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Dog Man: Big Jim Believes

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SPOILER ALERT!!!
This article or section contains spoilers. Read at your own risk!


Dog Man: Big Jim Believes is the fourteenth book written and illustrated by Dav Pilkey. It was released on November 11, 2025[1] and is a follow-up to Dog Man: Big Jim Begins.

The book was first teased at the end of the book, Dog Man: Big Jim Begins, and announced on December 3, 2024 during the release. The cover was revealed on May 9, 2025 at People Magazine's website.[2][3]

Synopsis

PUT ON YOUR HERO CAPES AND POWER UP WITH DOG MAN!

Power up with Dog Man: Big Jim Believes from the global #1 bestselling author and award-winning artist Dav Pilkey. Join the journey as our heroes discover the influence of belief and find truth from within. With threads of self-awareness, confidence, and integrity, Dav Pilkey masterfully crafts a humorous and heartfelt adventure, weaving together the importance of truth, goodness, and believing in yourself.

The celebration comes to a halt for our heroes in Dog Man: Big Jim Believes when the mischievous Space Cuties From Space return. Our caped crusaders -- Dog Man (aka Scarlet Shedder), Commander Cupcake, and Sprinkles -- along with Mecha Molly discover that the city has changed, and nothing is how it should be. Can Big Jim's positivity and innocence help our heroes? Will Dog Man, Big Jim, Grampa, and Molly have the courage to trust each other and save the day? How does the past help shape the future? And who is the chosen one?

Readers will want to hold onto their hero capes as they soar into a new thrilling Dog Man story. The series follows the hilarious adventures of Dog Man, a lovable canine superhero and his friends. Each exciting graphic novel features inspiring characters, animated Flip-O-Ramas, and more!

Trailer Description

Dav Pilkey's Dog Man is back and it's out of this world! The Space Cuties from Space return, zapping everything and everyone in their path! With the city in danger: will our heroes' courage prevail? Can Big Jim help Grampa believe? And how will Dog Man save the day? Get ready for Dav Pilkey's epic new adventure. Dog Man: Big Jim Believes!

Characters

Main Characters

  • Dog Man - He is a dog-human hybrid who works at a police station, and is a member of the Supa Buddies as his superhero alter-ego, The Scarlet Shedder.
  • Big Jim/Little Jim - He is an inmate from Cat Jail. He's currently serving his time for a crime he didn't commit. His superhero alter-ego is Commander Cupcake. As a baby, he is cute, sweet, and the most optimistic.
  • Grampa/Baby Grampa - He is a selfish inmate from Cat Jail who has his own son, Petey, and grandson, Li'l Petey (those of which no longer associate with him). He shares a cell with his cellmate, Big Jim. His superhero alter-ego is Sprinkles. As a baby, he is gloomy, grouchy, and the most miserable.
  • Li'l Petey - Petey's son and Grampa's grandson. He, along with his best friend Molly, likes to do random commentary and irritating songs. He has a superhero alter-ego named The Firecracker Kid and is the leader of the Supa Buddies.
  • Molly - Li'l Petey's best friend. She is a member of the Supa Buddies as her superhero alter-ego, Mecha Molly.
  • Sarah Hatoff - An Australian journalist who was affected by being "cutie-fied" from the Space Cuties. She later turns back to normal after eating a cupcake that cures cutifications.
  • Zuzu - Sarah's pet poodle who was also affected by being "cutie-fied" from the Space Cuties. She also later eats a cupcake that cures cutifications and turns back to normal.
  • Daddy & Momma - Little Jim's loving and kindhearted parents who only appear in flashbacks and are deceased in present time.
  • Phil & Fritzi - Baby Grampa's loving and simple-minded parents who also only appear in flashbacks and are presumably deceased in present time.
  • 80-HD - He is sentient, neurodivergent, wears flip-flops, can charge with his solar powers, spheric, able to fly, and a robot friend of Dog Man, Li'l Petey, and Molly. He is also a member of the Supa Buddies as his superhero alter-ego, Ninja Shark.
  • Chancellor Chibi - The supreme leader of the Space Cuties, who have a new invention that might make them invincible.

