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Captain Underpants: The First Epic Manga by Dav Pilkey Review: A Bold, Format-Shifting Reimagining
Captain Underpants: The First Epic Manga is a manga adaptation of the original novel, written and adapted by Dav Pilkey and illustrated by manga artist Motojiro, published by Graphix on April 7, 2026. It retells the story of mischievous fourth-graders George Beard and Harold Hutchins, who accidentally transform their tyrannical principal Mr. Krupp into the superhero Captain Underpants — and then must stop the villainous Dr. Diaper from destroying the Moon. Part of a franchise that has sold more than 90 million books worldwide, this new volume is designed to bring the beloved story to a fresh generation of readers through an all-new manga format and entirely new artwork by Motojiro.
LuvemBooks Verdict
Best for
Young readers aged 7 and up — particularly reluctant readers or manga fans already hooked on Dog Man — who want a fresh visual entry point into the Captain Underpants world rather than a traditional illustrated chapter book.
Worth it if
The child is drawn to manga as a format and hasn't already read the original 1997 chapter book, making Motojiro's all-new artwork the genuine draw rather than a redundant retelling.
Skip if
Skip it if the child already owns and loves The Adventures of Captain Underpants — the plot is identical, and the sole value proposition is the new manga format, not any new story.
What readers & critics say
Publishers Weekly reports that the book adapts the storyline of the first Captain Underpants novel with all-new manga artwork by Japanese artist Motojiro, and notably retains Pilkey's signature Flip-o-Ramas in full colour, reading left-to-right rather than in the traditional Japanese manga direction. Screenwiseapp.com characterises it as "the ultimate reluctant reader bait," crediting it with building visual literacy through high-engagement comedy and describing it as the perfect bridge for kids moving from Dog Man into Japanese-style manga.
“The manga follows the storyline of the first book and will incorporate new Flip-o-Ramas — Pilkey's signature flip animations — in full colour.”
— Publishers Weekly4.7from 113 Amazon ratings— reader ratings, not a LuvemBooks score
Look inside the book
Preview the actual pages, via Google BooksIn This Review
- What Works & What Doesn't
- What the Book Is and What It Retells
- The Franchise Behind the Book
- What This Format Is Designed to Do
- Strengths: Familiar Story, New Creative Energy
- Considerations for Buyers
What Works & What Doesn't
What Works
- Adapts the story that launched a franchise with more than 90 million books sold worldwide, giving the premise a proven, durable appeal
- Illustrated by manga artist Motojiro with entirely all-new artwork, offering a genuinely distinct visual experience from the original 1997 chapter book
- Designed for readers ages 7 and up (grades 2–3), positioning it as an accessible entry point for early readers already familiar with manga formats
- Part of a franchise with an established multimedia ecosystem — film, television, and spin-off series — giving new readers a rich world to explore beyond this volume
What Doesn't
- Retells the plot of the first novel rather than introducing new story content, offering limited narrative novelty to readers who already know the source material
- The value of the book depends heavily on the manga format itself; buyers not seeking that specific format may find little reason to double-dip on a story they already own
- The franchise's long history as one of the most frequently challenged titles in American schools and libraries may give some buyers pause, depending on their context
A reimagining of a children's franchise milestone, this manga adaptation brings Dav Pilkey's long-running series into a new visual language courtesy of illustrator Motojiro.
What the Book Is and What It Retells
Interior manga spread showing action sequences with colorful comic panels, explosions, and dynamic character movements in manga format.
Captain Underpants: The First Epic Manga is a manga-format adaptation of The Adventures of Captain Underpants, the 1997 children's novel that launched the now-massive franchise. Written and adapted by Dav Pilkey and illustrated by manga artist Motojiro, it follows the same core story: George Beard and Harold Hutchins, two fourth-graders at Jerome Horwitz Elementary School in Piqua, Ohio, use a "3-D Hypno-Ring" to hypnotize their cruel principal, Mr. Krupp, and inadvertently transform him into Captain Underpants — the waistband-wearing superhero from their homemade comic books. The adventure escalates when the trio must contend with the evil Dr. Diaper, whose crystal-powered Laser-Matic 2000 threatens to destroy the Moon. Published by Graphix and targeted at readers ages 7 and up, it adapts that original chapter-book story with all-new manga artwork, making it a reimagined retelling rather than a straight reprint.
The Franchise Behind the Book
Few children's series carry the cultural weight of Captain Underpants. According to Wikipedia, the franchise has sold more than 90 million books worldwide — over 50 million in the United States alone — and has been translated into more than 37 languages. The original novel series ran to twelve main entries before concluding in 2015, and Pilkey subsequently launched the spin-off Dog Man series in 2016, which itself became a global phenomenon. A DreamWorks animated feature film arrived in 2017, followed by the Netflix television series The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants, which ran from 2018 to 2020. Pilkey.com notes that a manga adaptation released in 2025, with this Graphix edition dated April 7, 2026, representing its wider publication. Against that backdrop, this manga volume arrives not as a standalone experiment but as the latest evolution of one of children's publishing's most commercially successful properties.
Interior manga pages showing action sequences with robots, vehicles, and characters in dynamic comic panel layouts.
