Al & Fred Visit Hawaii! (Part 2)

Aloha, friends of Alvin Ray Wiseman! Many weeks ago, when we first discussed the Hawaiian adventures of Al Wiseman & Fred Toole, I posted a newspaper article that offered some background information on their world-renowned Dennis in Hawaii comic. Today, I'll follow up by showing you the inside front-cover of that beloved funnybook:

Dennis in Hawaii was first published in the Summer of 1958. The above image was taken from the 5th printing of the book (and that's why it say's "copyright 1962").

There's not much new information here, but the photos are entertainingly top-notch. In fact, the lovably staged hi-jinks of the first photograph reminds one of a publicity shot from some long-lost 1950's television comedy (starring the reliably exuberant Vaudevillian duo of Wiseman & Toole, of course).

Then, in the bottom picture, we see the same cheerful Hawaiian children who showed up in the earlier newspaper photo. And by the looks of it, they're still perilously trapped on the shaky grass rooftop. Hopefully someone found a ladder and helped these hapless tots down once Fred and Al were finished chuckling at their misfortune.

So, that's about it. I'm sure there are many more priceless photos from the Hawaiian odyssey hidden away somewhere, just waiting to be discovered. Perhaps they're even stashed away in the cavernous underground vaults of the Ketcham Industries compound, locked in their hermetically-sealed, temperature-controlled encasement capsules for historical preservation.

Seems logical to me...


Please order Dennis the Menace books from Fantagraphics (and ask them to reprint the Wiseman Dennis comic books and Sunday strips).

"Dennis the Menace" & related characters are ©Hank Ketcham Enterprises, Inc.