Customer Reviews

Hank Ketcham's Complete Dennis the Menace 1950-1954 Box Set (Vol. 1-2)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I confess, I love Dennis the Menace..he is a rotten little imp, but he is so funny, and Ketcham..efused him with such life..I love these 50's Dennis funnies because, Dennis really existed in the 50's and 60's, he is of that age and he fits best in that time. These old Dennis funnies are Ketchams best work, Dennis is at his cutest and most malicious, Ketcham drew him slightly different in later years, bigger, less cute, and, frankly less of a menace. As much as I love Dennis, I no longer look for the comic in the daily funnies, he is not longer funny, and the the new artist is lazy and has taken all the fun out of him, Dennis is now so Vanilla and boring, and I hate seeing Dennis on a mobile phone or a computer..it just does not work..I even went so far as to email the new artist, but of course never heard back..I have so much respect for the artist that drew Calvin and Hobbes, he never let Calvin get staid and boring..and he cerainly would NEVER had let another artist draw him...Ketcham sold out..and that is a shame. As for this box set..in a word: priceless.

Hank Ketcham's amazing creation: "Dennis The Menace" is considered by many critics of the comics genre to be the very best new comic introduced in the 1950's. Along with "Peanuts" by the great Charles Schultz, this little one-panel gem would go a long way in helping to modernise the comics smack dab in the middle of the cold war/baby booming era. It struck a note with families of it's day as an anti-Dr. Spock, narrative of a realistic hyper child (Dennis} and his stressed-out, parents {Henry & Alice Mitchell} and their next door neighbors {George & Martha Wilson}.

Dennis is a five year old, ball of fire, who is the star of these tales of family life of the 1950's. And he shows a broad range of emotions as any small boy can. He was an adventurer, armed only with a slingshot for protection and a scruffy dog named "Ruff" by his side. He loved to play in the mud and was not fond of the bathtub. Dennis went to church, got haircuts at the corner barber shop and liked to climb trees. And I wanted into his world because it looked like quite a cool place to hang out in!

The style of Hank Ketcham's, pen lines are amazing. His art look's so simple in it's approach, but it is very complex in form with lot's of dark and light mixed together so perfectly. Ketcham, was an master draftsman, and the success of Dennis the Menace, owes as much to his graphics as it does to his excellent writing abilities. This was the first comic that reeled me in as a small boy in the early sixties, and it is still a favorite of mine today. Along with: "Peanuts", this wonderful comic DID much to help change the entire medium of comics into what it is today.

Most people remember the TV Show and the movies that are based on Dennis Mitchell. For those of you that grew up with these fantasic one panel gems, it will spark some great memories to see these comics once again. And for you folks that have not, you have missed out on a wonderful graphic masterpiece. This is one of the best and most important comics of the last 50 years. That's the whole tale in an nutshell. Don't miss out this time around, here they are in all their glory...The cartoons of: "Dennis The Menace"
FIVE STARS !!!

Anyone that loved Dennis the menace as a kid will still enjoy his logical thinking and mischevious ways. Hardcover books presented as a box set. A must for fans.

A great book. Everytime I open the pages of this book, it makes me laugh out loud. All parents will enjoy the book, however parents with small children can easily relate to it.

This is a total great set to read. if you like dennis the menace get this why you can. its a great set to have and for the price it a great deal.

This collection of earlier cartoons of Dennis the Menace, more than rescuing the classic character for the new generations, deserves a special place in any shelf. A piece of work in graphic design.

When my mom came to stay over this summer. She saw this collection and Hank Ketcham's Complete Dennis the Menace 1955-1958 Box Set in my book cupboard, and her first reaction was. Why are you buying kids comics... :) It isn't one, like any long time DtM reader knows...

Well this set is marvelous. I buy ONLY the box sets (Peanuts is the other series I'm collecting right now) and this is like any other Fantagraphics box set. The slipcase is what you'd expect.

The image implies the book is larger than it actually is. This may well be because of the close up shot, so do pay attention to the book dimensions, if that is a consideration for you. However, each page contains one panel, in a very easy to read size. The book also comes with a fabric book mark. You need it, because you can't read through all of it in one go... and one misses bookmarks in huge collections like The Complete Far Side 1980-1994 (2 vol set).

The dust cover / sleeves on is uncoated paper unlike in the Peanuts collection, so a bit of care needs to be taken when removing and handling the books. The binding is stitched, so you can expect longevity over multiple readings.

On the whole it is a recommended purchase.

I bouight this for my wife. She loved it but she couldn't put it down so I was a bachelor again for the weekend. She was like a kid in a candy store with this set.