What This Format Is Designed to Do
The central creative choice here is the format shift: a story originally told as an illustrated chapter book for early-to-middle-grade readers is now rendered in manga style by Motojiro, whose artwork is entirely new to this adaptation. Multiple booksellers, including Barnes & Noble and Schuler Books, describe it as "a reimagined adventure perfectly paired with all-new manga artwork." The book is designed, per Pilkey.com, to "captivate a new generation of readers" — positioning it as an entry point for children who may be more familiar with manga as a reading format than with traditional illustrated novels. The adaptation is written and structured for grades 2–3, keeping it accessible to the same early-reader audience that made the original a classroom staple, while offering a visually distinct experience from the chapter-book version Pilkey himself both wrote and illustrated in 1997.
Strengths: Familiar Story, New Creative Energy
The source material has proven, across nearly three decades, to be exceptionally durable with young readers. The core plot — bumbling villainy, kid-powered problem-solving, and a hero who fights crime in his underwear — is the same story that established the franchise's reputation for irreverent, reluctance-busting humor. By pairing that story with Motojiro's manga-specific visual vocabulary, the book is structured to offer something genuinely different from what long-time fans already own, rather than merely reprinting a familiar product. For readers who have migrated to manga through series like Dog Man, the format provides a natural bridge back into the Captain Underpants world. Wikipedia notes that the broader series has long been one of the most frequently challenged books in American schools and libraries, a distinction that has historically done nothing to diminish its popularity with its intended audience — and which speaks to the series' outsized cultural presence.
Considerations for Buyers
Because this is a retelling of the first book rather than a new story, readers who already own The Adventures of Captain Underpants will find the plot entirely familiar — the value proposition rests squarely on the new manga format and Motojiro's artwork, not on narrative novelty. Parents or gift-buyers who are not specifically seeking a manga version of a story the child may already know should factor that in. Additionally, while the franchise spans 12 main novels and 15 spin-offs, this volume adapts only the first entry, so readers hoping for new plot territory will need to look to other titles in the series. The Captain Underpants franchise has also been among the most frequently challenged titles in school and library settings, as Wikipedia documents — a factor some buyers may wish to weigh, though the challenge history has not dampened the series' popularity with its core readership.
Frequently Asked Questions
is Captain Underpants: The First Epic Manga (From the Creator of Dog Man) by Dav Pilkey worth reading if my kid already owns the original book
If your child already owns The Adventures of Captain Underpants, the plot will be completely familiar — the review is clear that the value here rests squarely on Motojiro's all-new manga artwork and the format shift, not on any new story territory. That said, for kids who've migrated to manga through series like Dog Man, the review positions it as a natural bridge back into the Captain Underpants world in a visually distinct way.
what actually happens in Captain Underpants: The First Epic Manga (From the Creator of Dog Man) by Dav Pilkey
Fourth-graders George Beard and Harold Hutchins use a "3-D Hypno-Ring" to hypnotize their tyrannical principal Mr. Krupp, accidentally transforming him into Captain Underpants — the waistband-wearing superhero from their homemade comic books. The adventure escalates when the trio has to stop the evil Dr. Diaper, whose crystal-powered Laser-Matic 2000 threatens to destroy the Moon.
what age is Captain Underpants: The First Epic Manga (From the Creator of Dog Man) by Dav Pilkey appropriate for
The book is best for ages 7 and up (grades 2–3), which reflects both its reading level and its panel-based manga format that suits early independent readers. The humor is irreverent and the story involves a bumbling villain and kid-powered problem-solving, but there's nothing in the content that pushes it beyond that early-reader audience.
is Captain Underpants: The First Epic Manga (From the Creator of Dog Man) by Dav Pilkey good for kids who are reluctant readers
The review points to the original Captain Underpants franchise's long reputation for "reluctance-busting humor," and this manga adaptation is specifically designed to reach kids who may be more comfortable with manga as a reading format than with traditional illustrated novels. The panel-based manga structure by illustrator Motojiro offers a genuinely different visual experience that could appeal to kids who've bounced off chapter books.
is Captain Underpants: The First Epic Manga (From the Creator of Dog Man) by Dav Pilkey similar to Dog Man
They share the same creator, Dav Pilkey, and this manga volume is explicitly positioned as a bridge for readers who came to Captain Underpants through the Dog Man series. Unlike Dog Man, though, this book is a retelling of the 1997 original story rather than new plot territory, and the manga artwork is handled by illustrator Motojiro rather than Pilkey himself.
is Captain Underpants: The First Epic Manga (From the Creator of Dog Man) by Dav Pilkey banned or controversial
The review notes that Wikipedia documents the broader Captain Underpants franchise as one of the most frequently challenged titles in American schools and libraries — though it also points out that this challenge history has historically done nothing to diminish the series' popularity with its core readership. Buyers who are specifically sensitive to that history may want to factor it in, but it hasn't stopped the franchise from selling more than 90 million books worldwide.
what makes Captain Underpants: The First Epic Manga (From the Creator of Dog Man) by Dav Pilkey different from the original Captain Underpants book
The core story — George Beard and Harold Hutchins, Mr. Krupp, Captain Underpants, and Dr. Diaper — is the same as the original 1997 chapter book, but everything visual is entirely new, drawn by manga artist Motojiro in a manga-specific visual style. The review describes it as "a reimagined retelling rather than a straight reprint," making it a genuinely distinct object even for longtime fans of the franchise.
Sources & Further Reading
The key facts and claims in this review are grounded in the retrieved, verified sources listed below.
- Cited in this review
- 1
pilkey.com
- 2
- Further reading
- 3
Dav Pilkey, Wikipedia
- 4
en.wikipedia.org
- 5
- 6
- 7
scholastic.com
- 8
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