Captain Underpants creator Dav Pilkey's bestselling Dog Man graphic novel series gets its first video game adaptation

Art from Dog Man: Mission Impawsible.
(Image credit: Mindscape)

Captain Underpants creator Dav Pilkey's range of Dog Man graphic novels is one of the best selling comics series in the world right now, having shifted more than 60 million copies since it launched in 2016. The young reader series, which is about the adventures of a canine cop, recently published its 12th volume, with a movie adaptation from Dreamworks hitting theaters in January 2025. Now, Dog Man is about to embark on his first video game adventure...

Dog Man: Mission Impawsible is a new 2D side-scrolling platform game for Steam, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox Series X that sees players chase a thief across 50 levels and five different worlds. According to publisher Mindscape, "Players will explore eight iconic locations from the Dog Man universe, including City Hall, the Giant Marshmallow Factory, and various jails. Each location offers unique platforming challenges and puzzle-solving opportunities, ensuring action-packed and entertaining gameplay for fans of all ages." 

You can check out a selection of screenshots from Mission Impawsible below.

"This game is not just a playthrough," said Mindscape CEO Mark Huijmans in a statement. "It's an adventure that expands the Dog Man universe, offering all fans a chance to play with their favorite characters in a dynamic and interactive way." 

The most recent Dog Man graphic novel, The Scarlet Shedder, was published in March this year and quickly became the #1 bestselling book in the United States and Canada, as well as the #1 bestselling children's book in the UK. The 13th volume in the series, Dog Man: Big Jim Begins, will be published by Scholastic on December 3, and will offer a look at the origins of some of the series' beloved characters. Dog Man: Mission Impawsible will be released later this year.


Looking for another animal comic? Check out our review of sci-fi adventure Man's Best.

Will Salmon
Comics Editor

Will Salmon is the Comics Editor for GamesRadar/Newsarama. He has been writing about comics, film, TV, and music for more than 15 years, which is quite a long time if you stop and think about it. At Future he has previously launched scary movie magazine Horrorville, relaunched Comic Heroes, and has written for every issue of SFX magazine for over a decade. He sometimes feels very old, like Guy Pearce in Prometheus. His music writing has appeared in The Quietus, MOJO, Electronic Sound, Clash, and loads of other places and he runs the micro-label Modern Aviation, which puts out experimental music on cassette tape.