The Ultimate Dennis the Menace Thread 3 3

[the blob]

not to be crass and commercial, and I know, this should be (and is) in the marketplace, but under my "10% off" thread in marketplace I have listed some 70s Dennis comics in my ebay store. mostly the christmas specials, but some others. nice big fat comics chock full of clean fun. nothing spensive. I am saving one of each issue for our baby who is en route who may appreciate them in about 4-6 years, but have multiples of most. Stocking stuffers?

 

alas, i don't own any rare and exotic DTM toys.

[Allen Ross-migration]

Over at The Pulse , there is a new interview with Fantagraphic's co-owner Gary Groth where he discusses the upcoming Complete Dennis the Menace project. There are several Dennis cartoons imbedded in that interview.

 

And project it is, for he says "Dennis will follow the same schedule as our Peanuts volumes: two volumes per year, each volume containing two years of the strip."

 

Unfortunately, no mention of what he plans to do with the Sunday strips.

[Bunky Brian]

Cheers for putting on a terrific show of your outstanding collection. As a comic nerd and child reading fan of Dennis, I loved seeing the covers of the first issues.

Brian

www.bunkybrothers.com

[ComicBookGuy]

Allen, thanks for posting that link! It was cool to find another Dennis the Menace thread on the ComicCon Website, where people are discussing the upcoming book. Here is a link to that thread, same as above, where I shamelessly advertised this thread to expand our fan base:

 

Dennis Thread on ComicCon

 

As I've said before, I am really looking forward to this book, but it may turn out to be a mixed blessing. On the one hand, it will raise awareness in the hobby about Dennis and give us a great look at the evolution of the strip in terms of characterization and art. On the other hand, it may contain a lot of panels that will be nothing more than filler and were not considered worthy of reprinting even during Dennis's heyday. The books that were printed in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, etc., were "best of" collections, so to speak, and contain just a fraction of the many panels that were produced. My point is that many of these panels were not reprinted maybe cause they just weren't any good and were not worth reprinting. I hope I'm wrong about this. Just thinking out loud.

 

And by the way, Brian, welcome to the boards!!!!

 

Joe

[ComicBookGuy]

What follows is the text of the article linked by Allen. Notice that Fantagraphics has revised the start date of the strip from March 14th, 1951 to March 12th, 1951. Wonder if they read Jon's post? The article is by JENNIFER M. CONTINO...

 

Almost everyone has heard of Dennis the Menace, but just how many of us have ever had the chance to read the original comic strip adventures of the pint-sized terror? Not many. But fear not, Fantagraphics is collecting all of Hank Ketcham's favorite son in a hardcover format, much like their successful Charles Schulz' Peanuts line. Fantagraphic's co-owner Gary Groth said they were interested in this property because of "its universality across generations and the sheer qualitative consistency of the strip."

 

Groth admitted he might not have followed Dennis the Menace as a child. He vividly recalls the television series starring Jay North, but doesn't remember reading too much of Dennis' comic misadventures. He said, "I didn't start looking at Ketcham's work until I was in my late teens, probably, when I started seriously investigating every form of cartooning I could get my hands on."

 

For those who are just familiar with the television series or '90s movie, Groth said the strips are totally different from those incarnations. Groth explained, "Apart from the comic book version, the Dennis the Menace daily strips were mostly a single gag panel - usually two panels, so it functioned entirely different from a narrative, which is what they constructed for the TV and movies. Basically the TV show and the movies were plot-oriented, extrapolating liberally from the tone of the panel, where the -script writers created a generic, loveable troublemaker around ten years old. But the panel was uniquely its own - pure cartooning with a singular artistic integrity the media licenses couldn't come close to."

 

"One of our goals with the Complete Dennis is to resurrect Dennis from the slag heap of cross-media licensing and merchandising that has eclipsed the comic itself, and to demonstrate in the most vivid way we can how great Ketcham's cartooning was," continued Groth. "The demographics the Dennis books should appeal to are: admirers of great cartooning, parents with kids, parents who want kids, people who like kids, people who dislike kids, and kids."

