The Ultimate Dennis the Menace Thread 3 3

[ComicBookGuy]

Bill, you have made an amazing step forward in Dennis research!

 

 

Overstreet only has the first twenty listed in the guide in terms of what is on each issue. Bringing the list up to #110 is a major feat, and probably the biggest accomplishment of this thread so far. THANK YOU!

 

 

This weekend, when I will have more time, I will go through the list issue by issue and verify each one since you indicated you don't have some of the issues in front of you. I will also post up to #194 to complete the list if you are not intending to. Do you have from #111 up? If you do and want to finish the list, go for it. If you don't, I'll be glad to do the rest. You had a question mark next to one in there, so I'll be sure to address the question mark. Finally, #99 Fiesta is the regular Dennis series, not the Bonus Mag. That is the only item I caught off the top of my head.

 

With regard to the Hawaii issue second printing, I believe both you and I have the same theory about that: That the issue's first printing was so popular during summer 1958, they did a second printing that same summer with the same cover, indica, and all since it was ready to go and they needed it quickly. This really seems to make sense to me. Thus, the following summer's issue stated 3rd printing on the cover. Then again, the guy in charge of the numbering on this series was math-challenged, so our theory will only remain just that unless someone has some hard facts. One point I would like to address at some point is to see if there are any differences between the printings. I believe I have them all, so I will address this at some later point.

 

Thanks for doing all that work! We are really beginning to get some work done here. To my knowledge, this is the first time this data has been published and shared anywhere. Maybe Gemstone should hire you as a private contractor. Great job!

 

Joe

[BillyBatson4360]

First of all, thanks for clearing up the mystery of the two #99's. I have already adjusted my master list.

 

I'm glad to finally be able to find a practical use for the checklist. I actually began assembling it when I was putting together my collection of Dennis Giants that Wiseman had worked on. It was frustrating to see eBay listings that just gave issue numbers with no pictures or titles to go along with them. I never knew if I needed the issues or not. So I began to keep a record so I wouldn't wind up bidding on something I didn't really want.

 

Be my guest if you want to take the list from #111 on out. As I said, I am primarily a fan of the Wiseman comics and don't have many of the non-Wiseman Giants.

 

Don't get me started on Overstreet. There are errors and omissions (particularly among non-superhero books) that have been in there for over a decade. I belive the people who put out that book have forgotten they were supposed to reflect the marketplace. Now, they think they're trying to lead the marketplace.

[BillyBatson4360]

We have talked quite a bit about "Dennis in Hawaii" - probably the first comic book that ever sent its creative team "on location" to get story and art ideas. Joe (CBG) posted a scan from one of the reprints, so I thought I would post the cover from that first printing. It's easy to spot because it was the only edition published by Pines Comics and the only one (of the covers to carry the # 6) that doesn't mention what printing it is:

 

[ArnoldTBlumberg]

"Don't get me started on overstreet. There are errors and omissions (particularly among non-superhero books) that have been in there for over a decade."

 

You could contribute to the Guide and the hobby by actually *telling* us about these errors and omissions and providing information that we can use to improve the book.

[Harvey Dude]

There was a time, many years ago, that I was purchasing #1 issues. I had an opportunity to

go through some of my comic boxes and I did locate one Dennis Book.

I do not recollect seeing it in this thread yet.

 

 

[BillyBatson4360]

This is a bit off-topic, but I'm trying to add an avatar to my posts. My problem sems to be file size. No matter how I compress the jpeg file, it's still too big to upload. No only that, but the higher the compression ratios, the blotchier the color becomes.

 

How do some of you get such great looking avatars? Expecially, adamstrange - yours seems so sharp, colorful, and filled with details. What's the trick?

[ComicBookGuy]

"Don't get me started on overstreet. There are errors and omissions (particularly among non-superhero books) that have been in there for over a decade."

 

You could contribute to the Guide and the hobby by actually *telling* us about these errors and omissions and providing information that we can use to improve the book.

 

Thanks for visiting the thread, Arnold! The guide has been complimented and cited in here plenty, so you ARE appreciated. The accurate information in the guide regarding the confusing numbering on the Dennis Giants / Bonus Magazine is especially helpful as is the artist information.

