are easily soiled and often written on. The list goes on. When I find one of these in nice shape, it is an occasion. These can sell anywhere from a few bucks each to hundreds of dollars each. To me, they are priceless! The ones I'd like to upgrade are Teacher's Threat, Happy Half-Pint, and Rides Again. Anybody have them?

[tth2]

Unless you have ever tried to get a full set of these, you cannot imagine how hard they are to find in high grade. The problems seem to be corners that are very weak, bindings that crack, inside covers that have spots, inside pages that tan easily, covers that are easily soiled and often written on. The list goes on.

 

And of course they were read constantly which added to the wear and tear! You've got an awesome Dennis collection, Joe!

[BillyBatson4360]

Awesome collection, Joe! Thanks for sharing. I especially loved the Babysitter's Guide - one of the most unsual uses of popular newspaper strip I've ever read.

 

I thought I'd give you a look at my copy of Dennis # 4. As I mentioned in a previous post, I was lucky enough to purchase a batch of early Dennis issues (in the first 20) from a single collector who contacted me when I placed a want ad in the Comic Buyer's Guide. Most of the books were in outstanding condition. This is the earliest issue in that collection:

 

[BillyBatson4360]

There was only only problem with the collection. Most of the issues had "off-center" covers. In fact, I found that very curious because each issues covers were off-center almost exactly the same way. I've never run across this problem in the many other issues of Dennis I've seen and collected, yet this batch has 5 or 6 issues with the identical problem.

 

I have no idea how the collection was put together, but the thought that somebody went to their newsstand each month and each month got a comic with an off-center cover seems very strange.

 

Anway, to show you what I mean, here's a scan of the back:

 

[BillyBatson4360]

BTW I skipped my copies of # 2 & 3 because they are not in as good a condition as Joe's copies.

 

Ironically, when I first decided as a young adult to begin collecting Dennis again (I no longer owned any of the isues I had as a kid), I was in a friend's comic book shop. I told him it might be nice to have an issue or two of Dennis the Menace for old time's sake. He told me he only had one issue in stock (these were the early days of comic book shops when anything non-superheor - even Disney - was in short supply). He sold it to me for $1. It turned out to be issue # 2. Not a bad beginning!

[ComicBookGuy]

Thanks for posting that AMAZING #4!

The colors on it are great, and I'd have to say it's my favorite cover of the early Dennis issues. I would not worry about the off-centering of it too much considering there's virtually no wear and especially cause there's no discoloration. Wow!

Joe

[ComicBookGuy]

CBG, thanks for the information on the Dennis strip collections. I never realized the paperbacks had more strips. By the way, my edition of "Dennis Rides Again" (14th printing - 1959) claims it has 127 cartoons - do I need to count them?

 

The hardback first printing of Dennis the Menace Rides Again has 62 cartoons, the 1950s paperback version (grey spine) has 123 cartoons, and the newer edition (all white cover) paperback has 124 cartoons. The claim in the beginning of the 1950s paperback book says it has 65 more cartoons added to the hardback version, but if it did, it would contain 127. I've counted it three times and get 123 cartoons! Count yours and see what you get. I'm curious! Maybe different printings (you say yours is the 14th) had different cartoons added and taken away. It's complicated enough keeping track of all 48 paperbacks, but the different printings of each???

Joe

 

Here are examples of what I mean by 1950s paperback (grey spine) and newer edition (1960s on). Only the first seven hardback books were printed as paperbacks in the grey border style, the eighth and on were all printed in the style of the newer edition:

 

 

 

[BillyBatson4360]

The different look is very easy to understand when you realize Ketchum changed publishers. The grey spines are published by Pocket Books. I believe the last Dennis paperback to have its first printing with Pocket Books was "Household Hurricane."

 

After that the publisher became Fawcett. Fawcett also the had the rights to further printings of the earlier Pocket Book editions. So, they redesigned the covers (generally use the same spot illo's).

 

I will count the cartoons in my printing of "Rides Again" when I get home this evening.

[buttock]

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

 

Au contraire...IIRC there was a GREAT article in CBM about Dennis, only not what you're expecting. The premise was that DTM has been replaced by a doppelganger of sorts - as evidenced by the fact that he is no longer the "menace" he used to be. The troubles he causes now are nothing in comparison to those he did in the 50s & 60s. I'll see if I can dig it up and scan it.

 

Incredible thread, by the way. Should definitely be archived.

[ComicBookGuy]

Thanks for the info! Just when I think I know it all about Dennis a CBM article slips by me. I would love to get a copy of this if you can find it or at least know what issue it is so I can grab one off ebay. The premise you describe is an apt one, and a premise Matt Groening admittingly exploited when he created Bart Simpson: that society enjoys adventures of the archetypal "bad boy." He says that since Dennis faded from the peak of his popularity, there was a void in pop culture that quickly embraced Bart when he first appeared. I will post an interesting article he wrote about Bart's relation to Dennis and Tom Sawyer when I get some time. I have always felt that the Simpsons tv show has suffered since the focus has shifted from Bart's exploits to Homer's. But that's another topic for another thread...

Joe