Gas Buggy Gamblers Poster (Part 2)

Bah. I've got a cold and haven't the strength to babble on and on incoherently about this swell Al Wiseman artwork.

Which is good news for you!



Enjoy the silence while you can...

Dennis the Menace On Safety (Part 4)

"Dennis" and "Safety". Do those two words really belong together in the same sentence? And just what does Dennis know about safety anyway?

Well, as today's two cartoon panels show us, Dennis knows plenty. Or more to the point, Dennis knows how to laugh in the face of un-safety. Why, that boy can lighten up any situation, no matter how grisly or horrific, by using only his cutely inappropriate comic asides!

What a happier world we'd live in, if only we could all be little more like Dennis!

(Oh, and some of the "in-pain" characters strike me as having been penciled by someone other than Wiseman. They just look a bit odd...)


Dennis the Menace On Safety Posts:
Part 1/Part 2/Part 3

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.

"Dear Mr. Disney"

Previously, we've posted artwork that lil' Al Wiseman drew as a boy showing how he was influenced by a certain Walter Elias Disney, founder of the "Walt Disney Studios" (a little known animation company which flourished for a time during Al's childhood).


Here we present a letter twelve-year-old Al (then using his step-father's last name) sent to Mr. Disney requesting a job. So what happened next? History is somewhat unclear on this matter.

What I'd like to believe is that Walter Disney immediately jumped at the chance to have talented young Al employed at his studio. But quick-thinking Al had a change of heart. Why would he want to become just another faceless cog-in-the-machine and take on projects to which he could never sign his name? No, that would never do.

So Alvin went back to his schoolwork and continued plotting ways to make a name for himself in the cartooning world.

Well, at least that's what I'd like to believe...



A special thanks to Teresa Tersol-Wiseman for the scan of Al's letter!

Al's Childhood Drawings:
Part 1/Part 2/Part 3

We Learn to Play (Part 3)

Gather around everyone! Let's see more images from the greatest unheralded childrens' book of all time! We Learn to Play was lovingly drawn by Al Wiseman while he was under the incorrect assumption that his name was "Hank Ketcham."

This was a true tour de force of cataclysmic Wiseman-esqe proportions!

Imagine being a child in the 1950's and owning a copy of this precious book. How lucky you would be! Why, you would carry it around with you everywhere until it fell apart in your hands and your parents had to dispose of it. But you'd never forget!

And now you, dear blog reader, can carry your computer with you everywhere and have these images forever (well, at least until the internet dissolves in your hands).



Above: Notice that the writer of this book, Jean Kelleher Porter, describes herself as a "Specialist in Industrial Recreations and Employee Activities". Why, I bet she made all that stuff up!

Frankly, I think being the "Creator of 'Dennis the Menace'" is a much more impressive job description.

Confessions of a Little Old Lady in Tennis Shoes (Part 8)

Well, here we are once again, gazing at a wonderful Al Wiseman drawing from the 1974 book Confessions of a Little Old Lady in Tennis Shoes.

You know, we could spend plenty of quality Al Wiseman Blog time trying to figure out what the heck is going on in this fanciful image. And you might think that we'd gain valuable insight by reading the poem that accompanied it. Unfortunately, the poem is even more inscrutable than the artwork. (Plus, poems from this book tend to give me awful migraine headaches, anyway.)

So let's skip the poem altogether and use our fertile imaginations to conjure up a much better scenario.



Hmmm... Must think...

Well, if your imagination fails you, feel free to just sit back and admire the skillful drawing ability of the omni-talented Mr. Wiseman.

After all, we are not here to judge you, but to help guide you through a richer and more meaningful Al Wiseman viewing experience.


Confessions of a Little Old Lady in Tennis Shoes Posts:
Part 1/Part 2/Part 3/Part 4/Part 5/Part 6/Part 7

The Hearing Book (Part 4)

We at the Al Wiseman Blog don't condone nudity in any way, shape, or form. To further elaborate, we consider any nakedness to be an affront to everything pure and morally benign in this world.

But gosh, when Al Wiseman draws nude ladies we just can't help ourselves! So let's cast aside our strict moral values and wallow in the forbidden sights (at least until the shame of our actions catch up with us and leads us to our eventual repentance). Oh, it's an endless cycle...

But will someone please explain to me what an early '60s Kurt Schaffenberger-drawn Lois Lane is doing wandering around all naked in a 1980 Al Wiseman-created nudist colony? Is she there on an undercover assignment for the Daily Planet? If so, shouldn't she actually be under some covers or something?

