Dog Man: Big Jim Believes: A Graphic Novel (Dog Man #14): From the Creator of Captain Underpants

Dog Man #14

by Dav Pilkey

Power up with Dog Big Jim Believes from the global #1 bestselling author and award-winning artist Dav Pilkey. Join the journey as our heroes discover the influence of belief and find truth from within. With threads of self-awareness, confidence, and integrity, Dav Pilkey masterfully crafts a humorous and heartfelt adventure, weaving together the importance of truth, goodness, and believing in yourself.

The celebration comes to a halt for our heroes in Dog Big Jim Believes when the mischievous Space Cuties From Space return. Our caped crusaders -- Dog Man (aka Scarlet Shedder), Commander Cupcake, and Sprinkles -- along with Mecha Molly discover that the city has changed, and nothing is how it should be. Can Big Jim's positivity and innocence help our heroes? Will Dog Man, Big Jim, Grampa, and Molly have the courage to trust each other and save the day? How does the past help shape the future? And who is the chosen one?

Readers will want to hold onto their hero capes as they soar into a new thrilling Dog Man story. The series follows the hilarious adventures of Dog Man, a lovable canine superhero and his friends. Each exciting graphic novel features inspiring characters, animated Flip-O-Ramas, and more!

For additional awesome, action-packed, inspiring escapades filled with creativity and imagination, read Dav Pilkey's Cat Kid Comic Club series, Super Diaper Baby graphic novels (now in full color), Captain Underpants series, and Dragon series. Also be sure to check out the two acclaimed major motion Dog Man and Captain The First Epic Movie.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Middle Grade, Humor, Childrens, Fiction, Comic Book

224 pages, Hardcover

Published November 11, 2025

About the author

David "Dav" Pilkey (b. March 4, 1966), is a popular children's author and artist. Pilkey is best known as the author and illustrator of the Captain Underpants book series. He lives near Seattle, Washington with his wife, Sayuri.

Reviews

[Allison Swidriski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who knew Big Jim was a fan of Cormac McCarthy (p. 26)?! Book arrived today, the release date. My five year old read it to me in one sitting.
“Anyway, you never know what worse luck your bad luck has saved you from.” —Cormac McCarthy, No Country for Old Men

[♥︎ · Rating 5 out of 5]

another dog man BANGER from dav pilkey!!

(i read it early bcs i work at a bookstore hehehe)

[Kelsie Stelting · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this with my boys and laughed so hard I was crying. So funny for kids and adults too! My boys all say grandpa is is his favorite character but I love Cupcake the best :)

[Victor The Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Commander Cupcake and his sidekick Sprinkles, with Dog Man by their side, are back out of jail when the evil adorable aliens return and they have bigger plans to take over the city while we continue to learn about Big Jim’s past and even learn about Grampa Cat’s too as to why he’s such a grumpy crotchety guy.

More of that funny and fast-paced excitement with more cuteness and Flip-o-Rama added, and even Grampa Cat learns something in the end.

A- (91%/Excellent)

[Diane Piper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ordered for my grandson for Christmas and the graphics drew me in and yep I read it all. It was good and funny.

[Shadyside Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

Creative plot, tons of humor, and a bit heartfelt at times. I’m really liking the Big Jim books. They feel more organized than the earlier Dog Man books.

[Zoey]

The first series I read that is dragged out and still remains just as great (if not better) than the originals

[Diego Ramirez · Rating 5 out of 5]

great still not a dog man book but great

[Rubi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Theo’s first kindle read 🥹

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Though a bit light on content (flip-o-ramas make up a significant chunk) this was hopeful.

[Bethe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just because you believe something doesn’t make it true. But big Jim believes it does.
Nice touch for grandpa’s backstory to be in B&W.
Cutie shooties sure are cute.
First epic smackdown song! 3 face plants 😆
You’ll never know what worse luck your bad luck saved you from.
Notes and fun facts always interesting but do the kids read & relate to them or are they for adult Dog Man fans?

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are funny, surprisingly thought provoking, goofy fun.

[Petraq · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute and fun adventure just like the rest of the series and it left in a good place for the next volume.

[Brenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 Mr. 6 and I loved that there was another DogMan book for us to read aloud together. Mr. 6 loved it as he loves all of Dav Pilkey's work. For me, it was OK. I have other DogMan books that I liked a lot better (nothing will top "A Tale of Two Kitties" for me).

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn’t love the dig on the Catholic Church.

[Dave and Livvy slay Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

From my 9 year old daughter:

Best Dog Man book ever!!!

[ryan ⚡︎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

i haven't read dog man/captain underpants in years and i read this bc i got to work at a major event for this book and this was a pleasant surprise. definitely gonna check out the books in the series in the near future

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Dav Pilkey’s ability to tell an engaging story filled with potty humor and silly situations, while also slipping in some cutting social commentary. One would think that after 14 dogman books, they would get a bit stale, but this is just not the case. I still enjoy reading these as much as my kids.

[N P · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE BEST BOOK EVER!!!

This book is lust a funny book and an creative way to say that you just got to believe in yourself

[Arman Waggoner · Rating 5 out of 5]

always a fan of Dav Pilkey.

[Devin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first Dog Man book ever. My favourite character was Dog Man because he is a medium-sized dog and he is really funny and brave. I also really liked Little Petey because he is super smart and kind and helps everyone try to be better. I also liked Petey because he is a bit naughty but he’s trying to change and be a better dad.

The funniest part for me was when Dog Man started licking the bad cuties and they got so confused they just floated away into space! I was laughing so much.

I also liked Big Jim because he was trying to be good even when it was hard. This book showed that just because someone did bad things before doesn’t mean they can’t change. It also taught me that what you believe isn’t always true and sometimes bad luck can actually turn into good luck.

I really enjoyed this book because it had lots of funny pictures and exciting parts. I want to read more Dog Man books now because they are awesome!

[Hayden Parrish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesomeingly Awsome

[Adrienne Dixon · Rating 5 out of 5]

These books are so entertaining, and they have made my 7 year old love reading!

[Villain E · Rating 3 out of 5]

Continuing off of the previous volume. Big Jim and Grampa argue over their personal philosophies. Neither of them does a good job of justifying their position. We learn what Grampa's real name is. And the cutie aliens return.

Apparently setting silly action sequences to the tune of Christmas songs is the way to get my children to reread a book out loud over and over again.

[Hannah Lang · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nice palate cleanser to catch up on my favorite middle grade series! I love the direction Pilkey is taking these books! Super silly but also super good messages!

[Noelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book in the Dog Man series! The message really resonated with me.

[Jake Willems · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was okay, I was surprised that it quoted from a book from my favorite author Cormac McCarthy.

[Melanie Dulaney · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m a big believer in supporting kids’ reading no matter what format or genre they prefer and Dog Man is loved by kids from kindergarten to jr high school students who surely should be wanting something with a more cohesive plot line! And I know this new installment will fly off library and bookstore shelves just like the other 13 in the series have, but I just don’t get it. Yes, the flip o rama pages are fun and I do appreciate the throw back to the biff thwack and zap of classic Batman episodes, but the constant whining of Sprinkles/Grampa the Cat, ridiculous sawing of Mecha Molly and supa cuties from space are just not for me. However, there is little to really complain about in regards to harmful content unless the comic battles and possibly the name-calling are objectionable, but I’m pretty sure most kids will just laugh and move on.

Congratulations, Dav Pilkey, on what is sure to be another successful book, loved by kids everywhere, but I guess I’m just too old to understand.

Thanks for sharing a copy of this book with me, Scholastic, and I look forward to surprising some lucky visitor to my Little Free Library with what is sure to be a read and reread book.

[Katie The Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.4-4 stars. I have always loved Dog Man. Up until this year, when my oldest sort of out grew it, we would read them before bed at night. My other child prefers other bedtime books. I read this one on my own.

In this volume, the beginning, which includes plenty of Big Jim, the story was strong. The last half of the book was pretty weak story-wise. I think Dav is running out of Dog Man ideas. There was a lot of silliness and filler.

The beginning gave me something to chew on however. This review is not bogus. Dog Man is about real stuff at times and silliness other times. I understand that, I guess I just wanted a little more real stuff.

[Amara Farris · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was great way better than the last one every one looked supa cute Dav Pilkey would be proud of the books he creates