It's not often that a designer gets the opportunity to repackage an American icon such as Dennis the Menace. Having grown up going to the Dairy Queen, where Dennis was the garish red-yellow-and-cyan spokeskid, I was thrilled to meet with the creator's widow at the artist's preserved studio space to discuss a new direction for the look of Dennis. Emphasizing nostalgia, the art is colored in flat planes with lively color schemes reminiscent of mid-century design. The project will encompass fifty years of artwork collected in 25 books, each one a hefty, 600-page brick. Uncoated, creamy stock and a ribbon bookmark complete the package.

Below: the first five volumes, spine-out; the jackets of V.3 and V.5 shown flat; Opening page samples; V.5 endpaper image; V.5 case printing.



Below: The branding was carried over to a reprinting of Hank Ketcham's autobiography.