 

Groth said Fantagraphics is dedicated to publishing the "best cartooning in the world" and that "Hank Ketcham qualifies." He cited Love and Rocket's Gilbert Hernandez who wrote:

 

"Among all the American newspaper cartoonist who could draw people that LOOKED like people, Ketcham was far and away the best. Whether it was Dennis Mitchell sitting in the corner for being published for breaking a crow bar, or the host and cook inthe busy kitchen of a Chinese erstuarant commenting on the antics of the feisty blonde kid, Ketcham captured real folks in a naturalistic environment the way no on else could. A perfect blend of slickness and warmth."

 

"I didn't put it badly myself when I wrote the entry for Dennis the Menace five years ago for The Comics Journal's Best Comics of the 20th Century," continued Groth. "I wrote:

 

"At their best, the Dennis gags were so visually inspired that they couldn't have existed in any other medium. The ideas behind even the best gags would not have been as pleasing if it weren't for the expressiveness of Ketcham's line, and his attention to facial nuance and body gesture, which provided exactly the right degree of subtle and understated contrast to Dennis' notorious breaches of decorum."

 

Groth added, "Expanding on that for a moment, I think it was Ketcham's caligraphic line that so immediately made his brilliance as a cartoonist evident. Not only was the line itself one of the most gorgeous in comics, but his economic use of line was masterly, every bit as good as Alex Toth's or Harvey Kurtzman's, to name two others known for never putting own an unnecessary mark, and his compositions were impeccable. One of my favorite strips from the first volume is a panel (7-18-51) where Dennis is telling a stout lady sitting on his living room couch, "Well, you're getting pretty big yourself." This encapsulates the wit, the sophistication, the sly tone, the accidental mischievousness of the best panels. Formally, it's a perfect example of how great Ketcham's command of the medium — we know instantly what the lady said to Dennis without having to read it."

 

Groth said it was a simple matter of negotiating with Hank Ketcham Enterprises to get the rights to present the entire "life" of Dennis the Menace. "They were eager to have Ketcham's strips printed in a respectfully designed series of uniform volumes," said Groth. "Rolande Ketcham, Hank's widow, is rightfully proud of her husband's achievement, and she very much liked our presentation."

 

Presentation which included a cover and interior designed by Jacob Covey, Fantagraphics lead designer. "Jacob's been on staff for about a year now and has single-handedly improved our admittedly inconsistent design of the past," said Groth. "He designed our last two pin-up books by Jack Cole and Dan DeCarlo, Jamie Hernandez's Locas, and Bob Levin's collection of essays about Outer Artists, Outlaws, Rebels, Freethinkers, and Pirates. His conception and design of Dennis is his best work to date - as good as Seth's Peanuts design, for which there is no higher praise, in my opinion."

 

Groth said the main cast of the original Dennis the Menace included his parents: Henry and Alice Mitchell, his friends Margaret and Joey, his dog Ruff, and those lovable, beleaguered next-door neighbors, the Wilsons, although Mr. Wilson wasn't there from day one. "He appears in the first year, but before he shows up, Dennis mostly terrorizes his parents," Groth said.

 

"The first volume collects the entirety of the first two years of the strip, which began on March 12, 1951," Groth continued. "There's a foreword by Patrick McDonnell, the author of one of the few great newspaper strips running today, Mutts, and a critical/historical introduction by comics historian and cartooning curator Brian Walker, who also writes the Hi and Lois newspaper strip. Dennis will follow the same schedule as our Peanuts volumes: two volumes per year, each volume containing two years of the strip."

 

The first volume is over 600 pages and arrives in stores this September. It collects the first two years of strips and features one of comics original problem child's.

