Complete Dennis the Menace HC (2005-2010 Fantagraphics) By Hank Ketcham comic books

Volume 1 - 1st printing. "1951-1952!" Story and art by Hank Ketcham. Ketcham's Complete Dennis the Menace publishes every single panel strip in handsome and thick hardcover volumes resembling a Big Little Book on steroids. The reason for Dennis' success is easy to figure out: It was one of the most brilliantly observed and empathetic comic strips about childhood ever drawn. Ketcham captured the mischievousness, rambunctiousness, and anarchy of a kid's world better than any other cartoonist. Hardcover, 5 1/2-in. x 6 1/2-in., 586 pages, B&W. Cover price $24.95.

Volume 2 - 1st printing. "1953 -1954!" Story and art by Hank Ketcham. This second volume of Hank Ketcham's Complete Dennis the Menace publishes every single panel strip from 1953 and 1954 in one handsome and thick little hardcover volume resembling a Big Little Book on steroids. Dennis is relatively unusual among long-lived strips in that after its first couple of years, it achieved its definitive look. And although Ketcham had not yet added any of Dennis's friends (such as Margaret and Joey), an elderly neighboring couple begins to appear now and again. Poor George and Martha Wilson, little do they realize what's in store for them! Introductory essay by R.C. Harvey. Hardcover, 5 1/2-in. x 6 1/2-in., 586 pages, B&W. Cover price $24.95.

Volume 3 - 1st printing. "1955 -1956!" Story and art by Hank Ketcham. Hank Ketcham's Complete Dennis the Menace is one of the most successful books in the company's history, greeted by reviews with praise similar to that garnered by The Complete Peanuts. This third volume publishes every single panel strip from 1955 and 1956 in one handsome and thick hardcover volume. Ketcham's legendary pen and ink work achieves its full flowering in this volume, as do the various situations and themes that Ketcham would return to: the first "split screen" (two-panel strip) that Ketcham would occasionally use; Dennis actually flirts with a girl; he rats Dad out to Mom; exacerbates confrontations between Dad and the police; and stymies hapless baby-sitters. Oh, and Mr. Wilson finally comes front-and-center as Dennis' #1 victim! Hardcover, 5 1/2-in. x 6 1/2-in., 644 pages, B&W. Cover price $24.95.

Volume 4 - 1st printing. "1957 -1958!" Story and art by Hank Ketcham. No one captured the mischievousness, rambunctiousness, and anarchy of a kid's world better than cartoonist Hank Ketcham with Dennis the Menace. The strip appeals to both parents and children - while parents shake their head ruefully at how accurately Ketcham caught the essence of children's natural zest for mayhem, children identify with Dennis and the chaos that he leaves in his wake. Ketcham's gags are funny, subtle and touching, and executed with a vivacious exquisite line. Ketcham's legendary pen and ink work achieves its full flowering in this volume, as do the various situations and themes that Ketcham would return to again and again. This fourth volume of Hank Ketcham's The Complete Dennis the Menace publishes every single panel strip from 1957 and 1958 in one handsome and thick hardcover volume. Hardcover, 5 1/2-in. x 6 1/2-in., 644 pages, B&W. Cover price $24.95.

Volume 5 - 1st printing. "1959-1960!" Story and art by Hank Ketcham. We finish the 1950s and surge into the 1960s! At this point Ketchman's graphic design sense, prwtty much flawless to begin with, has attained a degree of virtuosity unparalleled in comic strip history. Each page is a master class in drawing, design, and (even within a single panel) storytelling... and of course the rambunctious mischievousness of Dennis (and the long-suffering patience of his parents, Margaret, the Wilsons, and assorted other victims) never ceases to charm, delight, and amuse. Hardcover, 5 1/2-in. x 6 1/2-in., 672 pages, B&W. Cover price $24.95.

Volume 6 - 1st printing. "1961-1962!" Story and art by Hank Ketcham. Dennis vaults into the 1960s with his anarchic spirit still intact. As always, this book is a series of unrelated panel gags (with the exception of one week-long story involving Dennis' mild-mannered Grandpa), but what gags! Ack! Cough! cough! Hank Ketcham is legendary for being one of the most exquisitely skilled cartoonists of all time, and each and every panel is a small masterpiece of design and draftsmanship. This volume of The Menace features Dennis' long-suffering parents, the Wilsons, his dog Ruff, his best pal Joey, his nemesis Margaret, and a seemingly endless parade of babysitters, as well as hapless shopowners, policemen and teachers, and family friends, all of whom come to realize that it's Dennis' world... they just live in it! Hardcover, 5 1/2-in. x 6 1/2-in., 672 pages, B&W. Cover price $24.95.