 

By the way, you may have seen the Dennis on Safety promo I posted a couple days ago, the one that is not in the guide. Is the info that I posted enough to help you out with the guide? I'd love to contribute and do my part, but I'm extremely skittish about opening the cover to scan the inside cover. I could scan the back cover if you wish. If the guide ever needs to verify info or has a question about Dennis comics, please feel free to contact me as I have them all.

 

Joe

[ComicBookGuy]

This is a bit off-topic, but I'm trying to add an avatar to my posts. My problem sems to be file size. No matter how I compress the jpeg file, it's still too big to upload. No only that, but the higher the compression ratios, the blotchier the color becomes.

 

How do some of you get such great looking avatars? Expecially, adamstrange - yours seems so sharp, colorful, and filled with details. What's the trick?

 

Bill, there are some very quirky things I've discovered when posting here:

 

1) Make the file name of your picture consist of only numbers and letters. Do NOT use symbols such as !@#$%^&*()_+.

 

2) Do not alter or rotate a file after scanning it. Many times this has complicated my postings for some unknown reason.

 

3) Put your scan settings at the lowest possible dpi setting before scanning.

 

These three "tricks" have enabled me to post everything I want. Thanks for reminding me that I need to add an avatar also. I hope to do that this weekend. I'm still deciding what to use.

 

I'm looking forward to doing lots of postings on here in the next week. Right now I just got home after a 15 hour day..

 

Joe

[mrwoogieman]

Man guys, this thread is impressive stuff for Dennis fans of all stripes.

 

 

 

One of my favorite threads lately. I'm not collecting them right now, but I remember reading the digests over and over and over when I was a kid. Keep it up!

[the blob]

"Dennis the Menace in Hawaii (Giant # 6) – Possibly the best-selling comic of all time and the 1st of the classic “on-location” vacation specials"

 

So was the Hawaii issue in 1973 (#114) a reprint of this?

 

Mid-70s giant size Dennises not worth the bother even if really cheap?

 

I'll be honest, it's not a title the has much appeal to me other than being an important piece of americana. I didn't even read it as a kid, although i did read Richie Rich.

[the blob]

ok, i went back looked at pictures and have answer my own question... my dennis bonus magazine series # 114 contains reprints from 1962 and later

 

question is whether i should go back and get some more in case i ever want to let any of my kid read 'em ... a nice thick child appropriate comic from the 70s for 50 cents is worth the price of admission

 

this part i don't understand about many comic shops... they'll have the expensive new donald duck books on the rack ($6.95) and archies at cover price, etc., but they'll toss nice looking gold key/whitman donald duck, deniis the menace, archies, etc. and other child appropriate books in the 50 cents/$1 bin where nobody will look at them -- they could just bag 'n board these oldies, put them on the rack for $2.00 - $3.00 and I bet they sell great to a parent looking for some comics for their kids

 

anyway, just a thought. comics aren't just about super stregth, spidey sense and retractable blades

[bullseye]

beautiful books, hopefully someday i can find some nice copies, i am huge into dennis and archie but the books are very scarce if not nonexistant around here.

[ComicBookGuy]

First of all, to anyone with the Bible Kids Series, the link Flying-D posted seemed to indicate that Al Wiseman worked on that series. I thought he left Kethcum's employ long before those. Can anyone of you with access to those books let us know whether or not Wiseman did the art? If you're not sure, just post some scans, I'm pretty sure I can spot Wiseman's style.

 

Secondly, there was a request for "key" issues of Dennis. I've assembled such a list. A word of warning, tho', this is just my opinion. Another Dennis fan may come up with a different list. And as I'm an unabashed fan of Al Wiseman, I can't really speak to the highlights of the book after he stopped drawing it.

 

First, a little publishing history:

 

Publishers:

Standard

Regular Series # 1-14

Vacation Special (nn)

Christmas Special (nn)

 

Pines

Regular Series # 15-31

Giants # 2-6 (Hawaii)

 

Hallden/Fawcett

(I’ve always thought “Hallden” was a holding company put together by Hank Ketchum and the Hall Syndicate for the express purpose of publishing Dennis the Menace comic books. The name, of course, came from “Hall” Syndicate and “Den”nis the Menace. I know of no other titles published by Hallden. It also looks like Hallden then subcontracted the actual printing/publishing to Fawcett.

