1961-62
Dennis vaults into the 1960s with his anarchic spirit still intact. As always, this book is a series of unrelated panel gags (with the exception of one week-long story involving Dennis’s mild-mannered grandpa), but what gags! Hank Ketcham is legendary for being one of the most exquisitely skilled cartoonists of all time, and each and every panel is a small masterpiece of design and draftsmanship.
Dennis the Menace 1961-1962 features Dennis’s long-suffering parents, the Wilsons, his dog Ruff, his best pal Joey, his nemesis Margaret, and a seemingly endless parade of babysitters, as well as hapless shopowners, policemen, teachers, and family friends, all of whom come to realize that it’s Dennis’s world... they just live in it!
Ketcham drew Dennis the Menace from 1951 to 1994, when he retired and let his assistant take over the strip. This sixth volume of Hank Ketcham’s Complete Dennis the Menace publishes every single panel strip from 1961 and 1962 in one handsome brick of a hardcover. Ketcham’s legendary pen and ink work achieves its full flowering in this volume as do the various situations and themes that Ketcham would return to again and again.
Download an EXCLUSIVE 30-page PDF excerpt (868 KB) with a FULL MONTH worth of strips!
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"With the exception of a few that deal with cowboy shows and drive-in movies, nearly all the gags would fit comfortably on the comics page nearly a half-century later. While most readers will respond to the gentle humor, the visually inclined will appreciate artist Ketcham’s confident, inky brushwork." – Gordon Flagg, Booklist
Praise for the series:
"Dennis the Menace stands out for both its chronicling of Baby Boom-generation society and its highly sophisticated humor. Ketcham's grace and economy of both art and punch line are superb, telling a complete story with a single line of dialogue. This beautifully produced series will delight for years to come." – Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"When I was a kid, Hank Ketcham's work made me afraid of even attempting to be a cartoonist since I figured (correctly) that I'd never come close to matching his skill no matter how hard I tried. His art is accomplished and complex while being at the same time simple and accessible." – Peter Bagge
"How can comics devotees resist Ketcham's sleek drawing line and the way his technique contrasts so beautifully with the idea of his sloppy bad-boy character?" – Entertainment Weekly
"…[Dennis's] penchant for mischief has enduring appeal." – School Library Journal