Character Spotlight: Sergeant Slipper

Today we'll be talking about a comic strip called "Dennis the Menace", but first we need to get something out of the way: it's probably not the Dennis the Menace you're thinking of. See, the US and the UK each have a comic strip character called Dennis the Menace. They're both about young boys up to no good (who wear striped shirts) and they both debuted on March 12, 1951, but they're separate characters. Of course, successful properties get exported to other countries, so the US version is typically called "Dennis" across the pond, while the UK version is called "Dennis and Gnasher" outside of the British Isles.

Just like the American Dennis, the British Dennis - who first appeared in a comic book called The Beano - has found success in other media as well. In 1996, he starred in an animated series called Dennis the Menace (renamed Dennis and Gnasher in season two) that aired on CBBC.

The show's first episode (April 1996) introduced a police officer character named Sergeant Slipper who acted as an antagonist for Dennis. This makes sense; if your main character is always getting into trouble, there needs to be someone who can punish him. There are his parents, of course, but it might not make sense for them to be around in every story.

It made so much sense, in fact, that Sgt. Slipper started appearing in The Beano not long after the show. His debut was in #2904 (March 1998), in the cover story.

Although he's a much more minor character in the book than in the show, he has maintained a steady presence, appearing in 77 issues spanning the past 20 years. He also appeared in the 2009 animated series.