Dennis the Menace (U.S. comics)
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 in 16 newspapers and was originally distributed by Post-Hall Syndicate. 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. The comic strip usually runs for a single panel on weekdays and a full strip on Sundays.
| Dennis the Menace | |
|---|---|
| Author(s) | Hank Ketcham Marcus Hamilton Ron Ferdinand Scott Ketcham |
| Current status/schedule | Still running |
| Launch date | March 12, 1951 |
| Syndicate(s) | King Features Syndicate |
| Publisher(s) | Fantagraphics Books |
| Genre(s) | Gag cartoon |
It became so successful that it was adapted to other popular media, including a 1986 series, 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. The two are not related and change their names subtly in each other's respective countries of origin to avoid confusion.