Scholastic Marks 10 Years of Dog Man With New Titles and Tours

Scholastic is marking ten years of Dog Man — or, as the publisher playfully frames it, 70 in dog years — with an ambitious slate of new releases, a multi-city author tour, and a broadening of Dav Pilkey's universe that now includes a manga reimagining of his earlier Captain Underpants franchise. According to a recent press release on PR Newswire↗, the celebrations center on one of the bestselling graphic novel series of all time, with new titles already locked in through early 2028.

The most immediate headline in Pilkey's expanding catalog is Captain Underpants: The First Epic Manga (From the Creator of Dog Man), which Pilkey's official site confirms is already on sale↗. The title is a manga-format adaptation of the original Captain Underpants chapter book, written and adapted by Pilkey himself and illustrated by manga artist Motojiro — a fresh visual reimagining designed to introduce the long-running franchise to a new generation of readers. For those unfamiliar, the story follows two mischievous fourth-graders who accidentally hypnotize their tyrannical principal into believing he is a superhero named Captain Underpants.

On the Dog Man front, the release pipeline extends well beyond the anniversary itself. As reported by Comics Beat↗, the fifteenth Dog Man graphic novel — Dog Man: A Sprinkle in Time — is scheduled for November 3, 2026. That will be followed by Dog Man Dynamite, described by Stock Titan↗ as an interactive 48-page paperback featuring comics, games, puzzles, and jokes, launching August 3, 2027, with a second installment in the Dynamite format due January 2028. The interactive format represents a notable shift in how Scholastic is packaging Pilkey's world — moving beyond straight narrative into activity-driven content that invites younger readers to participate rather than simply consume.

Rounding out the celebration is a major multi-city author tour, details of which are included in the Scholastic announcement. For a creator whose work is as visually and kinetically energetic as Pilkey's, live events carry particular weight — his books are as much performance as text, and in-person engagement has historically been central to how the Dog Man series built its devoted readership.

Dog Man's tenth anniversary arrives at a moment when the graphic novel format for young readers is no longer a novelty but a cornerstone of children's publishing. The Scholastic press release notes that Pilkey's Captain Underpants series was instrumental in creating the illustrated children's chapter book category — a claim that carries real historical weight. Before Pilkey, the idea that comics-adjacent, heavily illustrated books could anchor children's literacy was contested; today it is orthodoxy. Dog Man built on that foundation, and its decade-long run has helped normalize graphic storytelling as a legitimate — and pedagogically valuable — entry point for reluctant readers.

The manga adaptation of Captain Underpants is a strategically interesting move in that context. Manga continues to dominate young adult and middle-grade reading lists globally, and a Pilkey-authored, manga-format version of his foundational franchise connects his existing audience to a format that is already central to how children and teens engage with sequential art. It also extends the Captain Underpants property's reach into markets and demographics where manga aesthetics carry particular resonance, without requiring Pilkey to cede creative control — he is credited as writer and adapter alongside illustrator Motojiro.

For fans of Pilkey's earlier work, it's also worth noting that the Dog Man: Big Jim Believes volume demonstrated that the series maintains its humor and emotional accessibility deep into its run — context worth keeping in mind as the fifteenth installment approaches.

Captain Underpants: The First Epic Manga is a manga-format reimagining of Dav Pilkey's original chapter book, now on sale from Scholastic's Graphix imprint. Want the full verdict? Read our review of Captain Underpants: The First Epic Manga for LuvemBooks' complete take on whether this adaptation delivers for new and returning readers alike.