Hank Ketcham was the creator of the beloved comic strip *Dennis the Menace*, which he wrote and drew from its debut in 1951 until his retirement from daily cartooning in 1994. Born Henry King Ketcham on March 14, 1920, in Seattle, Washington, he passed away on June 1, 2001. Ketcham’s path into comics began with early work in animation, but it was the mischievous, well-meaning five-year-old Dennis Mitchell that made his name. The strip’s clean, expressive linework and gentle suburban humor became its signature, and Ketcham’s solo stewardship for over four decades gave it a consistent, warm voice. In 1953, he received the Reuben Award from the National Cartoonists Society for the strip. After retiring, he focused on painting in his home studio. *Dennis the Menace* continues to run, drawn by other hands, and Ketcham’s work appears in numerous collections, including *Hank Ketcham's Complete Dennis the Menace*.
