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Seventy years ago, on March 17, 1951, Dennis the Menace walked the pages of the Beano for the first time. Today’s iconic red-and-black sweater was eschewed for a shirt and tie, and his loyal dog Gnasher was nowhere in sight, though – as he defied the order to ‘stand by’ grass gap ”- Dennis was just as threatening then as he is today.
Imagined when Beano editor George Moonie heard a music hall song called Dennis the Menace from Venice, Dennis was the first bad kid character for the Beano, which was first released by DC Thomson. in July 1938.
“Dennis came in after the austerity of the 1940s, after this belief that children should be seen and not heard, and then all of a sudden you have this character through which children can live vicariously,” said Mike Stirling. , Editorial Director of Beano Studios. . “It started out as half a page on page five, but it was so successful that by the end of the 1950s you also had Minnie the Minx, the Bash Street Kids and Roger the Dodger, because the nastiness was such a success. . Children don’t fight against each other, they fight against adults. Children were not only seen, but heard.
Beano Studios marks Dennis’ birthday with a special anniversary edition of the comic, edited by super-fan Joe Sugg. The YouTube celebrity has written several tapes in the comics, including one that sees Dennis laughing about Sugg’s passing out during an episode of the big-name celebrity Bake Off. Kew Gardens also celebrates Dennis with a giant 3D Beano comic book and an interactive trail called Dennis & Gnasher’s Big Bonanza, this Easter. And a dedicated Dennis tartan was created by the Prickly Thistle Mill to mark the milestone.
By 1974, Dennis had replaced Biffo the Bear as the star of Beano’s cover, and – though he’s forever 10 years old – he’s now the oldest comic book. The appearance of the character has changed over the years; his shirt and tie were replaced with his red and black sweater in April 1951, the colors chosen because they were the two strongest ink colors available to printers in the 1950s.
Gnasher, Dennis ‘Abyssinian tripehound, did not appear until 1968, when he was found wandering the streets of Beanotown after Dennis’ father told him that “people still own dogs that look like them” . The artist who drew the first Gnasher, Davey Law, was ordered to “take Dennis’ hair and then give him a face and four legs”; it was artist David Sutherland who gave Gnasher “that wonderfully expressive, almost human face,” Stirling said.
Gnasher’s name was added to the band’s title in 1970. Dennis ‘pet pig, Rasher, debuted in 1979, while Dennis’ family also grew with the addition of little sister. Bea, born in issue number 2931 in 1998.
Dennis has grown and shrunk over the years, and his mouth has moved from behind his nose to lower down his face, but one of the biggest changes in the gang has been the evolution of his nemesis and neighbor Walter. Presented in the past as weak and effeminate, today Walter is “more than Dennis’ equal,” Stirling said.
“It looked like Dennis was bullying Walter, and bullying is a big deal, so we didn’t want to do anything that would suggest that this was something we wanted in Beanotown,” Stirling said. “So we made Walter physically equal to Dennis, and sometimes he takes over.”
The Beano team consults with a group of kids from across the country, telling them weekly about “what’s going on in the playground, what they’re watching on TV, what games they’re playing, and these. help us to inform the character ”. said Stirling. “It ensures that our character evolves, that Dennis reflects the life of a 10 year old kid here and now.”
Today, Dennis’ fan club has over a million members, including Star Wars actor Mark Hamill. Dennis’ story was also adapted for the screen; the first Dennis and Gnasher animated series aired in 1996, while the CBBC Dennis & Gnasher: Unleashed! first aired in November 2017 and is in its second series.
Sugg, who grew up reading the Beano and browsed car trunk sales with his cousin for boxes of old issues, calls Dennis “the perfect mix of cheeky and fun, the friend everyone wanted when. they were growing ”.
“I received the comic every week and to this day I still get my father’s Beano Annual as a Christmas present, even at the age of 29,” he said. “I feel like the Beano is what taught me to read, but also to write, draw and be creative.”
This week’s issue of The Beano also features a Menace family tree poster, which confirms that Dennis’ father is the grown-up Dennis of the 1980s, while his grandfather is the original 1951 Dennis. Dennis’ last name, confirms the Beano, is Threat.
“I’m sure he will change again over the years,” Stirling said. “If the kids are riding hoverboards 10 years from now, Dennis will definitely have one. It really depends on the children, and I think it always has been, and that is why we are able to appeal to the children of today and their parents. It is an excellent model. It might seem counterintuitive because he’s mean, but his misdeeds these days are motivated a lot more by positive things, and just making sure kids are really listened to.
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