Well, I feel ashamed for looking already...


The Hearing Book:
Part 1/Part 2/Part 3

Dennis the Menace Coloring Books (Part 3) by Joe B.

(Note: We're lucky today to be graced with the presence of yet another excellent post by distinguished Dennis the Menace collectables expert Joe B.

Joe's gonna tell us about a swell coloring book that's so full of great black & white Al Wiseman images that you'll be tempted to take out your crayons and start coloring your computer screen! But don't- you'll get everything all waxy.

Thanks Joe!)


(Above: The 29 cent edition of this book)

Dennis the Menace 1962 Coloring Book
by Joe B.

Coloring books, since Bill brought them up, will be the topic today. Like the game and toy of my previous posts, the coloring book I'll be discussing has a beautiful Al Wiseman cover. That alone is worth this write-up. I could just stop here, but I won't.


Not only is the cover by Al, but the entire coloring book is drawn by him. The drawings appear to be made especially for this book, and, to my knowledge, have never been reprinted. Unlike many of the coloring books that contain large versions of daily cartoon reprints for kids to color, this coloring book tells a continuous story in large, full-page panels. Not only that, but there are two versions of this rare coloring book.

There are tons of Dennis coloring books out there, and just when I think I have them all, I discover another one. For the record, I have indexed 24 coloring books that exist so far. The one that Bill has posted pictures from I have never seen, so that would be #25.


Let's start with the more expensive version of the coloring book. Published by Watkins-Strathmore Company, it was a whopping 29 cents back in 1962. This coloring book contains 83 different full-page panels, each drawn by Wiseman. The story all takes place on a single Saturday: Dennis wakes his parents up early, eats, "helps" his dad wash the family car (with the car windows open), annoys the Wilsons, goes to town with his dad, goes on a boat ride with his dad & gets him soaked, then visits a pet store with Joey and buys a pet skunk for the Wilsons. In all, it is not a very memorable story but is a clever idea.

(Above: The 10 cent edition of this book)

What is the difference between the two books? If you look at the upper-right-hand corner of the coloring books, you can see the prices with the catalog numbers above them. The only differences between the book covers are those. The big book is squarebound with 83 panels and is #1838 for 29 cents, and the smaller book with 23 panels is #1800-7 for 10 cents. The story makes sense in the 83 panel version, and it seems no thought was given to the story in the smaller version as there is no flow to the story. Unless you are a completist, the smaller version only has a portion of the larger book, so if you want only one, you should seek out the larger edition.


How hard are these to get? I see them appear maybe once a year on eBay, and they can go for up to $15, depending on who's bidding and the condition.

So, I hope I have been able to show through these past several posts that the Dennis merchandise Al worked on represents some of his finest artwork during his peak years.


-Joe B.
Ultimate Dennis the Menace Thread
Joe B. posts:
Real Action Toy
Pressman Paint Set

Dennis the Menace Coloring Book 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.

Syva

Well, I don't know what "Syva" is, or what it does. But after seeing this Al Wiseman artwork, I know I'd never use anything else:


I mean, just check out the competition- Syva reveals them to be nothing more than sad, pitiful losers! After one look at their rickety boats and whatnot, you realize that the competition will soon be drowning in their own incompetence (while Syva continues sailing on into a brighter future). You know, Syva even makes Du Pont look like the sorry-ass amateurs that we always suspected they were!

Like I said, I don't know what products or services Syva provide, or even if they're still in business. But from this day forward, my kitchen cabinets will only be stocked with the fine items bearing the trusted Syva logo.

We Learn to Play (Part 2)

Since images from the 1954 book We Learn to Play made us all so deliriously giddy yesterday, why wait for more giddyness?

Well, there ain't no good reason whynot. So here's more!

Above: (Page 40) Please look at this drawing and tell me why Al Wiseman is not universally worshipped for his cartooning genius. Will everyone please get with the program already!

Oh, the horse's hide is branded "H/K" for "Hank Ketcham"! (And you just know Al really wanted to write "A/W".)

Hey, what's this:
Above: The cover for a 1965 reprint of We Learn to Play. This version was part of an eight-book series of (unrelated) kids' books published under the umbrella title of "Compton's Beginner's Bookshelf". The only copyright appearing in this book is the original date of 1954. But since a few other books in this series have a 1965 copyright, I'm going with that date...

And, no, the drawing on this version of the cover is not by Al Wiseman. I suppose the editors decided that the Wiseman art was way too dynamic for the youngsters and had to be dulled down by at least 75%.

We Learn to Play (Part 1)

Published in 1954 by Encyclopedia Britannica, the stunningly exuberant We Learn to Play was perhaps the best gosh-darn book Hank Ketcham never drew.

Sure, the inside credits read "Illustrations by Hank Ketcham." But the inside credits lie! As you and I can plainly see, the visuals bear the unmistakable stamp of a certain ubiquitous workaholic ghost we know as Mr. Al Wiseman.

The book was pretty much an instruction manual for stumped parents seeking constructive new ways to keep their kids entertained. I'd imagine the tots would be suitably entertained just peering at the exceptional images filling the pages of this volume. It's obvious that Al was having a great time coming up with inventive ways to illustrate the various games and activities described in the text. And by keeping with a limited color-scheme and often letting those colors define the borders of objects, Al was able to tap into his masterful sense of design (which was often overshadowed by his skill with detail).

In fact, of all the non-Dennis projects Al worked on in his long career, this is one of my favorites. Check out the cover! Why, it's wonderfully simple and infectiously joyful:



Now here's the back cover:
Above: Yay! Silhouettes!

Above: Sure, some blogs show you covers. And others may show you back-covers. But how many show you spines?

The Imported Ticky-Two (Part 7)

Ha! You thought I forgot about the Ticky-Two book, now didn't you?

Just because it's been a while since I've posted about Al Wiseman's 1971 import car book doesn't mean that it's strayed far from my thoughts. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Truth be told, I find it hard to concentrate on anything else. Those cute lil' Ticky-Two cars haunt my every waking hour, then zoom themselves into my very dreams and nightmares.

So much so, that I usually wake up in a cold sweat, my head pounding and spinning with images of hundreds of tiny Ticky-Two cars etched into my retinas.

Oh, how they beep their little Ticky-Two horns: "Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!"

But don't let this bother you. I knew what I was getting into when I became the curator of the Al Wiseman Blog. And happily, any adverse effects are fully covered under our generous Al Wiseman Blog Health Insurance Plan^TM.

Now, on to the Wiseman art:

Above: (page 13) "Dedicated to our... 9 year old son." 9 year old son? Al didn't have a nine-year-old son in 1971. Is this just some in-joke that I'll never understand? Probably...

Above: Page 33

The Imported Ticky-Two:
Part 1/Part 2/Part 3/Part 4/Part 5/Part 6/Part 7

Dennis the Menace Coloring Books (Part 2)

Look! It's another image of that pesky Mitchell kid! It's funny how he keeps sneaking into the Al Wiseman Blog, no?

We try to keep him away, but he just won't stop showing up. Maybe he thinks this is the Wilson residence or something...

Oh well, let's use his little visit as an excuse to remind you (yet again) to buy massive amounts of Fantagraphics Dennis books every chance you get. In fact, purchase yourself a nice spacious warehouse or two so you'll have someplace to stack up all your volumes of Dennis daily panel reprints.

Only that, and that alone, will convince Fantagraphics' publisher Gary Groth to saturate the market with Wiseman Dennis reprints. Well, that and your letters and emails.

Here's your daily dose of Wiseman:

Above: From an unknown Dennis the Menace coloring book- it's Dennis and some cute lil' gal-child.

Above: "This is where I live!" claims Dennis. I see no reason to doubt him.


Dennis the Menace Coloring Book 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.

Alex Toth Mentions Al Wiseman!

A couple of days after comics great Alex Toth passed away earlier this year, my friend Don Mangus mentioned to me that he had a postcard from Toth with a comment about Al Wiseman and Dennis the Menace comics.

Don had been corresponding with Toth for quite some time and asked him about a novel written by cartoonist Mel Lazarus. The early-1960's book was titled The Boss is Crazy, Too and fictionalized Mel's experiences in the 1950's comic book field. Apparently, there was some reference to Ned Pines (who was the publisher of Dennis the Menace comic books).

Don has promised to write a little more in-depth about this when he gets the chance. Thanks Don!

Above:I'm having problems posting images, so chances are that you won't be able to see the whole enlarged image after clicking on it...

