The American Dennis
On the very same day that Dennis the Menace first appeared in Beano, in an amazing coincidence an American comic strip character of the exact same name made its debut, syndicated in 16 newspapers.
The American Dennis created by Hank Ketcham, is a blonde haired five-year-old, who gets into accidental mischief in comparison to Beano Dennis’s more deliberate high jinks.
“Hank Ketcham’s son, Scott, once told me his dad was always worried that we would claim that we were first but it was always very convivial and he explained that there was always a great relationship between the two,” Mike says.
“Hank felt that our Dennis was a lot tougher and rougher than his. I always thought it would be interesting to see them together and see if our Dennis could be a bit of a role model.”
Whether these two menaces will ever cross paths remains to be seen, however this is one coincidence that proves that truth really is stranger than comic book fiction.