Other Characters

The Past

The Present

  • Space Cuties - They are the main antagonists who return to cute-ify everything on Earth, with Chancellor Chibi as the supreme leader, Constable Cuddlebug as the third in command, and Professor Puddin' Pop as the head scientist.
  • Dippy - She, along with others, cheers for and honors Big Jim and Grampa for saving the earth from the Space Cuties. She appears later in the book and is "cutie-fied" by the Space Cuties. However, she does eventually eat a cupcake that cures cutifications and turns back to normal.
  • Current Mayor - He also cheers for and honors Big Jim and Grampa for saving the world, at least until finding out how they defeated the Space Cuties.
  • Kinney - He is a character who owns Kinney's Real Estate. He is later cutie-fied by the Space Cuties, but eventually turns back to normal after eating a cupcake that cures cutifications.
  • Roscoe - He is Sarah's cameraman who was cutie-fied along with Sarah and Zuzu in the previous book. Later, he eats a cupcake that cures cutifications and turns back to normal.
  • Gilbert & Curly - They are members of the Cat Kid Comic Club, the siblings of Molly and the other baby frogs, and the adoptive sons of Flippy. They appear when Molly goes home to get her superhero mecha-suit.
  • Mr. Whiskers - He is one of the Cat Jail inmates who is seen when Big Jim serves food to him. His main catchphrase is, "Respect."

The Past & The Present

  • Chief / Clarence Bailey - He is the chief of the cop station. He appears in Big Jim's flashback as a young kid who helps Little Jim and his parents move into a cabin with his puppy Greg. In the present, he is cutie-fied along with many others. Later, he eats a cupcake that cures cutifications and turns back to normal.

Summary

Chapter 1: SARAH HATOFF REPORTS: EXTREME NEWS!!!

The book starts off with Sarah Hatoff giving a news report on an exclusive recap of the last book in order to explain why she, Zuzu, and the city look so different and cute. She expects high-quality visuals in the recap, but the clip instead plays a low quality pencil drawing version of Chapter 12 of the last book, showing the UFO zapping stuff from normal to supa cute. Roscoe explains why by telling Sarah that they had some budget cuts and replaced their A.V. Department with a seven-year-old kid who accepted chocolate chip cookies as payment. To end off the recap, Sarah tells everyone that the UFO got destroyed by Commander Cupcake and Sprinkles, the newest heroes in town. She, along with many other civilians, wonder who they are, where they came from, why they hide their true identities, when they will be seen next, and what important things they are doing at this very moment.

Chapter 2: At This Very Moment...

Meanwhile, in the upper left-hand corner of Cat Jail, Grampa wakes up Big Jim with a trumpet in an attempt to irritate him, but it just made Big Jim feel wonderful, much to Grampa's dismay. Grampa asks Big Jim why he is always so happy, and Big Jim responds by doing fun things like making his bed, sweeping the hallways, and serving breakfast to his pals. He also plans to have the most fun of all with Grampa by saving the world once again as Commander Cupcake and Sprinkles. Grampa denies this plan because every time he hangs around Big Jim, he gets nothing but bad luck. Big Jim tries to convince Grampa that bad luck can be a good thing, as you'll never know what worse luck your bad luck has saved you from. Grampa doesn't believe what Big Jim just said and intends to spend the next 24 hours in his jail cell, away from Big Jim and superhero costumes. Suddenly, Grampa hears a noise coming from outside. He looks out from his cell and sees the whole town of people cheering for Commander Cupcake and Sprinkles for saving the world. Because of this, Grampa changes his mind and tells Big Jim to give him his superhero costume.