It's All In The Game (Part 1)

A few years back, Al Wiseman's daughter Jan was kind enough to send me a poster Al had printed up in 1973. Among the images included on the self-promotional piece were four comic panels appearing under the title It's All In The Game. This sports-themed panel seem to have been an attempt by Al to achieve newspaper syndication. But sadly, the series never sold.

Sadder still, it wasn't very funny. Sure, the drawings were exceptional, but the jokes mostly fell flat. As I've said before (and will undoubtedly say again), Al really needed to find a talented writer to work with.

Pre-Dennis, Al came up with some pretty funny gag cartoons. But post-Dennis, he seemed to have lost the knack.

I wonder if Al ever realized how lucky he was to have Fred Toole as his Dennis the Menace scripter? (And vise-versa, of course!)

Above: So when was this drawn? I'm guessing mid-to-late 1960's...

United Air Lines Poster (Part 1)

Welcome back, all you Al Wiseman Fans! And all you Al Wiseman Haters, too! (OK, there's actually no such thing as an "Al Wiseman Hater"- It's statistically impossible!)

So what do we have for you today? Well, this is what we professionals in the Al Wiseman Blog Industry commonly refer to as a "Big-Ass Poster".

Believe it or not, the actual printed piece measures a whopping 19" x 37"!!!

Oh, I know, that's not really very large for a poster. But this 1975 map (illustrating the "discovery" and settlement of the California coast) is crammed tight with so many finely-detailed Al Wiseman drawings that it might as well be the size of a Friggin' Football Field!

To give you an idea of the sheer number of individual images Al produced for one single poster, I scanned a small photostat of the map. See for yourself:

Whew! Just looking at it tires me out. I sure hope he was well paid for the assignment!

As far as close-ups go, I'll be scanning the poster a little bit at a time, starting from the upper left-hand corner. Like this:


Now you can look forward to absorbing important history lessons while enjoying your daily dose of Al Wiseman artwork! So get ready for an endless series of United Air Lines Poster posts...

(Wait, what have I gotten myself into?!?)

Dennis the Menace "Pressman Paint Set" by Joe B.

(Note: Two "Yays" today! Yay #1: My site seems to be working now (more or less- the images are still screwing up somewhat). And Yay #2: It's the second in a series of posts by esteemed Dennis the Menace merchandising expert Joe B.!

(I'd like to thank Joe once again for writing so informatively on an aspect of Al Wiseman's career that most of us would never otherwise have the chance to know about- the early rare Dennis collectibles. Plus he sent along some mighty keen images, too!

(Oh, and even more thanks for the kind words Joe has written about me. I didn't put him up to this- Honest!)


Dennis the Menace "Pressman Paint Set"
by Joe B.

For my second post to this amazing and scholarly blog, I want to expound on two points. The first has to do with you, the reader, and the second has to do with Al Wiseman.

If you are reading this blog, you are lucky. It is a labor of love from the world's premier - and only? - Al Wiseman scholar, Bill Alger. I love this site and have read every entry. The only thing that is lacking is how few people respond to the posts. I would love to see more comments from the many readers, and I'm sure Bill would too. Bill does not get paid for this; he does it because he is passionate about comic art, as we all are. I can't speak for him, but personally if I spent hours every day writing a blog for free and there were only a few responses to it, I would stop. That's me. Clearly, Bill is a better man than I am because he hasn't stopped. All I'm saying is, it would be cool if more of you many Wiseman fans joined the party. It would make it a lot more fun, and we would all learn a lot more about Al because everyone, I'm sure, has something to bring to the table.


That being said, what I have here is a rare 1954 Pressman Dennis the Menace Paint Set. I say rare, but of all the Pressman Dennis merchandise that was made in 1954, this is by far the most common. Some of it I have never even seen.

When this came out, Pressman executive Fred Kroll wrote Hank Ketcham and said, "[T]he smashing good artwork you supplied for the boxes [is] the talk of the trade." And today the artwork is still being discussed, fifty-two years later right here. First, try finding one of these sets in nice shape. Can't be done. Yet, as I said in my previous entry, some of the nicest renderings of Dennis ever created were these paintings Al made for the merchandise. It's a shame not many of these are around for more people to enjoy.


What's interesting about the art is that Dennis looks like the old, evil version of the kid, and he is making a huge mess with the paints. It's a wonder any parent would encourage their kids to act like that 'cause we all know who would have to clean up the mess! Yet, somehow the set was a hit, and that is clearly testimony to the popularity of Dennis and the great art on the box.


