Celebrating 70 years of Dundee's Dennis the Menace
Beano's Dennis the Menace first hit comic books on this day in 1951, first published in Dundee.
Last updated 17th Mar 2021
Today the iconic Beano comic is celebrating 70 years of its most famous character and the nation’s favourite ten-year-old, Dennis.
It's been 70 years since Beano's Dennis the Menace appeared in the famous comic, first published in Dundee.
Instantly recognisable with his red and black striped jumper and spikey black hair, the character first skyrocketed to fame after appearing in a Beano strip on 17th March 1951 and has been entertaining generations of children ever since.
A commemorative issue of the comic, guest edited by TV star and prankster extraordinaire Joe Sugg, is available in stores today (Wednesday 17th March). The 48-page bumper edition of the comic includes multiple strips penned by Sugg himself.
In ‘Birthday Prankaggeddon’ Sugg teams up with Dennis to unleash the ultimate prank on the residents of Beanotown, including a Dennis transformation of his girlfriend Dianne Buswell’s hair. Part of the strip storyline was inspired by an episode of the 1990s Dennis animated series that Joe watched as a child. The comic also features a four-part strip ‘I am Dennis’ which sees the whole of Beanotown unleash their inner Dennis to save their favourite mischief-maker from a dastardly plot by the Mayor and Walter Brown.
The special issue also features a pull-out Menace Family Tree poster which traces Dennis’s heritage and celebrates the many generations of Dennis who have entertained children over the last 70 years.
The ultimate collectible for fans, it confirms that Dennis's dad is the 1980s-era Dennis grown-up and his grandad is in fact the original 1951 Dennis. It also reveals some new ancestors of Dennis including Pranks and Prejudice author Jane Aus-Den, rebel Dennis Fawkes and the prehistoric Menacesaurus.
Famed long-time Dennis artist, Nigel Parkinson, has also drawn ‘the Evolution of Dennis’; a bespoke illustration commissioned by Beano demonstrating the subtle changes to the character’s appearance over the decades.
Mike Stirling, Editorial Director of Beano Studios said: “We’re celebrating 70 years of Britain’s favourite ten-year-old! For 70 years, the Menace family has been spreading laughs and unique Beano cheer across multiple generations of children and adults alike. It’s fantastic to see the impact today’s Dennis has on kids, just like his dad and grandad did before him for readers in the 50’s-80’s.
We believe that everyone has a little bit of the Dennis spirit within them, so this March 17th, on his birthday, we’re encouraging everyone to be more DENNIS for one day to see how many laughs and smiles you can spread.”