OK I’m nearly 47 years old and I didn’t know there are not one but TWO menaces and they’re BOTH named Dennis
How could I never come across this in 47 years???
Being an American I know about the American, Dennis The Menace but I didn’t know anything about the British, Dennis The Menace
Frankly the British Version looks far more menacing then the American version
So those who know both, which one is better? Which one is funnier? Who’s more menacing?
Didn’t know about the Brits version. Have to give them credit for putting their show together in just 5 days after getting the idea from us.
I only recently found out about the US one, but didn’t realise that there were only five days between the debuts. Clearly an idea whose time had come!
I’ve only ever known of Hank Ketcham’s Dennis until recently, when I learned there was also a British Dennis. I’ve never seen the British one, although I’ve been a fan of Dennis Mitchell, (the U.S. Dennis) all of my life, from the comic, the TV show, and the big-screen movie of a few years back.
I learned about the UK one about a year ago. I think in a Cracked article.
I actually knew about both since childhood, but didn’t know I knew since fairly recently – I’m much more familiar with the American version, but I owned a ruler sporting a picture of the UK Dennis as a kid. I only recently realized that they’re both ‘Dennis the Menace’-s.
I don’t remember where I heard about the British one, but it might have been here on the Dope.
Yep, I’ve known about the British character for some time, and grew up with the American.
Fun fact, they debuted, like, a week apart.
‘Better’ and ‘funnier’ are rather in the eye of the beholder, but the British version is much more of a menace - the American version is a nuisance, but that’s it…the British one is a little thug.
At Christmas time, Canadian book stores used to (or maybe they still do?) carry The Beano and The Dandy. As a kid I would pick them up from time to time, but they seemed like comics from a different planet. At any rate, I wasn’t completely unfamiliar with them, but the American Dennis the Menace was more ubiquitous (Saturday morning cartoons, Dairy Queen advertisments, etc.).
Did the British Dennis sing a gawdawful version of some Christmas carol? (I’m talking about the American Dennis doing that horrible rendition of Silent Night.)
I grew up on Beano and the like, so I guess I knew the British one first, although we got the American one in the Sunday funnies.
I greatly prefer the British one, even if the whole thing’s been toned down dramatically, as the world get more nannyish. No more Slipper!
I no idea there was an American Dennis whereas Dennis, Gnasher (his dog) and the Bash Street Kids have been around all my life.
British Dennis first, followed closely by the American, who didn’t interest me nearly as much. My Aunt and Uncle owned a convenience store that carried comics from both sides of the Atlantic.
Of all the mischievous cartoon kids, Oor Wullie was by far my favourite. Scots heritage and all that
I still get either Oor Wullie, or The Broons, every Christmas. 
Great fun getting sassenachs to try reading them out loud! Love them both.
As a brit, I’ve known about the British Dennis from reading comics while growing up in the 1960s.
I discovered the more anaemic American one on tv a few years ago… Didn’t know it was also a comic strip.
I grew up with the Beano, and saw the American Dennis when we went on holiday to America and I had a TV in my room.
He was not a patch on Calamity James or The Numbskulls, though.
Never heard of the yank version. Is there an American version of Desperate Dan too? There really ought to be - he is a cowboy.
The American Dennis was a major hellion when he debuted; the comic panel was originally more about the trials faced by those around him, with Dennis as a destructive force, to appeal to parents who had to deal with their own child-rearing ordeals. He quickly became the actual focus, and was watered down over the years to be more appealing (and probably to not serve as a bad role model).