Chapter 3: The Short-Lived Glory Basking Of Commander Cupcake And Sprinkles

Big Jim asks Grampa what's going on. Grampa, who wants that sweet glory, tells Big Jim that the whole town is outside to honor them as he puts on his costume. Soon, after a Batman (1966 TV Series) like transition, Big Jim and Grampa head out of Cat Jail as Commander Cupcake and Sprinkles to meet up with the whole town. The civilians start to honor Big Jim and Grampa for saving the world, but Big Jim tells them that Dog Man helped as well. He calls for Dog Man, who instantly appears and zooms toward Big Jim and Grampa, knocking over a few civilians along the way. Big Jim praises Dog Man for helping them save the world, much to Grampa's annoyance. Grampa yells at Big Jim and Dog Man, saying that they didn't do anything and that he was the one who saved the world. Sarah asks Grampa how he saved the world, so Grampa retells the events of the previous book by using his own words and imagination. In the imaginary retelling sequence, Grampa is a buffed up superhero, Big Jim and Dog Man are supa dumb nerds, and the Space Cuties are big monster bullies. Grampa beats up the Space Cutie monsters with his own brute strength and the limitless power of cheesy animation technology, while Big Jim and Dog Man simply do nothing but make silly faces. Eventually, Grampa decides that violence is not the answer, so he starts to hug the Space Cutie monsters with love. Then, Grampa ends the imaginary retelling sequence by telling everyone that the Space Cuties' heads popped off after he hugged them. However, the civilians get mad at Grampa for destroying the aliens with hugs, as the Mayor tells Grampa that you should never hug someone without asking first. Grampa tries to come up with excuses and tells the civilians that Big Jim and Dog Man hugged the aliens too. The Mayor and the civilians immediately view the three heroes as serial snugglers and angrily give chase to them. As they run from the angry civilians, Big Jim, Dog Man, and Grampa hide in a dumpster and manage to lose them. Grampa complains about why people are happy to see Batman kick people in the face, but it's the end of the world when he, Big Jim, and Dog Man hug somebody. Big Jim reassures Grampa that it's not the end of the world.

Chapter 4: The End Of The World

Meanwhile, on Planet Precious, Constable Cuddlebug informs Chancellor Chibi about what happened to their spaceship in the last book (the crew got hugged and the humans discovered one of their two fatal weaknesses), much to the chancellor's shock. Chancellor Chibi considers giving up until Professor Puddin' Pop appears to demonstrate his new invention: Hug-Proof Space Stank. He sprays some onto Chancellor Chibi, which makes him stink so bad that nobody will want to hug him. Chancellor Chibi thinks that this is a brilliant idea and calls all Space Cuties to grab a can of Space Stank and stank up. The Space Cuties then proceed to go into another one of their spaceships and leave Planet Precious to attack the Earth once again.

Chapter 5: Just Because You Believe...

Back on Earth, Big Jim, Grampa, and Dog Man are still hiding in the dumpster. Grampa complains about being stuck in the dumpster, being hounded by an angry mob, and Dog Man eating garbage. Big Jim tells Grampa not to feel bad, as everything will work out because he is The Chosen One. He proceeds to prove himself by telling a story, much to Grampa's dismay. In the flashback, in a bungalow where Little Jim and his parents were living in, an ancient prophecy from a UFO foretold that Little Jim was to be The Chosen One and that he needed to find the Ring Of Destiny And Stuff. Little Jim and his parents looked for the ring but never found it. Little Jim's Momma feels like Little Jim might not need the ring since all of the power he needs is within him already, so the parents figure that they'll eventually find out if that's true or not. A few weeks later, a flaming object suddenly appears and smashes into Little Jim's bungalow, setting it on fire. Little Jim and his parents manage to escape the fire, but sadly watch as their house burns down completely. The family drives around all night long to look for help and shelter, but nobody would help them. Momma reassures Daddy that it's always darkest before dawn. As the sun rises, the family enters Bailey Park and meets Chief's Father in the campgrounds. After the family tells him about their situation, Chief's Father feels sorry for them and decides to let them stay in their campgrounds. He calls for his son Clarence, who is with Greg The Puppy, and tells him to take Little Jim and his parents to cabin 39. As Clarence takes Little Jim's family to the cabin, he introduces them to Greg. He tells them that he saved Greg from a mean kid who was throwing rocks at him. Greg responds with happiness and bounces on Clarence many times, much to Clarence's annoyance. After rain starts pouring down, Little Jim and his parents make it to their cabin. However, even though their new friends were very kind, Little Jim's parents got discouraged, for it had been their worst day ever, filled with loss, rejection, and despair. But that wasn't the case for too long, as Little Jim shows his parents a fort that he just made out of two chairs and a blanket. Little Jim wants to make believe that he is camping with his parents, so the parents decide to go along with it. Little Jim gives food to his parents and himself and lights a pretend campfire, which is a flashlight. As he and his parents are "camping", Little Jim starts to give thanks to all of the good things that he can think of, with his parents momentarily joining in. Two hours later, as the rain stops, Little Jim is still giving thanks until he gets tired and falls asleep. Little Jim's parents ultimately decide that Little Jim doesn't need a magic ring after all, thus concluding the flashback sequence on a happy note. Grampa is shocked and disappointed about the way Big Jim's story played out and says to Big Jim, "Just because you believe something doesn't make it TRUE!!!" Big Jim responds, "It does for me." Annoyed over this, Grampa decides to tell a real story: a story of pain, soul-crushing anguish, and unrelenting woe that's way more realistic than the sappy claptrap that Big Jim was just yakkin' about.

Chapter 6: Grampa's Story Of Pain, Soul-Crushing Anguish, And Unrelenting Woe That's Way More Realistic Than The Sappy Claptrap That Big Jim Was Just Yakkin' About!!!

Grampa, who is about to tell his story, tells Big Jim and Dog Man to keep their mouths shut and that he doesn't want any interruptions, until Li'l Petey and Molly suddenly appear and interrupt. Molly asks why Dog Man, Big Jim, and Grampa are in a garbage can, and Grampa responds, "That's none of your beeswax!!!" Grampa tries to shut Molly up, but Molly once again acknowledges Big Jim (as Commander Cupcake). Molly tells Commander Cupcake that she told her brother that she saw him yesterday, but his brother didn't believe him. Annoyed, Grampa yells at Molly to shut her yap flap and that he is trying to tell a story. Molly lets Grampa tell his story, but as soon as Grampa starts telling his story, Molly interrupts two more times, asking if Grampa had whiskers when he was a baby. Grampa tells Molly that memory is subjective, which means, "button your blowhole!!!" After that, Grampa starts telling his story, for real this time. In the flashback, which takes place a long time ago in an age of good intentions and bad decisions, Grampa was born to two simple minded parents named Phil and Fritzi. Fritzi decides to name her newborn baby after her dear old Grampa, and Phil agrees, so Grampa's birth certificate is signed with his new name. It wasn't easy for Grampa to grow up with such a silly name, because it seemed like every place he went, people made fun of his name. Grampa was so miserable, that he came up with a plan to drive far away from his birth place and start a new life as soon as he gets a car, in order to be happy. Many years later, Grampa has grown up into a young adult and finally got a car for his birthday. He immediately drives off and leaves, much to Phil and Fritzi's surprise. After driving far away from his birth place, Grampa started a new life... but he wasn't happy. So he came up with a new plan to become successful and make tons of money, in order to be happy. Many years later, Grampa finally became successful and made tons of money from his disco business... but he wasn't happy. So he came up with an even newer plan to get married and have all the love he needs, in order to be happy. Many years later, Grampa finally got married to a calico cat, fathered a son, and had all the love he needed... but he wasn't happy. Therefore, that has been the story of Grampa's life: one disappointment after another. The flashback ends with Grampa blowing up his disco business and driving off in his car with insurance and money. Molly finds that entire story to be depressing, but Grampa responds, "I got news for ya, kid: Life is depressing!" As Big Jim, Dog Man, Li'l Petey, and Molly climb out of the dumpster, Big Jim reminds Grampa that "just because you believe something doesn't make it true!" After getting bonked by the dumpster lid, Grampa yells, "IT DOES FOR ME!!!"

Chapter 7: Attack Of The Cutie Shooties

Meanwhile, in outer space, the Space Cutie spaceship is about sixteen gloopsnocks away from Earth. As the spaceship flies closer to Earth, Chancellor Chibi asks Constable Cuddlebug about their two fatal weaknesses. Constable Cuddlebug informs that one fatal weakness is hugs (which we already know from the previous book) and the other one is... WAIT, WE CAN'T SPOIL THE ENDING HERE!!! Constable Cuddlebug writes down the second fatal weakness on a piece of paper and shows it to Chancellor Chibi. Chancellor Chibi finds the second fatal weakness to be nothing to worry about, so he tucks the note away in his helmet and forgets all about it. Then, a space speaker announces that the spaceship will enter Earth's atmosphere in 0.4 gloopsnocks. This prompts Chancellor Chibi to have the spaceship unleash the cutie shooties. The cutie shooties are unleashed from the spaceship and enter Earth's atmosphere. Meanwhile, in the city, Li'l Petey and Molly check and confirm to Dog Man, Big Jim, and Grampa that the coast is clear and that those angry people probably found something new to be mad about. Grampa is relieved and thinks that there will be no more troubles for him and the other heroes to worry about. Suddenly, the cutie shooties appear and zap Big Jim, Grampa, Dog Man, Li'l Petey, and Molly. All five heroes are cutie-fied and transformed into cute li'l stuffies, much to Grampa's distress. Li'l Petey and Molly can't help but hug Dog Man and Grampa because of their cuteness. An extreme news break occurs, whereas Sarah Hatoff reports that it is the end of the world. The cutie shooties zap everyone and everything in sight, causing a yellow car, Dippy, Kinney, and many other people and objects to become supa cute. Li'l Petey and Molly reassure Sarah that they'll save the world. Li'l Petey calls for 80-HD, who immediately flies in and appears on the scene (he was also zapped and cutie-fied by the cutie shooties off-screen). Dog Man, Li'l Petey, Molly, and 80-HD proceed to change into their secret identites: The Supa Buddies! However, Molly is distraught over the fact that their superhero costumes are too cute and doesn't want to wear them. Therefore, she decides to go back to her home to get her mecha-suit. Dog Man, Li'l Petey, and 80-HD continue to put on their superhero costumes and become The Scarlet Shedder, The Firecracker Kid, and Ninja Shark once again. Then, 80-HD carries Big Jim, Grampa, Dog Man, and Li'l Petey and they all fly up into outer space towards the Space Cutie spaceship. As soon as they enter outer space, Li'l Petey, Dog Man, and Big Jim hold their breath. Grampa is shocked about this because he knows that characters can breathe in outer space in this book series, yet he holds his breath anyway. Soon, the heroes enter the spaceship by crashing through one of its walls. Grampa hates how there is a big hole in the spaceship and wonders how things could get any more ridiculous. Suddenly, the heroes spot a huge tray of Top Secret Space Cupcakes. Big Jim, Dog Man, Li'l Petey, and 80-HD each grab a cupcake and happily express that it's the best day of their lives, much to Grampa's dismay.

Chapter 8: The True Meaning Of Cupcakes

Meanwhile, as Molly arrives at her home, she passes by Gilbert and Curly, who are playing with Commander Cupcake and Sprinkles action figures. Gilbert and Curly ask Molly what she is doing and why she looks so weird. Molly responds that she got zapped by a UFO and needs to save the world again, and calls Gilbert and Curly weird, despite the fact that they're not cutie-fied. Molly enters her room and powers up in her mecha-suit, becoming Mecha Molly once again. She activates her supa scissor saws and flies off to save the world. Gilbert asks if this is appropriate for a children's book, and Curly replies, "Probably not." Meanwhile, in the Space Cutie spaceship, Big Jim, Dog Man, Li'l Petey, and 80-HD continue to eat the maple banana flavored space cupcakes. Grampa is annoyed about this and doesn't care one bit about the cupcakes. Big Jim tells Grampa that cupcakes have a deep and profound meaning, and proceeds to tell him all about it, despite Grampa clearly not wanting him to. Big Jim implies that back in the days of the dinosaurs, Mommy and Daddy Dinosaurs made cupcakes for their babies to show their love, but now, hundreds of years later, we find a deeper truth, for every cupcake has a beginning that starts with humble ingredients. As Big Jim demonstrates how cupcakes are baked in his own words, the flashback sequence shows Little Jim's Momma baking a tray of cupcakes with Little Jim watching. According to Big Jim, this is the way of every seeker, for love must dissolve the self, kindness must be spread out fully, and each soul must endure tribulation to be transformed. Finally, Big Jim tells Grampa that it's not about the cupcakes, it's about believing in the cupcakes. Grampa views all of that as a "big whoop-dee-doo." Big Jim tries to convince Grampa to try a cupcake to make him believe, but Grampa rejects his offer because he hates maple banana flavor. He then proceeds to push and throw the entire tray of space cupcakes out of the hole in the wall into space. Li'l Petey points out that there are more space cupcakes over there, and Grampa says, "Not for long!" As Grampa pushes and throws the space cupcakes on the "More Over There" tray out the hole, tells the other heroes to say goodbye to their precious space cupcakes because they belong in space. The space cupcakes start to fall into Earth's atmosphere.

Chapter 9: It's Raining Cupcakes

Back on Earth's surface, Sarah Hatoff is about to report a new story when a cupcake suddenly falls out of the sky and bonks Sarah's head. Sarah, Zuzu, and Roscoe immediately notice more cupcakes falling out of the sky, prompting Sarah to announce that they've got two new stories. Sarah, Zuzu, and Roscoe each eat a cupcake and find them to be delicious. Even the cutie-fied buildings and objects love the cupcakes. Sarah, Zuzu, Roscoe, Dippy, Kinney, and Chief happily express that it's the best day ever. Then, Roscoe asks about the other story, and Sarah complies, saying that Mecha Molly is back in action and telling everyone to get ready for some carnage.

Chapter 10: The Probably Inappropriate Chapter

Mecha Molly appears and destroys the three cutie shooties by slicing, snipping, and cutting them with her supa scissor saws (with some rock/action music from Dippy playing a drum set and Sarah playing a trombone). After the action sequence is finished, Sarah claims that it was one of the most disturbing things that she has ever seen, to which Molly thanks her. Molly then deactivates her supa scissor saws and proceeds to fly up to the Space Cutie spaceship to save her friends.

Chapter 11: Sprinkles And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Idea

As the remnants of the cutie shooties fall to the ground, Molly continues to soar up into the sky, but she momentarily stops for a bit after seeing one of the cupcakes that fell out of the sky and eating it. Meanwhile, aboard the Space Cutie spaceship, 80-HD is trying to bust the giant steel vault door open in order for the heroes to escape the Top Secret Cupcake Vault, but is having no luck. Grampa complains about being trapped in the vault and how Big Jim is being optimistic. Big Jim tries to reassure Grampa that it's all gonna be hunky-dory, and Grampa says that he'll believe that when he sees it. Big Jim corrects Grampa by saying that he'll see it when he believes it. Grampa angrily responds, "What does that even mean?" Suddenly, Mecha Molly flies into the spaceship from the hole at a high speed and successfully smashes open the giant steel vault door. "That's what it means!", said Big Jim. As the heroes proceed to go and kick some alien tushy, Grampa/Sprinkles gets a wonderful, awful idea. So he stops the heroes from attacking the Space Cuties, claims that he is in charge (since he's the oldest), doesn't want his glory stolen, and proceeds to save the world again, all by himself. Grampa is confident that he can easily defeat the Space Cuties by hugging them (like he did in the last book), until he smells something stinky and horrible. Chancellor Chibi tells Grampa that the horrible smell is Hug-Proof Space Stank and that he won't be hugging anybody. The Space Cuties, with their stinky smell, then start to attack Grampa, much to his shock and horror. Li'l Petey and Molly notice that Grampa/Sprinkles is in trouble, so they decide to sing a song about it, which is a parody of "The Twelve Days of Christmas." As Li'l Petey and Molly sing their song, Grampa gets beaten up by the Space Cuties on the first three epic smackdowns and so on.