Opening up the box we can see some interior art and three small paint bottles with little Dennis the Menace heads on them. Again, the art is as good as I have seen on Dennis the Menace. It is Al Wiseman in his prime doing highly polished art for the purpose of breaking Dennis the Menace into the big dollar world of toy merchandising. What's interesting is that there are crayons inside the paint set. Why, I can't say. Even though this set was used, it is rare to find so much of the paint remaining in one of these. Only one of the daily panels was actually painted by the kid who originally owned this.


Pressman would create three versions of this paint set, in addition to two versions of a chalk & slate set, a dentist kit, and two sets of finger paints. Pressman got out of the Dennis business for a while and returned in the 1970s with a set of painting kits, then in 1993 with the board game version of the 1993 Warner Brothers movie. Despite all the modern advances in toys, though, the post-Al Wiseman Pressman items are common and have little-or-no demand among collectors. The ones Al designed, though, are rare, precious, and highly-sought-after collectibles primarily because of the dazzling art that graces the boxes.

-Joe B.
Ultimate Dennis the Menace Thread
Joe B. posts:
Real Action Toy
Pressman Paint Set

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.

Whoops!

Looks like I've run out of disc space for my blog 'cause it's not letting me upload images.

Hopefully I can deal with this problem and have today's post up later tonight...

The Romans (Part 1)

In the early 1970's, Al Wiseman decided to do a series of drawings for a proposed book on the fall of the Roman empire. Soon Al began sketching and sketching and sketching. And then he sketched some more.

So after the dust had settled, what was the outcome of all this work?
Well... a lot a naked ladies, but no book deal.

I'm not sure if there was supposed to be a story to go with the drawings or if the artwork was meant to stand alone. But judging from the images I've seen, it would've been a swell book either way.

Above: The man sure could draw, no?

Golden State Dairy (Part 8)

Hey, look who's peeking out at you! Why, It's our bewitching buddy from beyond our realm of understanding- The Wizard of Ohs and Ahs! Designed by Al Wiseman, this little fella never fails to bring a smile to your face, now does he?

Well... does he?
We're not moving on until you answer my question.

Yes, of course he brings a smile to your face. A magical, enchanted smile that you can't quite control- no matter how much you try.

And now that we've got that settled, I 'spect it's time to finish showing you the images from the Golden State Dairy pamphlet that I began posting some time ago.

Here's the last of them:

Above: "Golden State Cottage Cheese is enchanted by the Wizard of Ohs and Ahs... enchanted with rich creamy goodness." Wow, Spooky!



Golden State Dairy Posts:
Part 1/Part 2/Part 3/Part 4/Part 5/Part 6/Part 7/Part 8

Dennis the Menace Coloring Books (Part 1)

Years ago, George Crenshaw (who worked with Al Wiseman drawing Dennis comics in Hank Ketcham's studio), sent me some pages cut out of a Dennis coloring book. He told me that they were drawn by Wiseman- and it sure looks that way to me!

I doubt they're 100% Wiseman, since he was so busy with comics and other merchandising. But they were obviously done under his watchful eye because the style so closely matches his own.

Anybody know what coloring book (and year) these are from? 'Cause I sure don't...

Above: I know I've seen a pose similar to this in a Dennis comic book story. Maybe there was some re-use of old poses & props in this book?


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.

Charley Jones' Laugh Book Magazine- The Latrine Gazette

The military-themed "Latrine Gazette" was a regular column that ran in Charley Jones' Laugh Book Magazine for a number of years. And, as you might guess, it was chock-full of hilarious military jokes!

Well, minus the "hilarious" part (hilarity was a scarce oasis in the vast and barren desert we call the Charley Jones' Laugh Book Magazine).

In fact, the only good thing about the "Latrine Gazette" was Al Wiseman's jovial masthead. In issue after issue, the awful jokes changed, but readers were always greeted with the same reliable Wiseman-drawn header!

Thanks Al- for making Charley Jones' Laugh Book Magazine almost readable!


Wiseman digest mags:

Charley Jones' Laugh Book Magazine:
August 1950: Part 1
March 1951: Part 1/Part 2
April 1951: Part 1/Part 2/Part 3/Part 4
June 1952: Part 1/Part 2
March 1953: Part 1/Part 2
"Pin-Up Stationery" ad: Part 1/Part 2
"The Latrine Gazette" column: Part 1

Smiles:
#45 (January, 1951): Part 1/Part 2