Trivia / Dennis the Menace (US)

• Author Avatar: Henry Mitchell, based on Hank Ketcham, the strip's creator; Alice Mitchell was based on Hank's first wife, Alice Mahar. When Hank came home one day, his wife Alice came into the studio, after their son, Dennis Ketcham, had wrecked Hank's bedroom instead of napping, complaining that "Your son is a menace!", and thus, Dennis "The Menace" Mitchell was created.
• Channel Hop: The comic book ran under several different publishers from 1953-1982, starting with Standard Comics. Standard folded in 1956, although the comic did continue for another two years under the Pines Comics label. Fawcett Comics then took over the rights and published Dennis until 1980. During this time, reprints were published by Haliden and CBS Publishing. Hank Ketcham then sold the rights to Marvel Comics for a short-lived run in the early 80s. Dennis was also adapted as Dennis and the Bible Kids in 1977, published by Word Books, Inc. (now HarperCollins).
• Franchise Zombie: Since Hank Ketcham handed the strip off to his successors, it has lost most of what made it unique, and has pretty much degenerated into Dennis making inoffensively cute remarks, much like The Family Circus. The Comic Strip Doctor did a whole column on the strip's descent into lameness.
• Kids' Meal Toy: Dairy Queen released several toy promotions based on the strip, as Dennis was its mascot from 1971 to 2001. A few examples include:
  • In 1994, toys of Dennis, Joey, Margaret, and Ruff were released. Dennis and Joey's toys were of them driving cars, while Margaret and Ruff's were figures of them with detachable costumes. Dennis drove a fire engine, Joey drove a race car, Margaret had an astronaut costume, and Ruff had a dragon costume.
  • In 1996, a set of four racers were released. These consisted of Dennis in a soapbox racer, Joey in a fire engine, Ruff in a wagon, and Margaret in a baby carriage.
  • Also in 1996, a set of four games were released. These included a vanishing game, a maze, and two wrist flip games.
  • In 1997, a set of four train cars were released. These consisted of Dennis riding an engine, Joey riding a tanker, Ruff riding a flatbed, and Margaret riding a caboose.
• Outlived Its Creator: The strip is still running after Hank Ketcham's death.
• Similarly Named Works: The strip shares its title with a British comic. The two are otherwise unrelated but coincidentally debuted the same day. Both works change their names subtly in each other's respective home bases (Dennis within the U.K., Dennis the Menace and Gnasher or Dennis and Gnasher within the U.S.) to avoid confusion.

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