Dennis the Menace

Dennis the Menace is a daily syndicated newspaper comic strip originally created, written, and illustrated by Hank Ketcham. The comic strip made its debut on March 12, 1951, in 16 newspapers and was originally distributed by Post-Hall Syndicate. It is now written and drawn by Ketcham's former assistants, Marcus Hamilton (weekdays, since 1995), Ron Ferdinand (Sundays, since 1981), and son Scott Ketcham (since 2010), and distributed to at least 1,000 newspapers in 48 countries and in 19 languages by King Features Syndicate. The comic strip usually runs for a single panel on weekdays and a full strip on Sundays. It became so successful that it was adapted to other popular media, including a 1986 series, several television shows, both live-action and animated, and several feature films, including theatrical and direct-to-video releases. Coincidentally, a UK comic strip of the same name debuted on the same day. The two are not related and change their names subtly in each other's respective home bases to avoid confusion. Characters and setting Dennis the Menace takes place in a middle-class suburban neighborhood in Wichita, Kansas. In the comics, the Mitchell family lives in a two-story house at the fictional address of 2251 Pine Street. The Wilson family lives next door at 2253 Pine Street. The television series differs, putting the Wilsons at the also-fictional 627 Elm Street.