Nigel Parkinson, Cartoonist

Nigel Parkinson, Cartoonist
Me at a Comic Con

Wednesday 16 March 2011

DENNIS the MENACE is 60

Today, Thursday 17 March, is the official birthday of His Most Menacing, Dennis. If you're reading this in America, no, not THAT one, the real one, our Dennis, the Beano one! (although, funnily enough...)








There are plenty of celebrations! The new Beano is stuffed full of pages from the past by the remarkable Davey Law and David Sutherland, and Dennis has been menacing on Sky News and in newspapers, and will be  most thoroughly menacing on BBC Scotland TV tonight.
















And on Thursday morning (today!) just after 10 am I'll be on Radio Merseyside talking about the stripey one. That's DENNIS the MENACE to you and I, and by the way, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nigel
I think you owe the 'over-the-ponders' an apology. Their Dennis (far inferior, of course) debuted 5 days earlier than ours!

Norman

NP said...

Ah, but of course in those days the Beano was printed two weeks before the cover date. so....

Kid said...

I think Anonymous owes you an apology, NP, for getting their facts wrong.

Was it a fortnight ahead of cover date? I thought it was a week.

Kid said...

Or was the Beano still being published on alternate weeks with the Dandy in 1951?

NP said...

No, it went on sale 5 days before the date on the cover but left the printworks up to 10 days before that.

Kid said...

Ah! Got it. Makes perfect sense. I'll amend my blog post accordingly. Ta.

Unknown said...

Nigel,

Heard you chatting to Sean Styles on BBC Radio Merseyside and decided to google you. Love your cartoons and illustration style, but one quick, question do you still use traditional methods or is it a bit more high tech now a days?

Cheers

Dave

NP said...

Dave, my methods are mixed. I still use paper and pens and 'real' things like that, and Adobe Photoshop and email for the later stages. But I gave up dip pen and ink and bristol board many years ago.

James Spiring said...

Kid, weekly publication of Beano and Dandy resumed in 1949.

Alec Dever said...

Could I use a piece of your artwork for a rebuttal I'm writing with your permission?

NP said...

Which one?

Alec Dever said...

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-I7VOzrURkKY/TYEybWSau4I/AAAAAAAAAbw/gm83ZCD8eis/s320/den.jpg

This one.

NP said...

Ok but make sure it says: "Copyright ©2013 D C Thomson & Co Ltd"

Alec Dever said...

Thanks.
I'll remember to do that.
;-)

I made 2 rebuttals. One defending the show and the other defending the comic:
http://theblogofalecd.blogspot.com/2013/04/dennis-and-gnasher-rebuttal-on-why.html

http://theblogofalecd.blogspot.com/2013/05/dennis-menace-comic-controversyor-so-it.html