Scholastic Graphix has announced the newest volume in Dav Pilkey’s best-selling Dog Man series: Dog Man: Big Jim Begins will be released on December 3, 2024, and will tell the origin stories of the characters in the book.  The new graphic novel will be released just a few weeks ahead of the Dog Man animated feature film from Universal Pictures, which is slated to hit theaters on January 31, 2025 (see “‘Dog Man’ Movie Gets a Date”).

“With this new book, I wanted to share the origin story of my characters, as readers get to know more about Big Jim—a character who is playful, kind, overly optimistic and often misunderstood, and who sometimes gets into trouble despite having the best intentions,” Pilkey said in a statement accompanying the announcement.

Pilkey’s Dog Man and Cat Kid books are consistent best-sellers that consistently top the BookScan kids’ graphic novel charts (see “April 2024 Circana BookScan”).  Jakks Pacific and its Disguise costume division recently announced a number of Dog Man licenses for action figures, playsets, and costumes that will start rolling out in 2025 (see “Licensing Show News”).

Click Gallery below for cast of characters!