DENNIS THE MENACE comic books were part of kids' reading for decades.
Now gone, the comic books, usually ghosted by one of the long-time
assistants to creator Hank Ketcham (Al Wiseman, Fred Toole, Owen
Fitzgerald to name three), were well distributed, in groceries,
drugstores and barbershops. There were regular DTM issues, along with
larger (and more pricey) specials, and the smaller digest comics.
In 1971, at a Rexall Drug Store in Lawrence, KS, I spent 35 cents on an
issue of the DENNIS THE MENACE BONUS MAGAZINE SERIES No. 99, October
1971 (a magazine published 12 times a year, once a month with the
exception of September, November and December, and twice in June, July
and October).
In a five page story "Christmas Happy Holidays," I found out about the new milkman in Dennis' neighborhood.
I learned about Jewish people via Dennis. The milkman and his son
explained that they were Jews, and the regular milkman wanted Christmas
off and they, celebrated Hanukkah instead of Christmas, etc. They told
Dennis about their religion.
This was all completely new information to me. What can I say? I lived
in a small town in Kansas! (I also did not understand what a golf bag
was, so the cover gag was a complete non sequitor to me at the time.)
By chance, I found a copy of this story in a comic book at an antique store in nearby Wells, ME. And here it is.
Related Links:
Fred Hembeck on Al Wiseman and Fred Toole
Dennis the Menace Classic Comic Books Reprint Volumes published by Papercutz and edited by Bill Alger.
-- Edited from a blog entry dated January 26, 2009
Tuesday, December 20, 2022
Dennis the Menace Meets Jewish Neighbors (1971)
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2 comments:
I was a tail-end boomer kid, from the 12¢ comic era (25¢ for an 80 page giant). The Dennis comics were good stuff, finding a zone between the troublemaker of the newspaper panel and the goody-two-shoes of the TV show. I remember similar stories where a kid invites him to celebrate Chinese New Year (Firecrackers! Cool!), and another introduces St. Patrick's Day (mostly about wearing green so you don't get pinched).
What I remember best are the travel specials. Hawaii, Mexico, Hollywood, and Yellowstone National Park come to mind. Were there others?
Fred Toole was not one of the artists, but the primary writer for the DtM comic book series. He contributed all the stories in this issue. Some real LOL lines in this: "I'm Jewish!" "Hi, I'm Dennis!", "Is he a hippie?" Artwork is by Frank Hill.
The best of this stuff deserves to be reprinted.
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