Slugfest | Scholastic outlines their plans for the new ‘Dog Man’ book

Plus: The Oloris, Poison Ivy, The X-Cellent, Whistleblowers, Patrick McDonnell and more.

Slugfest is a roundup of cool announcements about projects coming to a shelf near you. Hit the links for more information.

The graphic novel phenomenon Dog Man will return at the end of the month with a new book, Dog Man: Twenty Thousand Fleas Under the Sea, continuing the adventures of our hero, Li’l Petey, 80-HD and the rest of the gang.

Scholastic has announced their promotional plans for Dav Pilkey’s latest, which include a Free Comic Book Day issue, the return of Dog Man: The Musical and Dog Man Day celebrations.

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Marvel + Scholastic will release a new Shang-Chi graphic novel this fall

Victoria Ying will write and draw the adventure of a young Shang-Chi and his sister Shi-Hua.

Victoria Ying will write and draw a new all-ages Shang-Chi graphic novel as part of the partnership between Marvel and Scholastic.

Shang-Chi and the Quest for Immortality will take a young Shang-Chi and his sister Shi-Hua out of their father’s castle and into the larger world, as Shang-Chi seeks a means to help his father restore his immortality.

“One of the things that intrigued me the most about Shang-Chi as a character was his complicated relationship to his father,” Ying told Marvel.com. “I wanted to explore what it would be like to be a young person and what it felt like to constantly crave and strive for approval, before throwing it all away and rejecting the need for understanding from his father. It’s a journey I can relate to and I wanted to show Shang-Chi in the years before he set out against his father.”

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Maia Kobabe has a new graphic novel arriving from Scholastic in 2025

Kobabe will team with artist Lucky Srikumar on ‘Saachi’s Stories.’

Gender Queer creator Maia Kobabe’s next graphic novel will arrive from Scholastic in 2025, according to a report on Publisher’s Weekly. Kobabe will team with artist Lucky Srikumar for Saachi’s Stories, a middle-grade graphic novel being released through Scholastic’s Graphix imprint.

“I have sold my second book!” Kobabe said on Tumblr. “It’s called Saachi’s Stories and I wrote it with my wonderful, smart, hot, funny, talented friend @diamoric-comix! It’s due out from Scholastic Graphix in 2025. It’s fiction, and it’s aimed at a younger audience than Gender Queer but it is once again about a character wrestling with gender, identity and sexuality, this time in the crucible of junior high. I am really excited about this book, and can’t wait to share it with you in a couple more years.”

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A new ‘Dog Man’ book will arrive in March

The 11th volume of the popular graphic novel series by Dav Pilkey arrives next year, along with a special anniversary edition of the first ‘Captain Underpants’ book.

Dav Pilkey’s world-conquering Dog Man series will return to shelves next March with its 11th volume — Dog Man: Twenty Thousand Fleas Under the Sea.

This will be the first new Dog Man volume since 2021, when Mothering Heights was released. But Pilkey hasn’t been resting — several volumes of his Cat Kid Comic Club series, a Dog Man spinoff, have filled in the gaps, with the fourth volume, Collaborations, set to arrive in November.

“I am humbled and grateful to do what I love for a living,” Pilkey said in the press release. “Since the pandemic began, I have been inspired to create even more stories and to learn and grow as an artist–from experimenting with various mediums to make comics using photography, poetry, and calligraphy, to building character models and sets by hand, as well as exploring different themes and storylines. My hope is that my books foster creativity and imagination, and instill a lifelong love of reading.”

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Scholastic to publish ‘Colin Kaepernick: Change the Game’ graphic novel

Kaepernick will work with co-writer Eve L. Ewing and artist Orlando Caicedo on the project.

Following the release earlier this year of the children’s book I Color Myself Different, athlete/advocate Colin Kaepernick and Scholastic have announced the upcoming publication of Colin Kaepernick: Change the Game, a graphic novel memoir detailing his high school years before he entered the spotlight of professional sports.

The graphic novel will be co-written by Kaepernick and Eve L. Ewing, who wrote Ironheart for Marvel, and illustrated by Orlando Caicedo. It’s also the latest project from Kaepernick Publishing, which also has another graphic novel, Dreamer, set to be released in February.

“I’m excited to continue to grow and expand Kaepernick Publishing’s relationship with Scholastic,” said Colin Kaepernick. “Change the Game is the true story of my high school years–a period punctuated by the trials and triumphs of adolescence. It was during this time that I began to grow unapologetically into my own identity, into my own sense of self. I hope this graphic novel encourages readers to nurture their own evolution and to trust their power—in a phrase—to change the game.”

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Smash Pages Q&A | Amy Kim Kibuishi

The creator of ‘The Rema Chronicles: Realm of the Blue Mist’ discusses the recently released graphic novel from Scholastic.

Amy Kim Kibuishi was part of a generation of cartoonists who emerged as a force in the early 2000s. Kibuishi was an acclaimed web cartoonist, one of the contributors to the legendary Flight anthologies and a winner of the Rising Stars of Manga competition. Her Sorcerers and Secretaries duology were released through Tokyopop in 2006 and 2007.

Her new book The Rema Chronicles: Realm of the Blue Mist has been a project that Kibuishi has carried with her for many years. It began with her webcomic Reman Mythologies and has evolved into this new graphic novel series, the first volume of which is out this month from Scholastic’s Graphix imprint. 

It’s great to have new comics from her again, and she was kind enough to answer a few questions about carrying the story with her for so long, and how the meaning has changed.

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Comics Lowdown | Marvel editors participate in #DisneyWalkout

Plus: ‘Persepolis’ under fire in Pennsylvania school district! David Gallaher, real-life superhero! News on Behemoth, Zestworld, Julie Doucet and more!

Marvel employees joined their colleagues from Pixar, Lucasfilm and other Disney-owned divisions in a walk-out on Tuesday to protest the company’s response to Florida’s Parental Rights in Education act, which has become to be known as the “Don’t Say Gay bill.”

The bill bans lessons about sexual orientation in kindergarten through third grade and prohibits lessons in other grades unless they are “age-appropriate and developmentally appropriate.” Critics say the law could stigmatize LGBTQ+ students, and lead to bullying and attacks. The bill has yet to be signed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, but it’s just a matter of time, as the governor has expressed his support for it.

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A third ‘Cat Kid Comic Club’ graphic novel will arrive in April

‘Cat Kid Comic Club: On Purpose,’ the third graphic novel in Dav Pilkey’s popular series, hits stores April 5.

Dav Pilkey’s Cat Kid Comic Club: Perspectives arrived in stores this week and currently sits at #6 on Amazon’s best-selling books list, but Pilkey isn’t resting on his laurels. Scholastic has announced that the third volume in the series, Cat Kid Comic Club: On Purpose, will arrive in stores next April.

The series spins out of the popular Dog Man series and features Li’l Petey, aka Cat Kid, as he teaches readers — and a bunch of baby frogs, — about making comics.

“With the Cat Kid Comic Club series, my hope is that kids find joy in reading, appreciate different ways of thinking, and find their purpose as they dream up their own stories,” Pilkey said in a press release.

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Marvel + Scholastic send Black Panther + Shuri ‘Into the Heartlands’

Roseanne A. Brown, Dika Araújo, Natacha Bustos and Claudia Aguirre present a new graphic novel starring the brother and sister duo.

Marvel and Scholastic have announced another graphic novel in their ongoing partnership, this one featuring T’Challa, the Black Panther, and his sister Shuri.

Shuri and T’Challa: Into the Heartlands will follow the Miles Morales and Ms. Marvel graphic novels that have already been released (I saw both at my kid’s book fair today, flying off shelves alongside the new Cat Kid Comic Club book). It’s by YA author Roseanne A. Brown and illustrators Dika Araújo, Natacha Bustos and Claudia Aguirre.

The story will be one of sibling rivalry, as Shuri deals with an older brother who will one day be king and an invention that goes awry, causing her mother to become sick.

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Marvel + Scholastic will release ‘Ms. Marvel: Stretched Thin’ this fall

The middle-grade graphic novel will find Kamala Khan over-committed and fighting a robot.

Marvel has announced that Scholastic’s Graphix line will release Ms. Marvel: Stretched Thin, a new middle-grade graphic novel by Nadia Shammas and Nabi H. Ali, in September.

The story will see Kamala Khan “stretched thin” due to too many commitments while also dealing with a mysterious robot that attempts to infiltrate Avengers Tower.

“A beloved teacher of mine lent me the very first issues of Ms. Marvel when I was in high school, knowing how important it was for me to see a South Asian super hero,” Ali told Marvel.com. “Kamala and her family didn’t feel like stereotypes, nor were they written with a ‘colorblind’ approach; the generational and cultural misunderstandings between Kamala and her parents—as well as how they overcame them—were very true to South Asian experiences among the diaspora. As a Muslim convert, it also meant a lot for me to see openly Muslim characters. I’m honored that I got to explore Kamala’s world and that I’m helping introduce her to new generations of readers like me.” 

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Scholastic discontinues Pilkey’s ‘The Adventures of Ook and Gluk’ due to ‘passive racism’

The publisher and author announced plans to stop distributing ‘The Adventures of Ook and Gluk’ because it includes ‘harmful stereotypes and passive racist imagery.’

Scholastic will stop distributing The Adventures of Ook and Gluk: Kung-Fu Cavemen from the Future, a 2011 graphic novel by Dog Man creator Dav Pilkey, because it “perpetuates passive racism,” they said in a press statement.

The graphic novel includes a character named Master Wong and his daughter Lan, who train the cavemen mentioned in the title. Their character designs, names and personalities perpetuate racist stereotypes toward Asians.

Pilkey has also posted an apology on his YouTube channel. He also said that he and his wife will donate any proceeds from the book to “charities that provide free books, art supplies, and theater for children in underserved communities; organizations that promote diversity in children’s books and publishing; and organizations designed to stop violence and hatred against Asians. These non-profit charities include: We Need Diverse Books, The AAPI, and TheaterWorks USA, among others.”

Scholastic has removed the book from their websites, and said they have stopped fulfillment of any orders. They also have contacted their retail partners to explain why this book is no longer available and seek a return of all inventory. They also plan to contact libraries and schools.

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Scholastic to publish ‘Magical Boy’

The award-winning webcomic created by The Kao will be compiled into print for the first time next fall.

Scholastic has announced plans to publish Magical Boy, the award-winning webcomic created by The Kao. The comic appears on the webcomics site Tapas.

“I am absolutely thrilled and honored to have Magical Boy be part of the Scholastic library and so thankful to Tapas for continuing to find ways to share my story,” said The Kao, aka Vincent Kao, who also creates Mondo Mango on the Tapas site. “As someone who spent my childhood reading Scholastic books, this is truly a dream come true. I can’t wait for readers everywhere to meet Max and join him on his journey of self-acceptance and magical misadventures. I hope Magical Boy will capture the hearts and imaginations of readers the same way that I was inspired by Scholastic stories when I was a younger reader.”

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