First Epic Manga by Dav Pilkey’s 750,000 Print Run

Posted in: Comics, Manga | Tagged: captain underpants, Dav Pilkey, dog man

Captain Underpants: First Epic Manga by Dav Pilkey and Motojiro gets a 750,000 print run from Scholastic Graphix

Captain Underpants: The First Epic Manga by Dav Pilkey and Motojiro has got a 750,000 print run from Scholastic/Graphix ahead of its release in April.  Captain Underpants was the extraordinarily selling series of chapter books by Dav Pilkey that spun off the even more successful Dog Man. And now Captain Underpants is being adapted into comics, or rather, manga. Notably, the Dog Man graphic novels written and drawn by Pilkey get five million print runs; this volume is more of a toe in the water. Just a three-quarter-of-a-million strong toe… and while this is a smaller print run for Pilkey than he might be used to, for Motojiro, best known for drawing children’s manga, including Asahi Shimbun’s Time Warp and the Battle Brave series, it’s a huge jump up, and is far higher than any manga volume published in the USA.

“It is a huge honor to see Motojiro’s rendering of the Captain Underpants illustrations into manga. His vibrant art inspired me to dig deeper, write new dialogue, and flesh out the story even further. Fans of the series will be thrilled about the new look and new content, and fans of manga will be impressed with Motojiro’s dynamic style. I am grateful to Motojiro for his help in taking Captain Underpants to a whole new level and exciting format that I hope will create a new generation of readers.” – Dav Pilkey

“Dav Pilkey is one of the most inspiring, creative, and influential storytellers of our time. This reimagined Captain Underpants book has it all—action, adventure, humor, heart, heroes—and a whole lot of fun. It’s a joy to work on Captain Underpants: The First Epic Manga—a book that will captivate existing fans and inspire a new generation of kids to love reading.” – Ken Geist, VP and publisher, Pilkey Publishing, Scholastic.

The series will also include Pilkey’s animated page-flipping Flip-o-Ramas, and will be in colour, read left to right, and published on the 7th of April, 2026, in the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Will this outsell Dog Man? Maybe… it’s certainly the only thing outside of Asterix that could right now…

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