Dog Man is stronger than Donald Trump. Stronger than Michael Cohen. Stronger than Sean Hannity. Stronger than Stephenie Meyer.
Although books about politics have been storming the bestseller charts for the last few weeks, Dog Man: Grime and Punishment, the latest book in Dav Pilkey’s Dog Man series, was the bestselling book throughout North America, according to publisher Scholastic. It debuted at #1 last week, and swept the top spots on the USA Today, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly, Indie Bound, Toronto Star, and The Globe and Mail bestseller lists.
This is for both adults AND children’s book bestseller lists, as you can see from Publishers Weekly’s listings. Dog Man #9 has already sold 239,000 copies in its first week.
The canine crimebuster beat Melania and Me: The Rise and Fall of my Friendship with the First Lady by Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, Donald Trump v. the United States: Inside the Struggle to Stop a President by Michael S. Schmidt, and All the Devils are Here by Louise Penny.
Pilkey’s graphic novel series has become a publishing phenomenon of the highest order. This book had a 5 million copy first printing. The last book in the series, Dog Man: Fetch-22, was the #1 bestselling book overall in the U.S. for four straight weeks, following in the footsteps of the previous seven books. The series has more than 30 million copies in print worldwide in 38 languages.
Ellie Berger, President of Scholastic’s Trade Division, said: “Since we announced the publication date for Dog Man: Grime & Punishment, we have been hearing from enthusiastic kids, parents, educators, and retailers who have been eagerly waiting for its release. We couldn’t be more thrilled to see kids and families around the world so excited, laughing and reading together. We look forward to publishing more Dav Pilkey books in the future.”
In case you don’t have kids, here’s the summary of the premise:
The Dog Man series follows the hilarious adventures of the “Supa Buddies”: Dog Man, a lovable canine superhero, and his friends Li’l Petey, a curious kitten who embodies love, optimism, and hope, and 80-HD, a robot who expresses himself best through his art. With each Dog Man book, readers see the growth and development of the main narrators George and Harold through their comics. Their artwork, grammar, as well as their spelling improve as the series progresses. The series explores universally positive messages including empathy, kindness, and striving to become a better version of one’s self, while it also tackles more complex themes including loss, forgiveness, and self-acceptance. In Dog Man: Grime and Punishment, the book delves into the theme of compassion and how love triumphs over hate.
Pilkey already scored a bestselling franchise with his Captain Underpants books, but he’s poised to have another massive hit in a few months when publisher Scholastic launches Cat Kid Comic Club, an all-new graphic novel series by Pilkey. It hits stores and your kids’ reading lists on December 1.
And oh, lest it needs to be pointed out, comics are not dying. Pandemic or no, they are actually #1 this week. And also #6 — Gale Galligan’s latest Babysitter’s Club GN is #6 on the overall list, according to PW.
And if anyone is wondering if the demand for kids’ graphic novels is going to go away, I would guess, no. Especially in a time where parents and kids are eager for distractions and entertainment.
So yeah, we’re #1!
