Dog Man Series by Dav Pilkey

Dav Pilkey’s Dog Man series, while reveling in underwear and potty humor, still manages to be loveable. And even funny.

Dog Man: a Graphic Novel by Dav Pilkey. Scholastic Graphix, 2016, 240 pages.

Dog Man: Mothering Heights by Dav Pilkey. Scholastic Graphix, 2021, 221 pages.

Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 7-9

Recommended for: ages 6-10

If you have any 6-year-old boys in the house, you may already know George and Harold, the 4th-grade comic artists whose adventures with Principal Krupp, a.k.a. Captain Underpants, became the stuff of legend. Just as Capt. Underpants was running its course, the two friends happened upon a stash of comics they wrote earlier. These were such a riot they decided to share them with us loyal readers, and thus

 Dog Man

The Dog Man universe, like the Capt. U and Marvel and DC and every other universe, contains its cast of recurring characters. The title character is the result of a dastardly trick paid by Petey, the World’s Most Evilest Cat, who planted a bomb for for the police. Officer Knight and Greg the Dog discovered it, and in the ensuing explosion, Knight’s head and Greg’s body were damaged beyond repair. Loyal & true Nurse Lady suggested joining the man’s body and the dog’s head, which worked out brilliantly because Greg was the smart one anyway. Petey’s evil plot backfired as Dog Man became an implacable foe. Over the course of 13 volumes, Petey reforms and tries to become a better version of himself. But other villains are always waiting in the wings, along with explosions, monsters, robots, and monstrous robots.

Literary puns and potty jokes

Since it was supposedly conceived by a pair of imaginative 4th-graders when they were in 1st grade, the Dog Man books are for a slightly younger age group than Captain Underpants. The artistic quality is about what you’d expect from a pair of imaginative 4^th-graders. Pilky has a lot of fun with subtitles, as in A Tale of Two Kitties, Lord of the Fleas, Fetch-22, and the latest, Mothering Heights.

Readers who don’t get the literary references can expect plenty of bathroom humor and behavior of which grownups don’t approve. In the original volume Mrs. Congreve, George and Harold’s teacher, feels compelled send a letter home to the boys’ parents about their inappropriate comic. I haven’t read every book in the series, but Mothering Heights features song parodies about diarrhea, which is probably typical. Parents be warned about what they might hear their 7-year-old belting out in the shower. (Mothering Heights also features a paraphrase from John 8:7, referenced in the end notes. Go figure.)

On the positive side, Dog Man is sweet-tempered and true blue (as well as a very sloppy kisser) and Petey’s struggles to be a better cat are both touching and commendable. Love and kindness win out over dastardly schemes every time—you have to wonder why the bad guys keep coming back for more. There’s no question why the kids clamor for more Dog Man. Parents can make up their own minds about potty jokes, but I think most readers know what’s acceptable at the dinner table. Or if not, this is one way to learn. All books include How to Draw pages (so readers can draw just like George and Harold) and the patented Flip-o-Rama feature, whereby pages appear to be animated when flipped back and forth.

Overall Rating: 3.75 (out of 5)

• Worldview/moral value: 3.5
• Artistic/literary value: 4

Read more about our ratings here.                 

More at Redeemed Reader:

• Reflection: See Emily’s thoughts about Coming to Terms with Boy Humor.
• Reflection: And speaking of Boy Humor, we have to talk about the Wimpy Kid series.
• Reviews: Picture books for boys (and girls) who love humor and action.

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