David "Dav" Murray Pilkey Jr. (; born March 4, 1966) is an American

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and g ...

, author, and

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complic ...

of children's literature. He is best known as the author and illustrator of the children's book series, ''

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

'', and the children's graphic novel series, '' Dog Man''.

Life and career

Pilkey was born in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S ...

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 household and went to Christian schools throughout his life. Pilkey was diagnosed with

attention deficit hyperactivity disorder Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by excessive amounts of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that are pervasive, impairing in multiple contexts, and otherwise age-inap ...

and

dyslexia Dyslexia, also known until the 1960s as word blindness, is a disorder characterized by reading below the expected level for one's age. Different people are affected to different degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, r ...

as a child. In elementary school in

Elyria, Ohio Elyria ( ) is a city in the Greater Cleveland metropolitan statistical area and the county seat of Lorain County, Ohio, United States, located at the forks of the Black River in Northeast Ohio 23 miles southwest of Cleveland. As of the 2020 ...

, 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 between the United States and the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

, 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 is an American multinational restaurant chain and international franchise founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas by Dan and Frank Carney. They serve their signature pan pizza and other dishes including pasta, breadsticks and desse ...

. Pilkey graduated from

Kent State University Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio. The university also includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio and additional facilities in the region and internationally. Regional campuses are located in ...

. He married Sayuri Pilkey in 2005. '' 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

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

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 Re-turn of Tippy Tinkletrousers'' was released on August 28, 2012, and ''

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 published on January 15, 2013. Plot Continuing from the previous book, it is r ...

'' was released in January 2013. Pilkey and his wife live on

Bainbridge Island Bainbridge Island is a city and island in Kitsap County, Washington. It is located in Puget Sound. The population was 23,025 at the 2010 census and an estimated 25,298 in 2019, making Bainbridge Island the second largest city in Kitsap County. ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. On March 25, 2021, Dav Pilkey announced on his YouTube channel that he and Scholastic will cease further publication of the book ''

The Adventures of Ook and Gluk ''The Adventures of Ook and Gluk: Kung-Fu Cavemen from the Future'' is a graphic novel by Dav Pilkey, the second spin-off of the ''Captain Underpants'' series. The book is credited to ''Captain Underpants'' characters "George Beard" as the author ...

,'' and will remove it from retailers and libraries due to some stereotyping of the characters in the book. 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 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.

''Captain Underpants ''

* '' The Adventures of Captain Underpants'' (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) by Dav Pilkey, and the second book in the ''Captain Underpants'' book series. It was published on February 1, 1999. It marks ...

'' (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'' (July 29, 2000) * '' The Captain Underpants Extra-Crunchy Book o' Fun'' (2001) * '' Captain Underpants and the Wrath of the Wicked Wedgie Woman'' (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'' (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) * '' Captain Underpants and the Sensational Saga of Sir Stinks-A-Lot'' (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 George Beard and Harold Hutchins.

''Dog Man''

* ''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 28th, 2023)

''Cat Kid Comic Club''

* ''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) It is a spin-off series to Dog Man.

''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) Illustrator only * '' 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 charte ...

'' (1993) * ''Dog Breath!: The Horrible Trouble With Hally Tosis'' (1994) * ''The Moonglow Roll-O-Rama'' (1995) * '' The Hallo-Wiener'' (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, http://themilneraward.org/ * 2019: Person of the Year Award from Publishers Weekly * 2019: Comic Industry Person of the Year

References

External links

* * * (''Dumb Bunnies'', 1994 to 1997)
Beard, George (fictitious character)
at LC Authorities – not a Pilkey pseudonym
Hutchins, Harold (fictitious character)
at LC Authorities – not a Pilkey pseudonym

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 cartoonists American children's writers American children's book illustrators American male novelists Artists from Cleveland Captain Underpants Writers with dyslexia Kent State University alumni Living people Novelists from Ohio People with dyslexia Writers from Bainbridge Island, Washington Writers who illustrated their own writing 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers