Editing Dennis the Menace (U.S. comics) (section)

==History==
===Inspiration===
The inspiration for the comic strip came from Dennis Ketcham, the real-life son of Hank Ketcham,<ref>{{cite news | last = Weinraub| first = Judith| title = Dennis's Dear Old Dad| newspaper = The Washington Post| date = May 5, 1990| url = https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/72586949.html?dids=72586949:72586949&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=MAY+05%2C+1990&author=Judith+Weinraub&pub=The+Washington+Post&desc=Dennis%27s+Dear+Old+Dad%3BCartoonist+Hank+Ketcham%2C+In+a+World+Without+Menace&pqatl=google| archive-url = https://archive.today/20140811220505/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/72586949.html?dids=72586949:72586949&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=MAY+05,+1990&author=Judith+Weinraub&pub=The+Washington+Post&desc=Dennis's+Dear+Old+Dad;Cartoonist+Hank+Ketcham,+In+a+World+Without+Menace&pqatl=google| url-status = dead| archive-date = August 11, 2014}}</ref> who, at four years old, refused to take a nap and made a complete mess of his room. Hank tried many possible names for the character and translated them into rough pencil sketches, but when his studio door flew open, his then-wife Alice, in utter exasperation, exclaimed, "Your son is a menace!",<ref name="nytimesobit">{{cite news | last = Van Gelder| first = Lawrence| title = Hank Ketcham, Father of Dennis the Menace, Dies at 81| newspaper = The New York Times| date = June 2, 2001| url = https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9B01E4D8163FF931A35755C0A9679C8B63&n=Top/News/Business/Companies/Google%20Inc.| access-date = 2007-09-17}}</ref> the "Dennis the Menace" name stuck. The character of Henry Mitchell bore a striking resemblance to Ketcham, while the Mitchell family of Dennis, Henry/Hank, and Alice were all named after the Ketchams.

===Visuals===
Ketcham's line work has been highly praised over the years. A review on comicbookbin.com states: "...a growing legion of cartoonists, scholars, aficionados, etc. have come to appreciate the artistry of Dennis's creator, Hank Ketcham. Ketcham's beautiful artwork defines cartooning elegance. The design, the composition, and the line:  it's all too, too beautiful."<ref name="cbbin">{{cite news | last = Douresseaux| first = Leroy| title = Hank Ketcham's Complete Dennis the Menace: 1953–1954 (review)| publisher = comicbookbin.com| date = August 20, 2007| url = http://www.comicbookbin.com/completedennisthemenace002.html| access-date = 2008-12-21}}</ref> AV Club reviewer Noel Murray wrote: "Ketcham also experimented with his line a little early on, tightening and thickening without losing the looseness and spontaneity that remains the strip's best aspect even now."<ref name="avclub">{{cite news | last = Murray| first = Noel| title = Hank Ketcham's Complete Dennis The Menace 1951–1952 (review)| publisher = The Onion's avlub.com | date = September 28, 2005| url = https://www.avclub.com/content/node/41135| access-date = 2008-12-21}}</ref>

In 2005, Dennis appeared as a guest for Blondie and Dagwood's 75th anniversary party in the comic strip ''[[Blondie (comic strip)|Blondie]]''.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.chron.com/apps/comics/showComick.mpl?week=1&date=20050904&name=Blondie |title=Comics and cartoons |publisher=Chron.com – Houston Chronicle|date=September 4, 2005 |access-date=2010-04-30}}</ref>

===Awards===
Ketcham received the [[Reuben Award]] for the strip in 1953.<ref>{{cite web | title = The Reuben Award 1946–1974| publisher = The National Cartoonists Society| url = http://www.reuben.org/ncs/archive/divisions/reuben.asp| access-date =  2007-09-18}}</ref>
He was also made [[title of honor|honorary]] mayor of Wichita. He was quoted as saying, "I set the whole thing in Wichita, Kansas, and as a result I got made an [[title of honor|honorary]] mayor of Wichita."<ref>{{cite web | title = Biography for Hank Ketcham| website=[[IMDb]]| url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0450477/bio| access-date = 2007-09-18}}</ref>

===Ketcham retires===
[[File:Ron Ferdinand NAS 2013.jpg|thumb|Ron Ferdinand in 2013]]
Hank Ketcham retired from the comic strip in 1994,<ref name="nytimesobit" /> turning over production of the strip to his assistants Ron Ferdinand and Marcus Hamilton. They [[zombie strip|continued their run]] after Ketcham's death in 2001, alongside Scott Ketcham since 2010.<ref name="nytimesobit" />