David Murray "Dav" Pilkey Jr. (; born March 4, 1966) is an American comic book writer of children's fiction. He is best known as the author and illustrator of the children's book series ''

Captain Underpants ''Captain Underpants'' is an American illustrated children's novel series and multimedia franchise by American author and illustrator Dav Pilkey. The series revolves around two fourth graders, George Beard and Harold Hutchins, living in Pi ...

'' and its spin-off children's

graphic novel A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and Anthology, anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics sc ...

series ''

Dog Man ''Dog Man'' is a children's graphic novel series by American author and illustrator Dav Pilkey. A spinoff and story within a story of Pilkey's ''Captain Underpants'' series, ''Dog Man'' revolves around the adventures of the titular character, ...

'', the latter published under the respective writer and illustrator

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

s of George Beard and Harold Hutchins, which are also the names of the two protagonists of the ''Captain Underpants'' series.

Life and career

Pilkey was born in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

, on March 4, 1966, to the Reverend David Pilkey, Sr. and Barbara, who was the church organist. He has one older sister. Pilkey was brought up in a conservative

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

household and went to

Christian schools A Christian school is a religious school run on Christian principles or by a Christian organization. These schools often include religious education and worship in their curriculum. They may also have a distinct Christian mission or philosophy. ...

throughout his life. Pilkey was diagnosed with

attention deficit hyperactivity disorder Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, and emotional dysregulation that are excessive and pervasive, impairing in multiple con ...

(ADHD) and

dyslexia Dyslexia (), previously known as word blindness, is a learning disability that affects either reading or writing. Different people are affected to different degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, reading quickly, wri ...

as a child. In elementary school in

North Ridgeville, Ohio North Ridgeville is a city located along the eastern border of Lorain County, Ohio, United States. The city's population was 35,280 as of the 2020 census. A part of the Cleveland metropolitan area, North Ridgeville is the fastest-growing city i ...

, Pilkey was frequently reprimanded for his behavior in class and thus usually sat at a desk in the school hallway, where he created the ''Captain Underpants'' character. In 1987, Pilkey wrote his first book, ''World War Won'', an allegorical fable inspired by the

nuclear arms race The nuclear arms race was an arms race competition for supremacy in nuclear warfare between the United States, the Soviet Union, and their respective allies during the Cold War. During this same period, in addition to the American and Soviet nuc ...

between the United States and the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, in a national competition for student authors and won in his age category. The book's publication in 1987 was included in the award. The atypical spelling of his first name came when the "e" in "Dave" was left off his name tag while working at

Pizza Hut Pizza Hut, LLC is an American multinational pizza restaurant chain and international franchise founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas, by brothers Dan and Frank Carney. The chain, headquartered in Plano, Texas, operates 19,866 restaurants worldw ...

. Pilkey graduated from

Kent State University Kent State University (KSU) is a Public university, public research university in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio located in Kent State University at Ashtabula, Ashtabula, Kent State ...

. He married Sayuri Pilkey in 2005. “Captain Underpants” was published in 1997. Later, '' The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby'' was published in 2002 and was Pilkey's first full complete graphic novel. It appeared at No. 6 on the ''USA Today'' bestseller list for all books, both adult and children's, and was also a ''New York Times'' bestselling book for Children's Middle Grade. The first ''Super Diaper Baby'' graphic novel was published with Scholastic years before Scholastic created the Graphix imprint. Pilkey took a break from writing for a few years to care for his terminally ill father (who died on November 13, 2008), but in 2009 agreed with Scholastic to publish four new books. The first two are

s: '' The Adventures of Ook and Gluk: Kung-Fu Cavemen from the Future'', released on August 10, 2010; and '' Super Diaper Baby 2: Invasion of the Potty Snatchers'', released on June 28, 2011. ''

Captain Underpants and the Terrifying Return of Tippy Tinkletrousers ''Captain Underpants and the Terrifying Return of Tippy Tinkletrousers'' is a 2012 American children's novel and the ninth book in the ''Captain Underpants'' series by Dav Pilkey. It was published on August 28, 2012, six years after the publicat ...

'' was released on August 28, 2012, ''

Captain Underpants and the Revolting Revenge of the Radioactive Robo-Boxers ''Captain Underpants and the Revolting Revenge of the Radioactive Robo-Boxers'' is the tenth book in the ''Captain Underpants'' series created by Dav Pilkey. It was released on January 15, 2013. This book is a continuation of '' Captain Underp ...

'' was released on January 15, 2013, '' Captain Underpants and the Tyrannical Retaliation of the Turbo Toilet 2000'' was released on August 26, 2014, and ''

Captain Underpants and the Sensational Saga of Sir Stinks-A-Lot ''Captain Underpants and the Sensational Saga of Sir Stinks-A-Lot'' is the twelfth and final book in the ''Captain Underpants'' series, written and illustrated by Dav Pilkey. The book continues after the eleventh book as George, Harold, and thei ...

'' was released on August 25, 2015. Additionally, thirteen ''

'' and ''Cat Kid Comic Club'' novels have been published since August 30, 2016. Pilkey and his wife live on

Bainbridge Island Bainbridge Island is a city and island in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. It is located in Puget Sound. The population was 24,825 at the 2020 census, making Bainbridge Island the second largest city in Kitsap County. The island is se ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

. On March 25, 2021, Dav Pilkey announced on his YouTube channel that he and Scholastic would cease further publication of the book '' The Adventures of Ook and Gluk'', and would remove it from retailers and libraries due to some characters in the book being stereotypes. Pilkey stated that he intended to showcase diversity, equality, and non-violent conflict resolution. He also stated that even unintentional and passive stereotypes are harmful to everyone. Pilkey will donate his entire advance, past, and future royalties from the book to organizations promoting diversity that are designed to stop violence against Asians.

Publications

''Dragon'' series

* ''Dragon Gets By'' (1991) * ''A Friend For Dragon'' (1991) * ''Dragon's Merry Christmas'' (1991) * ''Dragon's Fat Cat'' (1992) * ''Dragon's Halloween'' (1993) The Dragon series was originally published with Orchard Books. Scholastic then reprinted the series in 2019. Dav Pilkey used

watercolors Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin 'water'), is a painting method"Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to the S ...

purchased at a local grocery store to paint the illustrations in these books. The series became a stop-motion animation TV show with 78 episodes from 2004 to 2007.

''Dumb Bunnies''

* ''The Dumb Bunnies'' (1994) * ''The Dumb Bunnies' Easter'' (1995) * ''Make Way for Dumb Bunnies'' (1996) * ''The Dumb Bunnies Go to the Zoo'' (1997) Pilkey authored The Dumb Bunnies series using the pseudonym, Sue Denim. The Dumb Bunnies were made into a television series by Canadian animation studio Nelvana in 1998 and 1999. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0472245/

''Captain Underpants ''

* ''

The Adventures of Captain Underpants ''The Adventures of Captain Underpants'' is an American children's literature, children's novel by Dav Pilkey, and the inaugural novel of the ''Captain Underpants'' series. It was published in September 1997, becoming a hit with children around ...

'' (September 1, 1997) * ''

Captain Underpants and the Attack of the Talking Toilets ''Captain Underpants and the Attack of the Talking Toilets'' is an American children's book (taking the form of a novel) written and illustrated by Dav Pilkey, another second book in the ''Captain Underpants'' book series. It was published on Fe ...

'' (February 1999) * '' Captain Underpants and the Invasion of the Incredibly Naughty Cafeteria Ladies from Outer Space (and the Subsequent Assault of the Equally Evil Lunchroom Zombie Nerds)'' (September 1, 1999) * ''

Captain Underpants and the Perilous Plot of Professor Poopypants ''Captain Underpants and the Perilous Plot of Professor Poopypants'' is the fourth book in the ''Captain Underpants'' series written by Dav Pilkey. The book is about a mad scientist named Professor Pippy P. Poopypants becoming a new science teach ...

'' (July 29, 2000) * ''

The Captain Underpants Extra-Crunchy Book o' Fun ''Captain Underpants'' is an American illustrated children's novel series and multimedia franchise by American author and illustrator Dav Pilkey. The series revolves around two fourth graders, George Beard and Harold Hutchins, living in Piqua ...

'' (2001) * ''

Captain Underpants and the Wrath of the Wicked Wedgie Woman ''Captain Underpants and the Wrath of the Wicked Wedgie Woman'' is the fifth book in the ''Captain Underpants'' series by Dav Pilkey. It was published on August 29, 2001. It features the reformation of George and Harold's formerly cruel teacher, ...

'' (August 29, 2001) * ''The All New Captain Underpants Extra-Crunchy Book O' Fun 2'' (2002) * '' Captain Underpants and the Big, Bad Battle of the Bionic Booger Boy, Part 1: The Night of the Nasty Nostril Nuggets'' (August 1, 2003) * '' Captain Underpants and the Big, Bad Battle of the Bionic Booger Boy, Part 2: The Revenge of the Ridiculous Robo-Boogers'' (September 30, 2003) * ''

Captain Underpants and the Preposterous Plight of the Purple Potty People Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

'' (August 15, 2006) * '' Captain Underpants and the Terrifying Re-Turn of Tippy Tinkletrousers'' (August 28, 2012) * ''

'' (January 15, 2013) * '' Captain Underpants and the Tyrannical Retaliation of the Turbo Toilet 2000'' (August 26, 2014) * ''

'' (August 25, 2015)

''Captain Underpants'' spin-offs

* '' The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby'' (February 5, 2002) * '' The Adventures of Ook and Gluk: Kung-Fu Cavemen from the Future'' (August 10, 2010) * '' Super Diaper Baby 2: Invasion of the Potty Snatchers'' (June 28, 2011) Pilkey authored the Super Diaper Baby books and Ook and Gluk under the pseudonyms of George Beard and Harold Hutchins, who are two of the main characters in the Captain Underpants series. In that series, George and Harold write and illustrate comic books together respectively and these are claimed in-story to be some of the comics they produced.

''Dog Man''

''Dog Man'' is also a

spin-off Spin-off, Spin Off, Spin-Off, or Spinoff may refer to: Entertainment and media *Spinoff (media), a media work derived from an existing work *''The Spinoff'', a New Zealand current affairs magazine * ''Spin Off'' (Canadian game show), a 2013 Canad ...

of ''Captain Underpants'', similarly said to be written and illustrated by George Beard and Harold Hutchins. * ''Dog Man'' (August 30, 2016) * ''Dog Man: Unleashed'' (December 27, 2016) * ''Dog Man: A Tale of Two Kitties'' (August 29, 2017) * ''Dog Man and Cat Kid'' (December 26, 2017) * ''Dog Man: Lord of the Fleas'' (August 28, 2018) * ''Dog Man: Brawl of the Wild'' (December 24, 2018) * ''Dog Man: For Whom the Ball Rolls'' (August 13, 2019) * ''Dog Man: Fetch-22'' (December 10, 2019) * ''Dog Man: Grime and Punishment'' (September 1, 2020) * ''Dog Man: Mothering Heights'' (March 23, 2021) * ''Dog Man: Twenty Thousand Fleas Under The Sea'' (March 28, 2023) * ''Dog Man: The Scarlet Shedder'' (March 19, 2024) * ''Dog Man: Big Jim Begins'' (December 3, 2024) * ''Dog Man: Big Jim Believes'' (November 11, 2025)

''Cat Kid Comic Club''

''Cat Kid Comic Club'' is a spinoff of ''Dog Man.'' * ''Cat Kid Comic Club'' (December 1, 2020) * ''Cat Kid Comic Club: Perspectives'' (November 30, 2021) * ''Cat Kid Comic Club: On Purpose'' (April 12, 2022) * ''Cat Kid Comic Club: Collaborations'' (November 29, 2022) * ''Cat Kid Comic Club: Influencers'' (November 28, 2023)

''Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot''

''Big Dog & Little Dog''

* ''Big Dog and Little Dog Getting in Trouble'' (1997) * ''Big Dog and Little Dog Wearing Sweaters'' (1998) * ''Big Dog and Little Dog Making a Mistake'' (1999) * ''The Complete Adventures of Big Dog and Little Dog'' (1999)

Other books

* ''World War Won'' (1987) * ''Don't Pop Your Cork on Mondays'' (1988) Illustrator only * Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving'' (1990) * ''The Place Nobody Stopped'' (1991) Illustrator only * ''Julius'' (1993) * '' Kat Kong'' (1993) * ''

Dogzilla Dogzilla were a British electronic music duo. The group had four major releases between 2003 and 2008, and was composed of Simon Patterson and Richie Kayvan, both based in London. They are most famous for their single "Without You" which char ...

'' (1993) * ''Dog Breath!: The Horrible Trouble With Hally Tosis'' (1994) * ''The Moonglow Roll-O-Rama'' (1995) * ''

The Hallo-Wiener ''The Hallo-Wiener'' is a children's book by Dav Pilkey and published on September 1, 1995, by The Blue Sky Press. The story's main character is a dachshund named Oscar, who is named after Oscar Mayer. Plot The story begins with Oscar, a da ...

'' (1995) * ''When Cats Dream'' (1996) * ''God Bless the Gargoyles'' (1996) * '' The Paperboy'' (1996) * ''The Silly Gooses'' (1998) * ''Comics Squad: Recess!'' (2014) contributor as author/illustrator for this anthology * ''Guys Read: Terrifying Tales'' (2015) contributor as author/illustrator for this anthology * ''One Today'' (2015) illustrator only

Awards

* 1986: The National Written and Illustrated by... Awards Contest for Students, ages 14–19 category, ''World War Won'' * 1997: Caldecott Honor Award, ''The Paperboy'' * 1998: California Young Reader Medal, ''Dog Breath!: The Horrible Trouble with Hally Tosis'', published in 1994 * 2007: Disney Adventures Kids' Choice Awards, The ''

'' series * 2016: Milner Award, The favorite children's book author * 2019: Person of the Year Award from Publishers Weekly * 2019: Comic Industry Person of the Year

References

External links

* * * (''Dumb Bunnies'', 1994 to 1997) * *

Interviews

* *
Interview with Dav Pilkey
" ''- Scholastic Kids' Club''. N.p., n.d. * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pilkey, Dav 1966 births 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American artists 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American artists American comics writers American children's writers American children's book illustrators American male novelists American parodists Artists from Cleveland Captain Underpants Writers with dyslexia American writers with disabilities People with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder Kent State University alumni Living people Novelists from Ohio Writers from Bainbridge Island, Washington Writers who illustrated their own writing 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers