Captain Underpants is Awesome (Evan)

As a young child, I loved reading. One series I particularly enjoyed was Captain Underpants. Dav Pilkey's genius and expertise affected even me, an ignorant little summer child. Cracking open the first book and rereading the first story arc still manages to impress me with its masterful prose and imagery. George and Harold start the story by sabotaging the football team at the big game. Pom-poms were laced with black pepper, and deodorant was replaced with itch cream. They think they're safe, but Mr. Krupp reveals a tape with a recording of the two setting up the prank the night before the game. He blackmails them and forces them through inhumane chores and homework. Tired of the torture, the boys decide to hypnotize Mr. Krupp. Their thirst for vengeance takes control, and after weeks of labor, it's time to make Krupp pay. One can see how literature such as this enthralls a young Evan who has only read Magic Treehouse or Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (while I do admit CCBB is a classic, It begins to get repetitive in the third act).

Okay, jokes aside, Captain Underpants truly is amazing. I have so many good memories of picking up the next book at the library ready to spend the rest of the day reading. The characters and plot may seem shallow at first, but after 12(!) books you really get attached to them. For example, Melvin Sneedly seems to only be the representation of that kid that was a know-it-all and a tattle-tale. He'll constantly call George and Harold immature and generally act like a jerk. However, even in his first appearance in Captain Underpants and the Attack of the Talking Toilets, Melvin displays a genuine love for the Invention Convention and clearly takes it much more seriously than George and Harold, who plan to do some sabotage. Later on, in Captain Underpants and the Tyrannical Retaliation of the Turbo Toilet 2000, Melvin decides to deface the security footage that caused George and Harold to go to prison. He explains that when he became the superhero loved by all, it was only fun for a moment. Soon enough, people began interfering with his life and meddling in his experiments. What he thought he wanted--to be loved by everyone--wasn't actually it. He would much rather be left alone to participate in the next Invention Convention or build a time machine. 

In the first several books they follow the same formula of "George and Harold play a prank, the prank goes wrong, Captain Underpants saves the day". This isn't necessarily a bad thing, since Pilkey always manages to land jokes and make things enjoyable. What I want to focus on is the latter half of the series, where we begin to see foreshadowing, cliffhangers, and many more twists. Instead of being like an episode of a Saturday morning cartoon, the books begin to link together. In my opinion, this began in Captain Underpants and the Big, Bad Battle of the Bionic Booger Boy, which has a part 1 and 2. The "here we go again" moment at the end of each book from then is used as a way to tease the next book in the series, rather than just something said when Mr. Krupp turns back into Captain Underpants and jumps out a window. Plus, time travel is also introduced in this book, which soon becomes a major plot device. One book that I think really breaks the mold is Captain Underpants and the Terrifying Return of Tippy Tinkletrousers, where Tippy Tinkletrousers (formerly Professor Poopypants) travels through time to take revenge on Captain Underpants. This novel is special in that it's told almost entirely through backstory. In jail, Tippy builds himself a robot suit and escapes jail with Mr. Krupp, before being defeated. He travels back 5 years, where he accidentally causes Mr. Krupp's nephew to go insane. Mr. Krupp is accused by the police and loses his job. Tippy travels 4 years forward, but because Mr. Krupp wasn't there to become Captain Underpants, the world has become a wasteland. Dr. Diaper wasn't stopped in the first novel, so his laser ended the world. Before Tippy can travel back in time to fix this, a giant zombie nerd George and Harold squish him, leaving only a red stain. In between, we learn more about George and Harold's past, which intertwines with Tippy's time-traveling hijinks. All this pushes the page count to a whopping 304.

Lastly, I want to talk about flip-o-rama. Flip-o-rama is a gift from the gods. Just 2 drawings flipped back and forth convey so much action, story, and comedy. Instead of boring you with words 🤮, he can just show you through a fun, simple, and interactive feature. I even made some crappy comics with flip-o-rama as well back in the day. Captain Underpants is special because it motivates children to use their imagination. It motivated me to create an entire comic series that no one but myself would see.

I'm also recommending you Super Diaper Baby (1 and 2, although 2 is way better) and Ook and Gluk. They're both spinoffs but are super fun to read.

DAV PILKEY'S FLIP-O-RAMA WORKSHOP