For those who think of Dav Pilkey as a one hit wonder, never underestimate the power of underpants. With his latest in the Captain Underpants spin-off Dog Man, he has released 10 million books including three million just for the fifth installment "Lord of the Fleas." So, why is the series so successful in spite of being full of juvenile humor and silly parodies of pop culture mainstays? Well, it could be that at the center of a story about a hero who's half-dog and half-man (get it?) is an emotional core that is stronger than anything from the man who's created such characters as Professor Poopypants. For as silly as the book is, it continues to show how to create characters that grow with each installment in ways that are subversive and honest, and most of all prove that children's literature can be gross and heartfelt.
As the series has progressed, there has been a more interesting subplot with the villain Petey: a cat who has broken out of jail over six times (what a week!) and is a creative mastermind capable of creating foes for Dog Man to defeat. Awhile back, Petey created a clone of himself, or more appropriately a kitten version of himself named Lil Petey who is innocent and pure of mind, finding more to enjoy out of good-natured Dog Man who nurtures his desires and love of poorly constructed knock-knock jokes. It's the struggle beneath the various installments, in which Petey fights to have an heir who is as evil as he is. Lil Petey is not that, though his growth in wisdom over the installments have allowed for one of the strongest emotional cores of the series to date.
Petey reveals why he's a villain. It has to do with a "Lord of the Flies"-esque parody that takes place at a golf course where Petey was outed for crimes he didn't solely commit. His bitterness lead him towards a career in crime. But, as the book posits, is it possible for a villain to become good? For as much as it hangs over Petey's head, Lil Petey is there to try and produce an overtly simple approach to the matter. Because the world is cruel, there is a need to be good. Considering that this book also features Lil Petey making jokes about ladders pooping on Petey's head, it's quite a profound statement, and proof that Pilkey is becoming more of a subversive writer, whose emotional core is growing in interesting ways. This is of course in between the cleverly crafted Flip-O-Rama segments and the occasional misspelling of words, especially when the team becomes "Supa" heroes.
By this point the Dog Man series has matched Captain Underpants in terms of quality and in some ways surpassed it, in spite of being technically a subdivision of the series. It's interesting to read this whole series as the growth of its "authors" George Beard and Harold Hutchins, who are fifth-grade troublemakers who turn to comic books as a form of expression. There has been an ongoing growth not only in how they apply plot devices, but in the aesthetic and production of the various entries. If viewed in this way, there's a lot more to appreciate as the characters unveil more about themselves and their growing interest in form and humor. They're still kids who like the simple punchlines, but as the ending of this installment suggests, they are starting to think of bigger things as well.
"Lord of the Fleas" continues the trend of Dog Man stories that are plenty fun to read and are easy to get kids into. Dog Man as a character remains just as interesting as ever, but the series' emphasis on Lil Petey has become apparent whom Pilkey has more interest in. Between the superhero and crime satire is a character who is too naive to belong there, and that's all part of the charm. It may not have much in the way of an extended "Lord of the Flies," especially compared to the parodies of prior books, but it definitely informs character in ways that are more than cheap. For a series that now features a prison break in which two characters switch an elaborate costume that makes them look like a therapist, there's an awful lot of compelling subtext in the characters. Captain Underpants may end up being the audience favorite, if just because he has almost 20 years on Dog Man, but it's about time to put an ampersand next to it when talking about the best things that Pilkey has done in the realm of children's literature.
No comments:
Post a Comment