DOG MAN (TEAM BLIND · REVIEW C)
A loyal, laugh-out-loud hero, and a lot of potty jokes.
The Worldview
DOG MAN has a moral heart without a mention of God. It honors loyalty, kindness and forgiveness. Dog Man keeps loving his short-tempered boss even when the boss scolds him, and the Chief finally warms up. It praises reading and education, since a world with its books wiped clean turns 'supa dumb.' Police are the good guys, and a corrupt mayor is exposed rather than rewarded.
What's missing is any larger reason for goodness. There's no prayer, no church and no Creator. Love and cleverness fix every problem, and the villain Petey stays a villain in this first volume.
The book also treats crude behavior as simply funny. Dog Man leaves messes in the Chief's office and the humor never turns serious about it. A letter from George's teacher, who scolds him for disruptive comics and suggests a behavior drug to cure his creative streak, is played to make the adult look silly. The book isn't against teachers, but it does invite kids to side with the clowns against correction. That is worth a quiet word.
The heart of the story is a longing for a friend who stays. Scripture says what that kind of love looks like at its best: "A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity" (Proverbs 17:17).
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESGeorge and Harold, two fourth-grade friends, dig up a stack of comics they drew back in first grade. Time to finish what they started.
A police officer and his loyal police dog, Greg, are tricked into a bomb planted by Petey, the world's most evil cat. The blast leaves both of them hurt, and there is only one wild way to save them. The result is Dog Man: part dog, part cop, all hero, with a nose for justice and a weakness for squirrels. Now Petey has a new problem, and the city has a new protector.
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own reader.
- Chapter 1, "A Hero Is Unleashed" A bomb explosion leaves an officer and his dog dying; the two are joined by surgery. A giant vacuum chases Dog Man.
- Chapter 2, "Robo Chief" Bird droppings and urine on the Chief's office floor. Invisible Petey pulls down shoppers' pants, shown in underwear. A robot's missiles blow up stores, and a corrupt mayor is exposed.
- Chapter 3, "Book 'Em, Dog Man" A 'supa dumb' character says "boom boom in my panties." Poop in the Chief's office and a cop's high five with a poopy hand. Petey takes a free car, money and a TV from people made 'supa dumb.' Children trample Petey at recess.
- Chapter 4, "Weenie Wars: The Franks Awaken" A cage of dogs under a lowering spiked roof. Living hot dogs call themselves "gangsta" and threaten a "raging inferno of death." Petey laughs at a hot dog who wants to be friends. A hot dog is bitten in half on the page, and the others are bitten in half by dogs.
- Front or back matter (teacher letter) A letter from George's teacher scolds him for drawing comics and suggests a 'behavior modification drug' for his 'creative streak.' It is played as a joke on the teacher.
- Throughout (including back cover and sample pages) A drawn bare bottom, and a gag of one dog sniffing another's rear, captioned "romance."
A locator so a parent can pre-read the scenes that matter instead of the whole book.
Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements
Moral worldview extols loyalty, kindness, forgiveness, the value of reading and respect for the police, with no reference to God, marred by constant potty humor, name-calling and a letter that mocks a teacher.
Foul Language
No obscenities and no profanities (no misuse of God's or Jesus' name). Frequent vulgarities and potty words such as "poop" and "pee," and a character who says "boom boom in my panties." Light insults and name-calling such as "stupid," "dumb," "duh" and "jerk."
Violence
Light cartoon and slapstick violence and peril, such as a bomb that blows up a cop and his dog (shown comically, with the two joined by surgery), a giant vacuum chasing the hero, missiles that blow up a robot and stores, children trampling the villain at recess, a spiked roof lowering on a cage of dogs, and living hot dogs who call themselves "gangsta" and threaten a "raging inferno of death" before being bitten in half and eaten on the page by dogs.
Sex
No sex. No romance between characters. One gag shows a dog sniffing another dog's rear, with the caption "romance."
Nudity
Light cartoon
Nudity
a drawn bare bottom, and the villain pulling down shoppers' pants so they run off in their underwear.
Alcohol Use
No alcohol use.
Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse
No smoking or drug use.
Miscellaneous Immorality
Frequent potty humor played as funny, such as bird droppings on the Chief's hat, urine and poop left in his office, and a cop who gets poop on his hand and high-fives another. The Chief yells at his officers. The villain steals a car, money and a TV from people who have been made 'supa dumb,' and laughs at a friendly hot dog who just wants to be friends. A letter from a teacher about the boys' comics is treated as a joke on the teacher. The thieving and cruelty are shown as villainy, but the potty behavior and the teacher mockery are rewarded with laughs.
Is the Writing Any Good?
Three stars: delightfully inventive and easy to read, but the four stories are uneven.
The book is made to look like it was drawn by fourth-graders, with wobbly panel borders, crossed-out words, on-purpose misspellings and flip-book 'Flip-O-Rama' pages. Kids love it, and it works well for children who think reading is hard. The Chief and Dog Man friendship has real heart, and the 'supa dumb' world without books is the cleverest idea in it.
Some gags land and some repeat. The jokes lean hard on bathroom humor rather than plot, and the intentional spelling and grammar mistakes may frustrate a child still learning to spell. The how-to-draw pages at the back are a real gift to young artists.
Talk About It
Four questions for the dinner table, the car, or a parent and teen reading it together.
The Chief is angry at Dog Man for almost everything, yet Dog Man keeps loving him until the Chief finally comes around. Who in your life is hard to love, and how could you show them patient kindness?
Proverbs 15:1 · Colossians 3:13The book is packed with poop and pee jokes. Why are they so funny, and how do you decide which jokes are fine for the dinner table and which aren't?
Ephesians 4:29 · Philippians 4:8When Petey erases every book, the whole world turns 'supa dumb.' Why do books and learning matter, and where do you find real wisdom?
Proverbs 4:7 · Proverbs 18:15A teacher's letter in the book is treated as a joke. How can you be creative and still honor teachers, even when you don't agree with them?
Hebrews 13:17 · Colossians 3:23The Final Word
DOG MAN is loyal, quick and funny, and it will get a reluctant reader turning pages. It also carries constant potty jokes, a drawn bare bottom and a teacher-mocking letter. Read it with your child, laugh together, and set the house rules about what gets repeated. Our answer: read it together. Later volumes bring new content, so check each one before it comes home.