[Mister_Comics]

This week I was going through some of my old VHS video collection and came across something sort of related to DENNIS the MENACE. Found a tape where JAY NORTH guest starred on the old 70's show SCREAMIN' YELLOW THEATER with host SVENGOOLIE. Thats the original Svengoolie, Jerry G. Bishop, Chicago horror show host. JAY does some comedy bits with Sven as himself, but one bit he's doing DENNIS. Which was kind of wierd since Jay is much older when this show was shown. I even noticed he signed Sven's guest book Jay (Dennis the Menace) North at the beginning of the show.

 

Well after seeing this it got me wondering if Jay North ever did other shows doing the Dennis character? If he did, wouldn't he be breaking some kind of copyright laws? Or is it ok for Jay North to do the character because he played the part on television. Just wondering.

[Gutterflower-migration]

I was watching an episode of The Banana Splits, and the credits listed Jay North as one of the voices. Unfortunately it didn't specify which character he voiced, or which cartoon. It was either The Arabian Nights or Three Musketeers.

[ComicBookGuy]

Linda and MC, it's good to see you both back on this thread.

 

There was one appearance I have seen where Jay North appeared as Dennis outside of the show, and that was on the Donna Reed show, where he dropped in as a neighborhood kid who was Dennis Mitchell, the idea being that they were all neighbors, and the REAL idea being to plug each other's tv shows.

 

The appearance in the 1970s would have been a rare one for Jay North, as his acting career had begun to fade. He did some movies, like Maya, Zebra in the Kitchen, and The Teacher. He also was famous for doing the voice of Bam-Bam on The Flintstones. He was able to make his appearance as Dennis I would think just as Mad or Saturday Night Live are able to lampoon or parody copyrighted characters.

 

Here is a link to www.imdb.com that lists all of JN's appearances in tv and film, and looking at them I see that he made more than a couple outside the DTM show as Dennis: The Donna Reed Show; Pepe, and the Screamin' Yellow Theatre (not mentioned on the list). I also have not seen the Simpsons episode he appears in. Very interesting!

 

Jay North Appearances

 

Here is the listing of his appearances:

 

Dikiy veter (1986)

... aka Divlji vetar (Yugoslavia: Serbian title)

... aka Wild Wind

Scout's Honor (1980) (TV) .... Grogan's Dad

"Fred Flintstone and Friends" (1977) TV Series (voice)

The Teacher (1974) .... Sean Roberts

... aka The Seductress

"The Flintstones Comedy Hour" (1972) TV Series (voice) .... Bamm-Bamm Rubble

... aka The Flintstone Comedy Show (USA: repeat compilations title)

... aka The Flintstones Show (new title)

Lassie: Joyous Sound (1972) (TV)

"The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show" (1971) TV Series (voice) .... Bamm-Bamm Rubble

"Here Comes the Grump" (1969) TV Series (voice) .... Terry Dexter (1969-1971)

"The Banana Splits Adventure Hour" (1968) TV Series (voice) .... Prince Turhan

... aka The Banana Splits and Friends Show (USA: syndication title)

"The Arabian Knights" (1968) TV Series (voice) .... Prince Turhan

"Maya" (1967) TV Series .... Terry Bowen

Maya (1966) .... Terry Bowen

Zebra in the Kitchen (1965) .... Chris Carlyle

Pepe (1960) (as Jay 'Dennis the Menace' North) .... Cameo appearance/Dennis the Menace

"Dennis the Menace" (1959) TV Series .... Dennis Mitchell

... aka Just Dennis (UK)

The Miracle of the Hills (1959) .... Davey Leonard

The Big Operator (1959) .... Timmy Gibson

... aka Anatomy of the Syndicate (USA: reissue title)

 

Filmography as: Actor, Himself, Notable TV Guest Appearances

 

Himself - filmography

(2000s) (1960s)

 

Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star (2003) .... Himself

... aka Dickie Roberts: (Former) Child Star (USA: promotional title)

The Fantastic Plastic Machine (1969) .... Narrator

 

Filmography as: Actor, Himself, Notable TV Guest Appearances

Notable TV Guest Appearances

 

"The Simpsons" playing "Himself" (voice) in episode: "Take My Wife, Sleaze" (episode # 11.8) 28 November 1999

"Our Time" playing "Himself" (episode # 1.1) 27 July 1985

"Jericho" in episode: "Eric the Redhead" (episode # 1.8) 3 November 1966

"The Lucy Show" playing "Mr. Mooney's Nephew" in episode: "Lucy the Robot" (episode # 4.23) 28 February 1966

"My Three Sons" playing "Jeff" in episode: "Whatever Happened to Baby Chip?" (episode # 6.20) 3 February 1966

"The Man from U.N.C.L.E." playing "Bartlett Warshowsky" in episode: "The Deadly Toys Affair" (episode # 2.9) 12 November 1965

"Wagon Train" playing "Tom Blake" in episode: "Those Who Stay Behind" (episode # 8.8) 8 November 1964

"The Dinah Shore Chevy Show" 30 October 1960

"The Donna Reed Show" playing "Dennis 'The Menace' Mitchell" in episode: "Donna Decorates" (episode # 3.3) 29 September 1960

"Toast of the Town" playing "Singer" (episode # 13.37) 12 June 1960

"The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor" in episode: "The Hiding Place" (episode # 1.3) 30 October 1959

"Sugarfoot" playing "Bobby" in episode: "The Giant Killer" (episode # 2.13) 3 March 1959

"77 Sunset Strip" playing "Timmy Wilson" in episode: "Eyewitness" (episode # 1.19) 13 February 1959

"The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show" 1 January 1959

"Wanted: Dead or Alive" playing "Laddie Stone" in episode: "Eight Cent Record" (episode # 1.16) 20 December 1958

 

 

By the way, if you are a fan of the old Jay North Dennis show, here is a link to a site where you can vote for its release on DVD. I posted this a few pages back to save you looking for it if you haven't seen it...

 

Dennis the Menace on TVSHOWSONDVD.COM

[Gutterflower-migration]

Thanks, Joe. I knew that you would probably have more info on Jay North's non Dennis career. So he was the voice of Prince Turhan...I never knew that he also did Bamm Bamm Rubble's voice. Interesting-I always learn something new from this great thread.

 

Happy 4th of July everyone!

[ComicBookGuy]

Yes, Happy 4th of July!!

 

[ComicBookGuy]

Here's a nice vintage Dennis the Menace ad for the Kellogg's spoon we saw a few pages back. Dennis the Menace and Kellogg's were a big partnership back in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The products they sold were the spoon, the red cowboy mug, and a cereal bowl. This ad is from 1961:

 

[ComicBookGuy]

Here is the Kellogg's cereal bowl:

 

[ComicBookGuy]

Here's a Rice Krispie ad from around 1960; it is from Life Magazine:

 

[ComicBookGuy]

Dennis did not just sell Rice Krispies. What a great idea this was: a combination of a comic book and a cereal box! Anybody remember Morning Funnies cereal?

 

 

[ComicBookGuy]

Dennis sold Raisin Bran as well. This ad is from 1960:

 

[ComicBookGuy]

Here's a Rice Krispie ad from 1959:

 

[ComicBookGuy]

Before Dennis worked to sell Kellogg's cereals, he actually sold Cream of Wheat. This ad from 1955 is the earliest Dennis cereal ad I am aware of...

 

[ComicBookGuy]

Dennis must have been doing a good job cause he was still selling Cream of Wheat in this 1956 ad:

 

[ComicBookGuy]

Another 1956 Cream of Wheat ad:

 

[ComicBookGuy]

Someone posted this a while back, but I couldn't find it, so I'll post it again just to keep all the ad stuff together. This is Dennis selling A&W Root Beer in 1966: