Dog Man books: How to read Dog Man (and all of the Dav Pilkey books) in order!

Celebrate the release of the 11th book in the series with this guide to the... 30 earlier titles in the canon...? (Math is hard)

Feature by Graeme McMillan Staff Writer

Published on March 23, 2023

It’s arguably the biggest publishing event in comics this year, but March 2023’s release of Dav Pilkey’s latest Dog Man book is also a chance for newcomers to jump onboard the beloved series so you can find out just what everyone is talking about for yourself.

But wait, you ask yourself: How am I going to get started with Dog Man, anyway? The first place to start is by checking out our explainer on the new book and the Dog Man mythos, which gives you a solid basis for checking out the books themselves and just diving in. You know what would help with that, though? A list of all the Dog Man books to help you know how to read the Dog Man series in order.

How to read the Dog Man books in order

There are eleven official books in the Dog Man series to date, and they are:

In terms of chronological order, it’s a very straightforward series: Book 2 takes place after Book 1, and so on. See? Simple! Unlike…

How to read the entire Dog Man universe in order

…Okay, here’s where things get a little more complicated. Dog Man actually debuted in the ninth book of the Captain Underpants series, as the creation of George Beard and Harold Hutchins, who go on to appear in the Dog Man series proper. So… does that make Captain Underpants part of the larger Dog Man mythology…? It would appear so, but that’s not the only complication: Dog Man doesn’t just have a spin-off series — Cat Kid Comic Club — but it’s a spin-off series that features the son/clone of one of Dog Man’s antagonists, who happens to have first appeared in an entirely different Captain Underpants series.

The whole Dog Man universe, then, is something surprisingly complex and sizable. Be warned — this is how you’d get to read the whole thing:

For those curious: Dog Man and the League of Misfits FCBD Edition is the new story included in the recent 25 1/2th anniversary edition of The Adventures of Captain Underpants, which is being released as a standalone single issue on Free Comic Book Day 2023, and Wally’s World is a Dog Man-related free 16-page comic, as created by Lil Petey from the Dog Man and Cat Kid Comic Club series.

And if you’re wondering what The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby and The Adventures of Ook and Gluk are, they’re standalone books that are, like Dog Man, canonical creations of George and Harold; moreover, Super Diaper Baby introduces Petey, who’s one of Dog Man’s nemeses, and also the clone-father of L’il Petey, AKA Cat Kid. As Jack Kirby put it in the '70s, 'don’t ask, just buy it.'

What’s the newest Dog Man?

The newest official Dog Man book is this year’s Dog Man: Twenty Thousand Fleas Under The Sea, released March 28. It’s the first new Dog Man book in two years, after a schedule of two books a year between 2016 and 2019. (Creator Dav Pilkey hasn’t been taking it easy in the last few years; he’s also produced four books in the Cat Kid Comic Club series in that time.)

What’s next?

Officially, no twelfth book in the Dog Man series has been announced, but it’s almost guaranteed to happen at some point, perhaps even within the next year given Pilkey’s work rate. In the meantime, fans should be checking out both of the free comics created to promote the release of Twenty Thousand Fleas: the 16-page Wally’s World, exclusive to independent bookstores in the U.S., U.K., and Canada, as well as the Dog Man and the League of Misfits FCBD Edition, which will be officially released as a standalone title on May 6 at participating stores.

Want to know more about the latest Dog Man book? We’re here to help.