Dennis the Menace (U.S. comics)

For the British comic of the same name, see Dennis the Menace and Gnasher.

Dennis the Menace
Author(s)Hank Ketcham
Marcus Hamilton
Ron Ferdinand
Scott Ketcham
Current status/scheduleStill running
Launch dateMarch 12, 1951; 73 years ago (March 12, 1951)
Syndicate(s)King Features Syndicate
Publisher(s)Fantagraphics Books
Genre(s)Gag cartoon

Dennis the Menace is a daily syndicated newspaper comic strip originally created, written, and illustrated by Hank Ketcham. The comic strip made its debut on March 12, 1951[1] in 16 newspapers and was originally distributed by Post-Hall Syndicate.[2] It is now written and drawn by Ketcham's former assistants, Marcus Hamilton (weekdays, since 1995), Ron Ferdinand (Sundays, since 1981), and son Scott Ketcham (since 2010), and distributed to at least 1,000 newspapers in 48 countries and in 19 languages by King Features Syndicate.[3] The comic strip usually runs for a single panel on weekdays and a full strip on Sundays.

It has been adapted to other popular media, including several television shows, both live-action and animated, and several feature films, including theatrical and direct-to-video releases.

Coincidentally, a UK comic strip of the same name debuted on the same day.[4] The two are not related and change their names subtly in each other's respective countries of origin to avoid confusion.

  1. ^ "History". DennisTheMenace.com. Archived from the original on July 5, 2014. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
  2. ^ Markstein, Donald D. (2010). "Dennis the Menace". Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
  3. ^ Van Gelder, Lawrence (June 2, 2001). "Hank Ketcham, Father of Dennis the Menace, Dies at 81". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 13, 2013. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
  4. ^ "The curious tale of two menacing children named Dennis". The Courier. Retrieved January 29, 2022.