Author Dav Pilkey had an impressive 2017 with the movie adaptation of his beloved Captain Underpants, which was met with plenty of acclaim. However, his recent output with spin-off Dog Man has been even more interesting, especially as it's a view from Pilkey but of his enfant terribles George and Harold, who have graduated to the fifth grade and now have a deeper and more mature stance on comic book culture. So, how do they apply that to their own creation? Well, "Dog Man: A Tale of Two Kitties" is a book that manages to mix in juvenile humor with a growing emotional subtext and a series of pop culture references that are fun and irreverent. The mythology of this series is unexpectedly rich, and with this book Pilkey and the boys may have outdone himself.
Dog Man as a concept is very stupid. It's about a man whose head is crushed and a dog whose body is crushed. When put together, Dog Man becomes able to fight crime, albeit with some canine instincts such as hiding in shame when he does something wrong. It's an idea that's novel and captures the youthful sensibility of the creators, who are starting to read Charles Dickens and John Steinbeck (which are very odd choices) and incorporating more complex plot devices into their work. The first two Dog Man books were largely soporific and silly, but "A Tale of Two Kitties" seems to capture something within its playful humor. It finds the humanity of its characters, all without ever sacrificing the goofball charm of George and Harold's mentality. In that way, it shows a growth on par with fellow 1997 stalwart Harry Potter. However, Harry Potter probably never called anyone poo-poo head.
The premise revolves around Dog Man fighting his nemesis Petey, who has created a clone called Lil Petey. The catch however is that he's just a baby, unaware of why he should be evil. Why? He's a clone of an evil cat, so it all should make more sense. Through the course of the story, the emotional core is about Lil Petey's struggle between good and evil. There's also an invention cleverly named 80-HD, who has his own moral quest. The one redeeming feature is that Lil Petey is still young and naive. He sees the good in the world and picks fights with Petey. His eventual bond with Dog Man leads to a fairly satisfying third act moral that good conquers evil. It's a theme that's ran through all of Pilkey's work, but this time it doesn't involve killer toilets or wicked wedgie women. It's just dogs and cats learning to get along.
What makes the book transcend its young audience is the feeling that Pilkey wants to try something more creative with his franchise after 20 years. He does this by taking George and Harold to fifth grade and exploring their growing love of pop culture. There's an underlying humor in this that works for the audience who knows The Six Million Dollar Man, or the collected works of Steinbeck and Dickens. It feels more sophisticated in a humor sense, even as it does the typical deadpan lines with a brevity that's at times beautiful. Yes, there's juvenile humor and maybe gets a little dumb. However, it's more focused and has less grammatical issues. It's as if George and Harold are being encouraged to pursue artistic careers, which in some ways makes their work more satisfying.
As much as a book about a Dog Man fighting evil cats can be endearing, Pilkey has found a way to make it have a deeper substance. This is about bonding and experiencing maturity beyond the Flip-O-Rama pages. The animation is still crude, but the story hides something grander and more effective. In fact, the story ends with a great satirical P.S.A. (or is it?) that asks readers to read the book to your dog, man. Considering how entertaining the book is, it makes sense that one would take such an absurd look at this franchise and find something encouraging. "A Tale of Two Kitties" is Pilkey at his best, in part because he manages to grow as a writer (but not artist) without losing what made him interesting. The book has a lot of great characters, including newcomer Lil Petey, and proves that there's value in creating your own world no matter how stupid the idea initially seems. It may not be as iconic as Captain Underpants to the point that it deserves its own movie, but Dog Man may be the second-best thing to come out of the franchise in quite some time.
No comments:
Post a Comment