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The Ultimate Dennis the Menace Thread
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1,424 posts in this topic

Tim, I agree that some of mine are high grade; I just refrain from saying factual until they are in a slab graded...if that ever happens. I've received my fair share of surprises from cgc in the past -- both good and bad!

When you say, "On the other hand, perhaps nothing would still emerge because they truly are rare to non-existent in high grade," I think that

is the most logical conclusion to draw based on my decades of Dennis collecting. But it could change: an old Standard warehouse could be discovered tomorrow. (Let's only hope!!! grin.gif)

893crossfingers-thumb.gif

Joe

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These are not nearly as vintage, but they are high grade, both from 1971. Both are in the high VF/NM to NM- range.

 

Dennis the Menace Bonus Magazine Series 91: Fun Book:

funbook.jpg

 

Dennis the Menace Bonus Magazine Series 94: Jackpot:

jackpot.jpg

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893applaud-thumb.gif

 

Nice books, Flying Donut! It's great to see someone else's copies. That cover to the Fun Book is one of the best ever drawn in my opinion. Great expression! Thanks for posting.

 

Here is Dennis the Menace Giant #3, from Winter 1956, which we know is actually the fourth giant. The discoloration on the cover really bothers me, but it's on all the ones I've ever seen...

 

730651-giant3.jpg

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This may be the greatest Dennis the Menace comic of all! One of these days I'll go through my collection and see which issue has been reprinted the most. I believe it is this. I also think and suspect this may be the first graphic novel ever. It is a 100 page story told in chapters. I may be right or I may be wrong. I don't know. Can anybody tell me an earlier comic - earlier than the publication date of Summer 1958 - that tells a 100 page comic story? For your consideration is a 5th printing copy only for the reason that it is in the best condition of the several printings I have. First printing is from Summer 1958. This fifth printing is from Summer 1962. All printings of Dennis Giant #6 have the same cover. Interesting to note that the first printing does not state "first printing" on the cover. The second printing, in Summer 1959, says "third printing" on the cover. The third printing from Summer 1960 says "fourth printing" on the cover. There was no reprinting during Summer of 1961, so this scan of "5th printing" is actually a fourth printing! foreheadslap.gif If anybody sees a comic with "2nd printing" on the cover, let me know, since Overstreet and I don't think it exists. Perhaps the first printing sold so well that it went through two printings without any changes occurring between the two printings. Who knows, and, to be honest, who cares? I would much rather focus on the art and story. thumbsup2.gif

 

730655-giant6.jpg

 

cloud9.gifcloud9.gifcloud9.gif

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And here is Dennis the Menace Giant #6 -- again! These guys could make great comics, but they sure couldn't count. So there are TWO number 6's and TWO number 1's, so this is really Dennis Giant #8...I think... 893scratchchin-thumb.gif

Publication date is Winter 1956.

 

730656-giant6christmas.jpg

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893applaud-thumb.gif893applaud-thumb.gif893applaud-thumb.gif Those giant-sizes are fantastic! The Hawaii issue, and the other travel issues, are great stuff, maybe the closest thing there is to a Carl Barks book. My personal favorite travel issue was where he went to Mexico, there was some laugh out funny stuff in there.

 

BTW, is it just me or do some of the covers signed by Hank Ketcham look more like the work of Al Wiseman?

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The Nancy and Lulu Summer Camp Annuals the John Stanley wrote are all connected short chapters of one long book length story. I think those Annuals come in just under 100 pages though I am not really sure. They are well worth searching out, particulary the Nancy one with a skunk on the cover, one of Stanley's best, imo.

 

 

This may be the greatest Dennis the Menace comic of all! One of these days I'll go through my collection and see which issue has been reprinted the most. I believe it is this. I also think and suspect this may be the first graphic novel ever. It is a 100 page story told in chapters. I may be right or I may be wrong. I don't know. Can anybody tell me an earlier comic - earlier than the publication date of Summer 1958 - that tells a 100 page comic story? For your consideration is a 5th printing copy only for the reason that it is in the best condition of the several printings I have. All printings have the same cover...

 

730655-giant6.jpg

 

cloud9.gifcloud9.gifcloud9.gif

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The Nancy and Lulu Summer Camp Annuals the John Stanley wrote are all connected short chapters of one long book length story. I think those Annuals come in just under 100 pages though I am not really sure. They are well worth searching out, particulary the Nancy one with a skunk on the cover, one of Stanley's best, imo.

 

 

This may be the greatest Dennis the Menace comic of all! One of these days I'll go through my collection and see which issue has been reprinted the most. I believe it is this. I also think and suspect this may be the first graphic novel ever. It is a 100 page story told in chapters. I may be right or I may be wrong. I don't know. Can anybody tell me an earlier comic - earlier than the publication date of Summer 1958 - that tells a 100 page comic story? For your consideration is a 5th printing copy only for the reason that it is in the best condition of the several printings I have. All printings have the same cover...

 

cloud9.gifcloud9.gifcloud9.gif

 

It Rhymes with Lust was published in 1950. Still, the DTM Annual is very cool.

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The Nancy and Lulu Summer Camp Annuals the John Stanley wrote are all connected short chapters of one long book length story. I think those Annuals come in just under 100 pages though I am not really sure. They are well worth searching out, particulary the Nancy one with a skunk on the cover, one of Stanley's best, imo.

 

Interesting to know! Do you know what year these came out?

Joe

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893applaud-thumb.gif893applaud-thumb.gif893applaud-thumb.gif Those giant-sizes are fantastic! The Hawaii issue, and the other travel issues, are great stuff, maybe the closest thing there is to a Carl Barks book. My personal favorite travel issue was where he went to Mexico, there was some laugh out funny stuff in there.

 

BTW, is it just me or do some of the covers signed by Hank Ketcham look more like the work of Al Wiseman?

 

I'm glad you like these, Tim. The early giants are the best Dennis books in my opinion. I'm not sure about your answer to the art question and have assumed that anything that says "Ketcham" IS Ketcham. Yet...the cartoon that appears in the newspaper daily still says "Dennis the Menace by Hank Ketcham" even though he's been dead since 2001. So maybe I need to look into this.

 

Here is Dennis the Menace Giant #7, from Winter 1959:

 

731620-giant7.jpg

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It Rhymes with Lust was published in 1950.

 

Adam, I'm not familiar with this publication. Is this an early example of a "graphic novel"?

Joe

 

Yup. Matt Baker art. CBM had an article on this a few years ago.

 

Here's a link if you want to buy one:

 

http://pages.metropoliscomics.com/365/PictPage/1922381223.html

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Hawaii, Hollywood, Mexico... cloud9.gif These issues bring back some great memories. All of my copies (or perhaps I should say my sister's copies) were reprints, of course, although the Mexico reprint was from the 60s, I think, which we picked up in some second-hand store somewhere.

 

Joe, what are the dates of these travel Giants?

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It Rhymes with Lust was published in 1950.

 

Adam, I'm not familiar with this publication. Is this an early example of a "graphic novel"?

Joe

 

Yup. Matt Baker art. CBM had an article on this a few years ago.

 

Here's a link if you want to buy one:

 

http://pages.metropoliscomics.com/365/PictPage/1922381223.html

 

Adam, thanks for the info! I checked this out. Very interesting! It is digest-sized and labeled a "picture novel." Clearly this is an earlier predecessor to the modern "graphic novel," much earlier than the Summer 1958 date of Dennis in Hawaii. Since the book was in a slab and not in my hands, obviously, I couldn't determine page count or if it was in color, but it is clearly an early version of the graphic novel as we know it today.

What's interesting, also, in this discussion of "What might be the first graphic novel?" is Tim's reference to Carl Barks' books. I went back and checked my copy of "Donald Duck Finds Pirate's Gold!" from 1942 and saw that it is a 64-page, full color (4 color?) story, so perhaps this is the first. Is there one earlier than 1942? In the end, then, Dennis creators may not be credited with inventing the earliest form of the graphic novel -- it seems the guys at Disney and St. John's (It Rhymes with Lust publisher) deserve that credit -- but Dennis creators were certainly some of the earliest ones to begin using it successfully on a regular basis.

Joe

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Joe, what are the dates of these travel Giants?

 

Tim, thanks for spotting the absence of dates on the giants. I went back and edited the posts to include the dates.

 

Here is Dennis Giant #9, from Summer 1961, with an absolutely hilarious cover:

 

731795-giant9.jpg

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Stanley stopped doing Lulu sometime around 1958/59, so these annual are from them or earlier. I'll dig them up tonight and see what the dates are.

I believe the Nancy annuals are done after his run on Lulu, but again, I'd have to look that up to be sure.

 

The Nancy and Lulu Summer Camp Annuals the John Stanley wrote are all connected short chapters of one long book length story. I think those Annuals come in just under 100 pages though I am not really sure. They are well worth searching out, particulary the Nancy one with a skunk on the cover, one of Stanley's best, imo.

 

Interesting to know! Do you know what year these came out?

Joe

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