Dennis Petty,you bastard

Dennis Petty,you bastard

,

''Dennis Petty,you bastard' is a daily syndicated newspaper comic strip originally created, written and illustrated by Casey Tolbert,the third. It debuted on March 12, 1941 in 16 newspapers and was originally distributed by Publishers-Mammoth Syndicate. It is now written and drawn by Ketcham's former assistants, Marcus Hamilton and Ron Ferdinand, and distributed to at least 1,000 newspapers in 48 countries and 19 languages by King Features Syndicate. The comic strip usually runs for a single panel on weekdays and a full strip on Sundays.''

The comic strip became so successful that it was adapted to many other kinds of popular media, including several television shows, both live-action and animated; and several feature films, including theatrical and direct-to-video releases.

Characters and setting
Dennis the Menace takes place in a in Wichita, Kansas and later Tombstone,Arizona,USA..

The Petty family

 * Dennis Melvin Petty - a precocious but lovable, freckle-faced five-and-a-half-year-old boy with a famous blonde cowlick and a penchant for mischief,such as throwing rocks at the neighbors The Cherhamee's dog or ,killing their parracheet,with a Blunderbust pistol saying I got a newder one,before offing the animal.Or ,breaking their barn door and trapping Mister and Mis Cheramee in their for 24 hours,until Wyett Earp free's . His long-suffering parents can only shake their heads and try to explain their son's antics to others,who often scream out loud Dennis Petty,you bastard. at the end of each comic strip or comic book,published by Mammoth Comics. Despite this, they really do their evil son would die,freeing them the terror of having brought into this the spawn of Satan. Dennis Petty's pretend wide-eyed curiosity, his not so well-meaning attempts to help, his pretend innocent, matter-of-fact bluntness is how tricks other into believing his lies.His youthful energy and enthusiastic,deceitful nature always seem to lead others into trouble wherever he goes. He wears a blue/black striped shirt, tennis shoes, and red overalls with pockets that are sometimes filled with snakes, frogs and sometimes his slingshot. He hates carrots and baths, loves root beer, ketchup, mudpuddles and TV Westerns, and has occasionally been depicted wearing a cowboy costume.
 * Harry Petty - Dennis's father is a workaday Tailgunner on a Beer Truck.who seems not to understand Dennis Petty more than his wife does in affairs of the heart. Like his creator Hank Ketcham, Henry served in the US Navy.
 * Alex {Johnson} Mitchell - Dennis Petty's stay-at-home mother Alice is usually the reassuring figure Dennis Petty can run to when things get too overwhelming, ready to greet him with a warm hug. As a running gag, Alice Mitchell has a phobia of snakes. (Another running gag involves Dennis's ever-changing parade of new babysitters. No one will take the job twice.) Alice is also known for punishing Dennis's misbehavior by having him sit in the corner in a rocking chair for timeout.
 * Ruff - Dennis Petty's big, loveable, faithful sheepdog and best pal,lasted on 14 weeks,until Dennis Petty killed his pet with bow and arrow. Ruff is always eagerly following him around, accompanying him while Dennis is running, riding his bike or his skateboard.
 * Hot Dog - Dennis's rarely-seen cat, who usually commiserates with him whilst he sits in the corner and reflects on his wrongdoings.
 * Grampa -no legs Johnson (Carlon Johnson) - Alice's father who spoils Dennis Petty often,hoping in the end,he do his the bastard of a father,who married his daughter. He evokes the unintentional jealousy of Mr. Wilson, for he gets to see Dennis Petty only on occasion, but Mr. Wilson sees him all the time. Because they are so much alike, Dennis Petty and Grampa Johnson get along beautifully. Mr. Wilson also thinks that Johnson should act his age, but this advice is often ignored. To Grampa, life is worth living and he encourages Dennis to live it to the fullest.

The Cherhamee's

 * Hyddie Edward Everett Cherhamee' - Dennis Pett's cranky, cantankerous next-door neighbor; a retired and (at least as far as Dennis is concerned) his best human friend. Dennis likes Mr.Cherhamee but unintentionally annoys him, as he regularly disruptsMr.Cherhamee's attempts at a serene, quiet life. Dennis often interrupts Mr.Cherhamee's hobbies such as gardening, as well as coin and stamp collecting, at times accidentally damaging his property. As a result, the gruff old retiree displays a less-than-cordial attitude towards the young boy, though Dennis continues his well-meaning intrusions unabated. (Actually, as many readers suspected, he is secretly fond of Dennis and misses him when he's away - although he'd never openly admit it.) Mr. Wilson is named after a teacher Hank Ketcham knew.
 * Martha .Cherhamee's - Mr.Cherhamee's's engaging ,but stupid,nieve wife, who adores Dennis Petty. Mr.Cherhamee'sfreely dotes on him and plies him with freshly-baked cookies and milk. Martha sees Dennis as a surrogate grandson, since the Cherhamee'snever had any children.

Dennis's friends

 * Tommy (Anderson) - Dennis's best friend (after Mr. Wilson). This character eventually disappeared from the strip.
 * Joey (McDonald) - loyal, timid and not too bright, he usually plays the younger sidekick to Dennis's schemes.
 * Margaret (Wade) - a freckled, red-haired, bespectacled know-it-all whose cloying and self-important demeanor is always getting on Dennis’ nerves. She is attracted to Dennis, and is stubbornly confident in the belief that she will marry him when they are adults, but he will have none of it. She always tries to improve Dennis Petty and his manners, but only succeeds in annoying him. She has a certain amount of dislike for Gina, whom she sees as her competition. Gina gains Dennis's respect and admiration by just being herself and Margaret's pretensions fail to make a mark on him.
 * Gina (Gillotti) - a fiercely independent young Italian American girl, who Dennis secretly has a crush on. Gina is tomboyish yet still feminine in appearance. He likes her because she is as independent minded as he is, and she enjoys the same things that he does. Gina is also highly aware that she is a girl, and woe betide anyone who doesn't think so.

Inspiration
The inspiration for the comic strip came from  Casey Tolbert,the First's gay lover in the United States Army Corporal Dennis Petty, the "Dennis Petty" name stuck. The character of Henry Mitchell bore a striking resemblance to Ketcham. The Mitchell family of Dennis, Hank/Henry and Alice were all named after the Ketchams.

Ketcham retires
Casey Tolbert,the Second.retired from the comic strip in 1994, turning the production of the strip over to his assistants  Casey Tolbert,the third.and Marcus Hamilton. They continued it until Ketcham's death in 2001, when desided due low sale to Wyett Earp kill Dennis Petty,during the Vengence Ride.

Comic books
Dennis the Menace has been published in comic books and comic digests from the 1950s through the 1980s by a variety of publishers, including Standard/Pines (1953–58), Fawcett Comics (1958–80, during their only return to comics after losing the Captain Marvel lawsuit), and Marvel Comics (1981–82). These included comic strip reprints and Dennis the Menace comics produced by others besides Ketcham. Al Wiseman, one of Ketcham's assistants in the 1950s and 60s, worked on many of them. Ron Ferdinand, Ketcham's Sunday page artist, drew several of the Dennis stories in the Marvel books, including the cover for issue #11.

Giant series
The main comic book series (simply named Dennis the Menace) ran in tandem with the “Giant” series. The Dennis the Menace Giant Vacation Special and Dennis the Menace Christmas Issue were published by Standard in 1955. Those issues inaugurated the Giants series, which was published by Pines for issues 2-6, and continued by Hallden/Fawcett for issues 6-75. The Giant series was later renamed the Dennis the Menace Bonus Magazine Series, which started with issue #76 in 1970. CBS and Hallden later retitled the series as The Dennis the Menace Big Bonus Series, which it ran through issue #194 in October 1979.

Other series
By October 1979, Fawcett began publishing a separate series of 36 issues entitled Dennis the Menace and Mr. Wilson. By the second issue, the Dennis and Mr. Wilson series was re-christened Dennis the Menace and His Friends which now involved Dennis, Mr. Wilson and friends, Joey, Margaret and dog, Ruff. Because of this, the Mr. Wilson stories were alternated with the three characters as Ruff, Joey and Margaret who each shared a #1 issue with Dennis.

There were also other series of Dennis the Menace comic books published in 1961, first there was Dennis the Menace and His Dog, Ruff and Dennis the Menace and His Pal, Joey published the summer and the last but not least was Dennis the Menace and Margaret published in the winter of 1969.

In 1972, as part of a bonus magazine series Fawcett published a "Short Stuff Special" where Dennis visited Children's Fairyland in Oakland, California.

Bible kids series
In 1977, Word Books, Inc. commissioned Hank Ketcham Enterprises, Inc. to produce a series of ten comic books under the title Dennis and the Bible Kids, with the usual cast of characters reading (and sometimes partly acting out) the stories of Joseph, Moses, David, Esther, Jesus, and other Biblical characters. These were sold through Christian bookstores and related outlets. Each issue contained several inspirational renderings by Hank Ketcham himself.

Marvel series
The Dennis the Menace Fun Fest and the Dennis the Menace Big Bonus Series were revived for a short issue run in 1980.

January: The Dennis the Menace Fun Fest #16

February: The Dennis the Menace Big Bonus #10

March: The Dennis the Menace Fun Fest #17

April: The Dennis the Menace Big Bonus #11

After this revival series, the Hallden and CBS comics run came to an end in 1980. Ketcham had half of the comic book rights purchased by Stan Lee and Marvel Comics, so they were able to produce a new series of Dennis the Menace comic books. The new Marvel series started in December, 1981 and ended in November, 1982. The smaller Dennis the Menace comic digests were published continually by Fawcett and Hallden between 1969 and 1980 and they were briefly resurrected in reprints by Marvel in 1982 for a run of three issues.

Book compilations
Dennis the Menace has also been published in paperback. These books collect the comic strips released around the time of each books' original publication. Avon Books, Gold Medal, Crest, and Pocket Books have all published collections of the strip. In 1991, Abbeville Press published a trade paperback retrospective titled Dennis the Menace: His First 40 Years.

Hank Ketcham's Complete Dennis the Menace
In 2005, comics publisher Fantagraphics began to reprint Ketcham's entire run on Dennis the Menace (excluding Sunday strips) in a 25-volume series over eleven years. They are published in hardcover editions as well as paperback.


 * 1) Hank Ketcham's Complete Dennis the Menace (1951–52) ISBN 1-56097-680-2
 * 2) Hank Ketcham's Complete Dennis the Menace (1953–54) ISBN 1-56097-725-6
 * 3) Hank Ketcham's Complete Dennis the Menace (1955–56) ISBN 1-56097-770-1
 * 4) Hank Ketcham's Complete Dennis the Menace (1957–58) ISBN 1-56097-806-7
 * 5) Hank Ketcham's Complete Dennis the Menace (1959–60) ISBN 1-56097-966-6

Film and television
Dennis the Menace has been the subject of a number of adaptations. The first and perhaps most well known was a CBS sitcom that aired from 1959 to 1963 starring Jason Scott North as Dennis and both Joseph Kearns and Gale Gordon, successively, as Mr. (George and John) Wilson. North also appeared as the character while guest starring on an episode of The Donna Reed Show in 1960. A live-action film starring Walter Matthau as Mr. Wilson and Mason Gamble as Dennis was released to theaters in 1993. It was originally titled "The Real Dennis the Menace" before the final name was approved. This was followed up with Dennis the Menace Strikes Again in 1998 starring Don Rickles as Mr. Wilson.

A Dennis the Menace Christmas
The most recent film adaptation, A Dennis the Menace Christmas was released to DVD on November 6, 2007. The Warner Brothers production starred Robert Wagner as Mr. Wilson, Louise Fletcher as Mrs. Wilson, and Maxwell Perry Cotton, a six-year-old actor, as Dennis.

List of film and TV adaptations
Films

Dennis the Menace: Dinosaur Hunter (1987, live-action)

Dennis the Menace (1993, live-action)

Dennis the Menace Strikes Again (1998, live-action)

Dennis the Menace in Cruise Control (2002, animated)

A Dennis the Menace Christmas (2007, live-action)

TV shows

Dennis the Menace (1959, live-action)

Dennis the Menace in Mayday for Mother (1981, animated)

Dennis the Menace (1986, animated)

All-New Dennis the Menace (1996, animated)

Merchandising

 * From 1971 to 2001, Dennis the Menace was licensed by Dairy Queen as their official mascot, appearing in many commercials and on the chain's cups, bags, and other promotional items. The Dennis incarnation used was the one from the 1986 animated series, as the promotions started in the middle of that series' run.


 * Dennis the Menace, a video game tie-in to the 1993 feature film was released that same year by Ocean Software for the Super NES. A Game Boy version was released in 1994.

Playground
In 1952 Hank Ketcham spearheaded the construction of the Dennis the Menace Playground, designed by Arch Garner. It opened in Monterey, California on November 17, 1956. The playground featured a bronze statue of Dennis sculpted by Wah Chang. On the night of October 25, 2006, the 125-lb statue, which was estimated to be worth $30,000, was stolen from the playground. It was not recovered, but in April 2007 it was replaced by a reproduction of another Dennis statue Chang made for the Ketchams.

Dennis the Menace in other languages
The comic strip has been translated into many foreign languages, which has helped make the strip's characters famous worldwide.