Dav Pilkey
2
Books Reviewed
Dog Man: Big Jim Believes
4.7/5
reader rating · 5,250 ratingsDog Man: Big Jim Believes (Dog Man #14) is a graphic novel by Dav Pilkey, published by Graphix on November 11, 2025, aimed at readers aged 7–10. The fourteenth installment in the globally bestselling Dog Man series, it sends the mischievous Space Cuties From Space crashing back into our heroes' celebration, triggering an adventure anchored in themes of self-belief, confidence, and integrity. Red Balloon Book Shop's starred notice calls it "well-crafted" and praises how its themes of believing in yourself and supporting others are "perfectly woven into the high-speed" action. This review is based on published sources and the publisher's description, not hands-on reading.
Reviewed Jul 8, 2026
Captain Underpants: The First Epic Manga (From the Creator of Dog Man)
4.6/5
reader rating · 116 ratingsCaptain Underpants: The First Epic Manga is a manga adaptation of the original 1997 Captain Underpants chapter book, written and adapted by Dav Pilkey with all-new illustrations by manga artist Motojiro, published by Graphix on April 7, 2026. It reimagines the story of mischievous fourth-graders George Beard and Harold Hutchins — who accidentally hypnotize their tyrannical principal, Mr. Krupp, into becoming the superhero Captain Underpants — in a fresh format designed to introduce the globally bestselling series to a new generation of readers.
Reviewed Apr 29, 2026
Ask LuvemBooks about Dav Pilkey
- Where should I start?
- If you're new to Pilkey's work, Dog Man: Big Jim Believes is a strong entry point into his most active current series, carrying a reader rating of 4.7/5 from over 5,000 Amazon ratings. The Dog Man books are largely self-contained in their humor and visual storytelling, so prior knowledge of the series isn't essential to enjoy them. That said, if you're specifically curious about the Captain Underpants side of Pilkey's catalog, Captain Underpants: The First Epic Manga offers an accessible reintroduction to those characters in a fresh format.
- What's their writing style?
- Pilkey writes with a deliberately child-centric voice — his narration often mimics the cadence and spelling of a kid telling a story, including intentional phonetic misspellings and asides directed at the reader. His books blend prose with hand-drawn comic sequences, so the visual and written storytelling work together rather than separately. The humor leans heavily on slapstick, absurdism, and gentle irreverence toward authority figures like principals and teachers, which tends to resonate strongly with the elementary school age group his books target.
- Books we've reviewed
- We've reviewed two of Dav Pilkey's books on LuvemBooks. Dog Man: Big Jim Believes is the latest entry in his flagship Dog Man series, combining graphic novel storytelling with Pilkey's signature absurdist humor and earning a 4.7/5 reader rating from over 5,000 Amazon ratings. Captain Underpants: The First Epic Manga reimagines the classic Captain Underpants story in manga format, offering a fresh visual take on familiar characters with a 4.6/5 reader rating from 116 Amazon ratings.
- How do his books compare?
- The two reviewed books represent two distinct sides of Pilkey's work. Dog Man: Big Jim Believes is a straight-ahead entry in his most current and commercially dominant series, leaning fully into the graphic novel format with Pilkey's original artwork. Captain Underpants: The First Epic Manga is more of a formal experiment — it takes an established story and reworks it through manga conventions, which changes the pacing and visual rhythm considerably. Readers who want classic Pilkey will feel most at home with Dog Man; readers curious about how his characters translate into a different visual medium will find the manga edition the more interesting of the two.
- What genre do they write?
- Pilkey's books sit primarily at the intersection of children's fiction and graphic novels — his work uses original hand-drawn comic art as a core storytelling tool rather than as decoration. His reviewed titles span the Graphic Novels & Comics and Children's Books categories, which reflects the dual nature of his output: books that read like comics but carry the narrative ambitions of children's fiction. The humor throughout is broadly comedic and absurdist, aimed squarely at the 6–10 age range.
- What should I read after Dog Man?
- If you've read Dog Man: Big Jim Believes and want more Pilkey, the most natural move is to work back through the earlier Dog Man books, which build out the characters and running gags in more depth. Alternatively, the Captain Underpants: The First Epic Manga offers a different visual experience with Pilkey's other flagship characters. Beyond what we've reviewed, the original twelve-book Captain Underpants series is the logical deep dive for anyone who wants to spend more time in Pilkey's comedic universe.
Who is Dav Pilkey?
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