Regular Series #32-76

Giants # 6 (Christmas)-75

Best of Dennis the Menace # 1-5

Television Special #1-2

Dennis the Menace & Joey # 1

Dennis the Menace & Ruff # 1

Dennis the Menace Fun Book # 1

 

Fawcett

(I, too, find it ironic that Captain Marvel’s publisher’s last venture in the comic book arena would be Dennis)

Regular Series #77-166

Bonus Series # 76-194

Dennis the Menace & Friends # 1-42 (two # 1’s, two #2’s, no #3 or 4)

Pocket Full of Fun (Digest) #1-49

 

Marvel

Regular Series # 1-13

Very Best of Dennis the Menace (Digest) # 1-3

 

Bill thanks for all your work on this list. Now that I have a little time, I checked this closely, and here are a couple things to add:

 

Fawcett:

Overstreet says there is a Very Best of Dennis the Menace Digest 1, 2 (different from the Marvel one); I will have to check my digests and will follow up on this later.

Pocket Full of Fun Digests go to #50, not #49.

Big Bonus Series 10, 11

Fun Fest 16, 17

Dennis & His Friends began as you stated, but 37 is the last comic issue, then it is in digest form from 38-46.

The Bonus series is correct except it should read 76-95, 97-194 (two 95's)

Triple Feature (one shot, 1961)

 

Word Books:

Dennis the Menace & the Bible Kids 1-10

 

Marvel:

Overstreet says there is a Marvel Comics Digest 1-3, different from Very Best of...

 

Maybe we could add the giveaways in and have a totally comprehensive list.

 

Joe

[ComicBookGuy]

There was a time, many years ago, that I was purchasing #1 issues. I had an opportunity to

go through some of my comic boxes and I did locate one Dennis Book.

I do not recollect seeing it in this thread yet.

 

 

 

Very nice comic, Harvey Dude! That's one of the number 1's from the Dennis & His Friends series from the late 1960s. I think pretty much all the Dennis stuff from the 1950s has been posted and we're moving up through the 1960s now chronologically, so you're several years ahead of us. Your comic serves well as a preview of the later art, which is much different from the stuff posted so far, as we will see. Thanks for sharing!

Joe

[ComicBookGuy]

Before we are off the topic of the extremely hard-to-find Dennis the Menace and the Bible Kids series, I will post all ten issues. I have a couple points to address with regard to this series.

 

1) First, it's definitely an "oddball" title. When I saw an issue of this as a kid, I thought it an awkward juxaposition of Sunday school and comic books, and it didn't seem fair! As an adult, the series doesn't do a lot for me. There are some beautiful covers that are clearly by Ketcham, but I have yet to read one cause I just can't fathom what Dennis is doing running around with Jesus and Moses! One of these days I'll break open the covers to see what the heck these are about. I own them only because I am a Dennis completist.

 

2) The first six issues were published in 1977 by Word Books and are not too tough to find in mid-grade or below. They show up on eBay now and then, usually trashed, but, interestingly enough, never from comic dealers. When you find them, it's usually someone cleaning out their basement and you see a couple of these sticking out of a stack of junk.

 

3) Inside the cover, it states that the stories are by Fred Toole and the art is by Ketcham. It is pretty clear Ketcham did the covers of all ten. His style is unmistakable, but the interior art is NOT Ketcham. It was clearly done by an assistant, and it is clearly NOT Wiseman.

 

Here is the first one:

 

[ComicBookGuy]

The second issue also credits Toole being writer and Ketcham with the art. I do believe the art is by Ketcham in this one and not an assistant or Wiseman...

 

[ComicBookGuy]

The third issue has the same credits as the first two, but it looks like a Ketcham cover with someone else doing the interior, and it looks like the same artist as #1:

 

[ComicBookGuy]

The credits for #4 to #6 seem to be the same: Ketcham cover, unknown interior artwork, Toole story:

 

[ComicBookGuy]

The fifth:

 

[ComicBookGuy]

The sixth and last of the issues released in 1977: