Dog Man

Fiction | Graphic Novel/Book | Middle Grade | Published in 2016

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Prologue

Chapters 1-2

Chapters 3-4

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Chapters 3-4Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 3: “Book ‘Em Dog Man” Summary

This chapter begins with a short foreword from George and Harold, who inform the reader that they created “Book ‘Em Dog Man” in first grade. Harold calls this revised version the “extended director’s cut,” and George announces that he “fixed the spelling.” They reminisce about how much their teacher, Ms. Construde, hated their comics, and they show off the angry letter she sent home to their mothers. The letter scolds the boys for their “disruptive” behavior and “disgusting” comic books, and the teacher recommends “psychological counseling” or “some kind of behavior modification drug” (115) to curb their creativity.

The lettering, art, and grammar in “Book ‘Em Dog Man” are noticeably less skilled than in the other chapters. The story opens by showing Petey in jail wondering what makes Dog Man so smart. He escapes and spies on Dog Man, who is reading a book. Petey realizes that reading makes people smart, so he invents the “Word-B-Gone 2000,” a ray gun that zaps the words out of books. Then, he “got in a [sic] airplane and zapped all the books in the whole world!!!” (121). Within 12 weeks, “the world [got] supa [sic] dumb” (122).

At first, Petey enjoys being the only smart person in the world, but he soon becomes frustrated. He hides in his secret library and reads, getting smarter as the world around him gets “dumber.” He becomes so depressed that he begins to neglect his hygiene.

Meanwhile, Dog Man tries to solve the case of “who pooed in the Chief’s office,” (143) despite being “dumb” “cuz he didn’t read no more” (128). Because Petey stopped bathing, Dog Man picks up his scent and follows it to his secret library, where he reads and regains his intelligence.

Dog Man takes the books to school and distributes them to the children. Petey attempts to gather his books again, but the children use playground equipment to beat him up. Dog Man arrests Petey and reverses the effects of the Word-B-Gone 2000, restoring everyone’s intelligence.

The chapter ends on an epilogue in which the police undercover security videos and learn that it was Dog Man who had an accident in the chief’s office while he was “dumb.”

Chapter 4: “Weenie Wars: The Franks Awaken” Summary

Chapter 4 opens with a splash panel of Dog Man, the chief, Petey, an army of angry hot dogs, and a giant sentient Philly cheesesteak. Dog Man is holding up a giant bone. Their poses are reminiscent of the movie poster for Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015).

The story begins with Petey in jail. He gets a package in the mail from “Mad Scientists R Us” (164) containing “living spray,” which can bring anything to life. He sprays it on his lunch, a hot dog, and commands the hot dog to bring him the keys to his cell. After freeing him, the hot dog asks Petey to be his friend. Petey mocks the hot dog and leaves without taking the spray with him.

The chief returns to the station after lunch. Dog Man jumps on him and licks him; the chief yells at him for this and for sitting on the couch. Elsewhere, Petey blows a dog whistle, which attracts every dog that hears it. Dog Man runs out of the station and into a giant cage, along with every other dog in the city.

At the jailhouse, the hot dog sprays a tray of other hot dogs with living spray and rallies them into a world-conquering army. They march into town to initiate “the weenie war,” but they’re too small to inflict any real damage.

A news anchor interviews Petey about what he plans to do with the caged dogs. He activates “the Mutt-Masher 2000,” a device with “pointy teeth thingies” (189) that will crush them. The chief is watching this unfold on the news and starts crying when he realizes Dog Man is in danger: “Oh no!!! Dog Man is doomed! Why was I so mean to him???” (189). The other officers assure him that Dog Man will save the day.

The weenies are frustrated that the humans aren’t threatened by them. They attempt to create a “raging inferno,” but the humans identify it as “a [sic] adorable little fire” (196). Their leader brings a restaurant’s mascot—Philly, a huge statue of an anthropomorphic Philly cheesesteak—to life. Meanwhile, Dog Man uses his “human strength” to keep the “pointy teeth thingies” from crushing him and the other dogs, but he is becoming exhausted. He hatches a plan and begins pelting Philly with bones he stashed in his pocket. In response, Philly destroys the cage, freeing the dogs.

Philly grabs Dog Man and hoists him up so that the lead hot dog can confront him. He launches into a villainous speech and belittles Dog Man’s attempts at being “tough,” “smart,” and heroic. Dog Man eats the hot dog. Philly becomes enraged and starts squeezing Dog Man to death, dropping the living spray in the process. Petey grabs for the spray, but it overheats from exposure to the “inferno” and explodes. Then Philly explodes, and Petey and Dog Man are catapulted in different directions. The remaining dogs eat the hot dog army before its miniature soldiers can regroup.

Petey lands in jail, and Dog Man lands on the chief’s couch, destroying it on impact. Instead of yelling at Dog Man for ruining his couch, the chief checks to make sure Dog Man is all right.

Chapters 3-4 Analysis

Much of Dog Man’s content exists outside its actual storyline. Many of its visual details are included to tell stories about George and Harold, rather than about Dog Man himself. Because all of the content in the book is attributed to them, each inclusion reveals something about Pilkey’s fictional authors.

Pilkey conveys Harold and George’s development and maturation by including examples of their earlier artwork and writing in Dog Man. While Chapters 1, 2, and 4 were created when George and Harold were in fourth grade, they wrote and illustrated Chapter 3 as first graders. Harold’s drawing skills clearly improved in the meantime; his grasp of character models, detail work, and depth are noticeably more evolved in the chapters he wrote as a fourth grader. Likewise, George’s handwriting and his grasp of English grammar greatly improved in the intervening years.

One curious detail of the narration is that George’s spelling is largely correct in both his fourth-grade and first-grade projects. At the beginning of Chapter 3, he explains that he “fixed the spelling” in “Book ‘Em Dog Man.” This provides an in-universe explanation as to why his writing is legible and accurate in this chapter and allows Pilkey to keep the writing in Dog Man consistent with its characters’ age without sacrificing readability. His books target young readers—especially those with dyslexia and other learning difficulties—who are still developing their linguistic skills. By having George correct his old writing, Pilkey ensures that Dog Man demonstrates correct spelling and grammar.

Dog Man contains numerous elements that exist outside the diegesis of Dog Man’s story. This includes authorial notes from George and Harold, how-to-draw guides, flip-books, and notes from the boys’ teachers. These inclusions allow Pilkey to characterize George and Harold beyond their skill levels and the plot of Dog Man. They reveal how the boys are performing in school, what they want to share with their readers about their lives, and more information on their personal interests. Including short asides and small activities between chapters also keeps Dog Man’s pacing child-friendly. Breaking up the story segments with visually distinct extra content specifically caters to children’s attention spans. This is especially important for neurodiverse children, who may struggle to focus on reading for long periods of time.