The Year of the Dog Man

2025 was an epic year for Dav Pilkey’s #1 global bestselling series Dog Man. Here is a look back at all the SUPA moments and events! 

The year kicked off with the world-famous Empire State Building illuminated in Dog Man colors to celebrate Pilkey’s phenomenally popular graphic novel series and mark the theatrical release of the Dog Man feature film from DreamWorks Animation and Universal Pictures. The film made a triumphant debut at the top of the box office. Pilkey and actor/comedian Pete Davidson (who voices Petey in the movie) participated in a lighting ceremony at the Empire State Building. Pilkey also signed copies of Dog Man at the iconic building’s renowned 86th Floor Observatory. 

The year continued with Pilkey’s sold-out “Celebrating Heroes Around the World” Tour which was inspired by the Dog Man series’ recurrent theme that ordinary people can do extraordinarily good deeds. The tour celebrated everyday heroes who made a positive impact in their communities. 

Pilkey's tour across the U.S., the U.K. and Ireland kicked off with a special appearance at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. and included sold-out events in major venues including the Royal Festival Hall in London and the Royal Dublin Society in Dublin.  

Pilkey and Scholastic collaborated with literacy organizations including Book Trust and the Scripps Howard Fund to promote book access and the joy of reading by giving away free books to nearly 50,000 students in underserved schools across the U.S. As part of the initiative, educators organized "Read Together Hero Moments" to recognize one of the themes in the Dog Man series about ordinary people doing extraordinarily good deeds. 

Throughout the year, Scholastic helped booksellers and librarians stage their own Dog Man celebrations with more than 100 Dog Man costume character events in bookstores, libraries, and community-wide events across the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. 

CBS correspondent Rita Braver interviewed Pilkey for a CBS Sunday Morning feature focusing on the humor and heart of the Dog Man series. 

The landmark year continued in Fall 2025 with Dog Man serving as the official anchor of Children’s Book Week, the nation's longest running literacy initiative. As part of the campaign, "Dog Man and Friends Power Up with Reading” celebrations took place in schools, libraries, and independent bookstores in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Canada. Highlighting the importance of doing good, one of the themes in the Dog Man books, the initiative reached nearly 7,000 schools and libraries and included the distribution of thousands of books to young readers. 

Children’s Book Week celebration culminated with a special appearance by Pilkey at the New York Public Library. 

During an appearance on NBC’S TODAY show in November, Pilkey announced an initiative to support educators in all 50 states and the District of Columbia through Scholastic ClassroomsCount™—a free fundraising platform designed to put more books and teaching resources directly into classrooms and libraries. During the segment, Pilkey also shared a sneak peek from his forthcoming Captain Underpants: The First Epic Manga (April 7, 2026) and presented drawings he created to each TODAY show co-anchor. He also met fans, signed and gave away books outside the NBC Studios in Rockefeller Plaza. 

With the release of Dog Man: Big Jim Believes (November 11th publication date), Pilkey embarked on another sold-out “Power Up with Reading” tour where he met thousands of kids and families in large-scale venues including arenas, theaters, and churches. The book debuted at #1 on bestseller lists worldwide. 

The tour kicked off at Cross Insurance Insurance Arena in Portland, Maine with stops in Lakewood (CO), Los Angeles (CA), Atlanta (GA), Milwaukee (WI), Manassus (VA), South Bend (IN) and Toronto, Ontario in Canada. 

At all of Pilkey's events, kids had the opportunity to create their own comics along with many other activities. While kids waited to meet Pilkey, event venues were brimming with activities including an opportunity to meet and take a photo with Dog Man! 

Kids and families lined up in the snow and dressed up as Dog Man to meet Pilkey for the final tour stop in South Bend, Indiana. The tour ended with a special event featuring a performance by the cast of the acclaimed smash hit Dog Man: The Musical from TheaterWorksUSA. 

Get ready for more Dog Man fun in the coming year – as it was recently announced that Dog Man: The Musical will debut in London at the Southbank Centre in summer 2026.