Dennis the Menace On Safety (Part 1)

Dennis the Menace On Safety was a digest-sized comic book published by the National Safety Council in 1956. And who better to teach America about safety than our favorite pint-sized hellion and master of mischief, Dennis the Menace?


Apparently this giveaway was directed more towards an adult audience than the usual comic book readin' demographic. Maybe that's why the drawings consisted of newspaper-like single panels rather than funnybook-friendly multi-panelled stories. Well, at least the little kids who got a hold of this comic learned not to smoke around gas pumps. And to turn off their car engines.


The art is obviously by Wiseman, but since he worked with assistants in a studio situation, it's hard to tell the extent of his contribution. George Crenshaw told me that he'd sometimes pencil Dennis stories for Al (in Al's style), then Al would make it his own while inking it in. I'm bringing this up because some of the characters in this book (mostly the ones in extreme pain) remind me a bit of Crenshaw's drawings from this time period.

Dennis the Menace On Safety Posts:
Part 1
Part 2

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.