Steve May: Dream Job: Diary of Dennis The Menace: February 2014

Steve May had a lifetime ambition realised when he was asked to draw Dennis The Menace and Gnasher for a new series of books about his comic heros. A wonderful new partnership has begun and the first title in the series of books called The Diary of Dennis the Menace is in the shops now.

The art director from Puffin briefed Steve on the first illustrations:

“Dennis would need to retain the high smile that sits just below the nose and eyes, plus his typical features – spikey hair, red and black jumper and shorts etc, but the Beano are keen for the illustrator to leave their mark on this. Being Dennis the Menace, the illustrations can afford to be anarchic and quite dominant throughout the book.”

And these are the images that Steve May presented to the team.

Gordon Tait from DC Thomson & Co aka The Beano, HQ said.

“I think it’s safe to say we were all very excited when Steve’s initial drawings came through and for us the choice was pretty much a no-brainer as they say.

It was exactly what we were looking for.

I’ve been aware of Steve’s work for some time now and when the guys at Penguin put his name into the mix I knew we were all on the same page.

Thanks for doing such a great job”

Inside the books are black and white sketchy cartoons which fit the subject matter perfectly. Mandy Norman, the designer has used lined paper to emphasies the handwritten dairy look with lots of added, splats, ink blots, fingerprints and paw prints.