Denace the menace comics

[deckerd@agcs.com]

Tina asked about Dennis the Menace comics, and Mr. Decker was 
Dwight-on-the-spot with an answer...

> Unless, I'm sadly misinformed, I don't think there have been any 
> Dennis the Menace comic books published in the US for at least 30 
> years. In a way, it's a pity, as I remember some Dennis the Menace 
> comics that had Dennis and his family going on vacation to various 
> exotic places (like Hawaii, I think), and the stories and back-up 
> features included fairly solid information about those places. 
> Anyway, I remember them fondly as great stuff for a little kid like I 
> was then. And I seem to recall, too, that the Dennis comics were 
> published by an unusual company (was it Fawcett, as the last 
> remaining comic book in the line?) I also remember that the comics 
> were a bit unusual in that the word balloon lettering used both upper 
> and lower case letters, instead of just all caps. But like I said, I 
> don't think any Dennis comic books have been published in about
> 30 years. The newspaper comic panel/strip is about all there is, 
> though there might be paperback book collections of it. I saw
> an article a few years ago about the creator, Hank Ketchum; he
> was living in France, but was moving back to the US partly because
> he didn't want to be too out of touch with daily life there. Otherwise 
> it wouldn't be too long before he showed Dennis's father coming home 
> from work riding a bicycle, wearing a beret, and carrying a long loaf of 
> bread under his arm. (Actually, Dennis the Menace was already showing
> signs of severe datedness and out-of-touchness, if only for the references 
> to Dennis's hero "Cowboy Bob" long after such cowboy kiddie heroes died 
> out here.)
> So...I'm sorry, but I can't help you with the Dennis the Menace comics. 
> What about Disney comics, though? We've got a few of those, and a heaping 
> helping of Carl Barks and Don Rosa stories can get you through those long 
> dark nights of the soul when you can't find any stories about Dennis, 
> Margaret, and Mr. Wilson.
>      
> --Dwight Decker
>