The Diary of Dennis the Menace by Steven ButlerMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
The Beano is a long running British children's comic, and still personally one of my favourites to read, with Dennis the Menace being one of my favourite ficitional characters since childhood. I've seen these books - written by Steven Butler - for sale for a while, but never really thought to read them. Until I got a bit bored, and re-watched the cartoon from the 90s on youtube. It made me a little curious as to how Dennis was portrayed in these books and how the anti-hero of my childhood was being put to a new generation of young comic readers.
Honestly? I ended up laughing at this book a lot more than I thought I would.
First of all, the concept of it makes me laugh because there is no way that Dennis the Menace would keep a diary. But he does, and credit to Butler, the writing rings true to the anarchic character I remember well. He toes the line of bully, though always in a way that you can't help but root for him. It's still hard to explain, even now. The books are written to fit in with the cartoon that came in 2009, or possibly more 2013, for the anniversary of Dennis and... Actually, I'm finding difficulty explaining it beyond "a lot funnier than I thought it would be."
If you're looking at these books - because this is just the first of a series - it's probably because you know the character. In which case, you already know if you want to read it or not. The humour fits with the best of The Beano, and it's a fun fast read for a lazy day. Definitely more enjoyable than I thought it would be, and worth picking up if you can find it for a couple of pounds. Oh, and as a bonus? It skips the trend of most Dennis spin-off media. Other Beano characters are featured - Minnie the Minx is mentioned as pretty much being the only one who can beat Dennis in the daily race to be King/Queen of the Playground.
Honestly, I want to read the others now, just to see who else will pop up...
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