David Murray "Dav" Pilkey Jr. (/ˈdeɪv/; born March 4, 1966) is an American cartoonist, author and illustrator of children's literature. Pilkey is best known as the author and illustrator of the children's book series Captain Underpants and the children's graphic novel series Dog Man.
Life and career[]
Pilkey was born to Barbara and David Pilkey Sr. in Cleveland, Ohio. He has a sister who is older. As a young child, Pilkey received diagnoses for dyslexia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Pilkey conceived the "Captain Underpants" character while attending elementary school in North Ridgeville, Ohio, where he was constantly chastised for his conduct in class. Pilkey therefore frequently sat at a desk in the school hallway. In a national contest for young authors, Pilkey entered his first work, "World War Won," and he took first place in his age group. The 1987 release of the book was recognized with an award.
While working at a nearby Pizza Hut, he dropped the E off of his name badge, which led to the unusual spelling of his first name.
Pilkey was a student at Kent State University. Prior to that, he was romantically involved with Cynthia Rylant. In 2005, he wed Sayuri Pilkey.
In order to care for his dying father (who passed away on November 13, 2008), Pilkey took a few years off from writing. However, in 2009, he reached an agreement with Scholastic to publish four new books. The first two are graphic novels: "Super Diaper Baby 2: Invasion of the Potty Snatchers," which was released on June 28, 2011, and "The Adventures of Ook and Gluk, Kung-Fu Cavemen From the Future," which was released on August 10, 2010. On August 28, 2012 and January 15, 2013, respectively, "Captain Underpants and the Terrifying Re-turn of Tippy Tinkletrousers" and "Captain Underpants and the Revolting Revenge of the Radioactive Robo-Boxers" were released.
Pilkey and his wife are currently living in Bainbridge Island, Washington as of 2017.
Works[]
Dumb Bunnies[]
- The Dumb Bunnies (1994)
- The Dumb Bunnies' Easter (1995)
- Make Way for the Dumb Bunnies (1996)
- The Dumb Bunnies Go to the Zoo (1997)
Pilkey authored the Dumb Bunnies books under the pseudonym Sue Denim because he thought it would be fun. He has stated that the series was influenced by The Stupids.
Captain Underpants[]
- The Adventures of Captain Underpants (September 1, 1997)
- Captain Underpants and the Attack of the Talking Toilets (February 1, 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 Return of Tippy Tinkletrousers (August 28, 2012)
- Captain Underpants and the Revolting Revenge of the Radioactive Robo-Boxers (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, discontinued 2021)
- Super Diaper Baby 2: The Invasion of the Potty Snatchers (June 28, 2011)
Pilkey authored the Super Diaper Baby and The Adventure of Ook and Gluk books under the pseudonyms Harold Hutchins and George Beard.
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 28, 2023)
- Dog Man: The Scarlet Shedder (March 19, 2024)
- Dog Man: Big Jim Begins (December 3, 2024)
Dog Man spin-offs[]
- 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[]
- Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot (2000)
- Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot vs. the Mutant Mosquitoes from Mercury (2000)
- Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot vs. the Voodoo Vultures from Venus (2001)
- Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot vs. the Mecha Monkeys from Mars (2002)
- Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot vs. the Jurassic Jackrabbits from Jupiter (2002)
- Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot vs. the Stupid Stinkbugs from Saturn (2003)
- Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot vs. the Uranium Unicorns from Uranus (2005)
- Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot vs. the Naughty Night Crawlers from Neptune (2016)
- Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot vs. the Un-Pleasant Penguins from Pluto (2016)
- Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot Astro-Activity Book o' Fun (2000)
Big Dog & Little Dog[]
- Big Dog and Little Dog (1997)
- Big Dog and Little Dog Going for a Walk (1997)
- 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)
- DRAGON
- A friend for dragon
- Dragons fat cat
- Dragon's merry christmas
- Dragon gets by
- Dragon's Halloween
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 (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 Captain Underpants series
- 2016: Milner Award, The [Dav Pilkey] favorite children's book author, http://themilneraward.org/