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Whatsapp Captain Underpants and the Revolting Revenge of the Radioactive Robo-Boxers is the 11th book in the series.

Dav Pilkey’s 'Captain Underpants' books have sold more than 70 million copies and are more controversial than '50 Shades of Grey', but the author says that his hero is fighting for truth, justice and all that is pre-shrunk and cottony. Alex McClintock reports on a class clown made good.

The Adventures of Captain Underpants have been translated into 20 languages and have sold more than 70 million copies. Perhaps even more impressively, they have topped the list of the most banned books in America two years running.

Not bad for a character created by an eight-year-old with dyslexia and ADHD.

It started with my grade two teacher, who was talking to the class one day and she happened to say the word 'underwear' and everyone just burst out laughing.

‘It started with my grade two teacher, who was talking to the class one day and she happened to say the word 'underwear' and everyone just burst out laughing,’ says the series’ creator, Dav Pilkey, now in his forties.

‘That was an amazing, transforming moment, because I realised that underwear was a very powerful word, it makes everybody laugh—so I started drawing Captain Underpants that day.’

Pilkey had been diagnosed with attention problems and learning difficulties at an early age, and didn’t always enjoy school. He remembers spending a lot of time ‘sitting in the hallway’.

‘I remember being very, very frustrated at school. I would come home crying a lot of times and I would say to my mum “all the teachers hate me, and it’s terrible out there”, and my mother would always say that “sometimes things happen for a reason, and maybe something good will come out of this”.’

‘I feel like something good has come out of it because it really helped to inspire the Captain Underpants series, and now I have the opportunity to talk to children all over the world and tell them about my problems, and many of those children have the same problems.’

Pilkey started writing professionally at the age of 19 after a college English teacher saw that his notebook was filled with cartoon characters. She held him back after class, but far from getting him in trouble, she encouraged him to pen a children’s book. He finished his first manuscript that year.

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The teacher characters in the Captain Underpants series, however, are rarely nice. In fact, they’re downright nasty, with school principal Mr Krupp playing the role of villain (along with Professor Tinkletrousers and many others).

‘Most of the teachers I had in elementary school, or primary school, and in high school were very vicious and cruel people,’ says Pilkey. ‘However, there are some good grownups in the Captain Underpants series and that’s the parental figures.’

‘I don’t have too many teachers complaining about that kind of thing, it’s done in fun in the books and so usually teachers are very, very supportive and they love the books.’

Captain Underpants to the rescue Listen to Life Matters to hear the full interview with Captain Underpants creator Dav Pilkey.

He does field complaints, however, about the spelling mistakes in the sections of Captain Underpants that purport to be written by the books’ young protagonists, George Beard and Harold Hutchins. Pilkey has no plans to change, though, and neither do George and Harold.

‘They will never grow up,' says Pilkey. 'I think they’ll always be nine and 10 years old.'

‘I hope I never grow up either. I’m getting older and I’m almost 50 now but I still feel and think like a kid.’

Life Matters charts and analyses contemporary Australian life, with a special focus on social policy, personal stories, and listener contributions.