Chapter 12: Two Minutes And Thirty-Nine Seconds Later (In Flip-O-Rama)

As Li’l Petey and Molly finish up their song, the Space Cuties give their twelfth and final epic smackdown to Grampa with twelve toes attackin’, eleven lizards lickin’, ten turbo tickles, nine nasty noogies, eight stanks-a-sprayin', seven swords-a-slappin', six rubber chickens, five golden teeth, four flying fists, three face plants, two turtle snaps, and a punch in his tummy tum-tum. After the song is finished, Grampa painfully crawls back to the heroes, completely beaten up from the Space Cuties. Big Jim asks Grampa what happened, and Grampa replies that those Space Cuties are just too stanky. Grampa cries thinking that he and the heroes might never be able to defeat the Space Cuties and withstand the stank. Li'l Petey says, "If only there was someone who wasn't afraid of nasty, putrid aromas and loved the funky stench of wet garbage, rotten eggs, and many more stinky objects." Upon hearing this, Dog Man, who is immune to stinky smells, gets excited and immediately zips towards the Space Cuties.

Chapter 13: Dog Man Is GO!

Chancellor Chibi, General Giggles, and the other Space Cuties notice Dog Man coming to lick them and get scared. They try to run for their lives, but to no avail. Dog Man pounces on and licks every single Space Cutie in the spaceship. Soon, all of the Space Cuties' heads pop off, much to Dog Man's surprise. Li'l Petey congratulates Dog Man for defeating the Space Cuties From Space, but wonders how he did it. Then, Chancellor Chibi's helmet slips off of his now lifeless head and lands in front of Li'l Petey. Li'l Petey takes the note that was written back in Chapter 7 from the helmet and reads it. It is revealed from the note that the Space Cuties' second fatal weakness was doggy kisses.

Chapter 14: MWA-HAW HAW HAW HAW HAW!

With the world saved, the heroes are about to leave the spaceship and go home. Suddenly, Professor Puddin' Pop appears in order to stop the heroes. Dog Man goes to lick Professor Puddin' Pop and defeat him, but he can't do so because Professor Puddin' Pop is made of chocolate, which is bad for dogs. Professor Puddin' Pop thinks that he will win because he thought of everything (being stinky and chocolatey). However, he is proven wrong when Molly presses a Self-Destruct button, which will cause the spaceship to self-destruct in 60 seconds. Professor Puddin' Pop is distressed about Molly pressing the Self-Destruct button, but Molly asks him why he had that button in the first place. Feeling ashamed and defeated, Professor Puddin' Pop heads to an escape pod to go and find The Chosen One (who is actually not Big Jim). But before he leaves, Professor Puddin' Pop tells the heroes that they are gonna be stuck looking like cute little stuffies forever because they'll never find the antidote. Grampa asks what the antidote is, and Professor Puddin' Pop replies that the antidote is a time-release formula that he baked into a giant batch of maple banana flavored cupcakes, which gives Grampa a shocking realization. Professor Puddin' Pop says to the heroes that they'll never find the cupcakes now, not realizing that they already have found them. After saying goodbye to the heroes, Professor Puddin' Pop evilly laughs as he escapes the spaceship in his escape pod. At that moment, there is 10 seconds left until the spaceship self-destructs. Grampa wants to get out of the spaceship immediately, but the other heroes want to wait a few more seconds before getting out because it's more dramatical that way. After five dramatical seconds of waiting, the five heroes manage to fly out of the spaceship with one second left on the self-destruct timer. Finally, the Space Cutie spaceship explodes behind the heroes as they fly back down to Earth, thus concluding the dramatical sequence. Molly wonders how long it will be until the time-release antidote from the cupcakes starts to work. Big Jim estimates that it'll take between 49 and 72 pages, and he's right! As soon as the heroes land back on Earth's surface in the city, everything and everyone (except for Grampa/Sprinkles) has turned back to their normal appearances. Sarah is happy to report that the heroes are home and that things are back to normal until she notices the still cutie-fied Grampa/Sprinkles. Sarah asks Grampa why he hasn't changed back to normal and why he looks more miserable than ever. Grampa simply complains about the fact that he just risked everything and got nothing in return. Big Jim and the Supa Buddies try to reassure Grampa that he got nothing but adventure, friendship, and gratitude, but Grampa just couldn't care less. As Big Jim and Grampa start walking back to Cat Jail, Grampa expresses that he's the only one in town who didn't eat a cupcake, so now he's stuck looking like a cute little stuffie forever, and that he should've stayed in his cell in the upper left-hand corner of Cat Jail, otherwise none of his bad luck would have happened. However, as soon as Big Jim and Grampa arrive back at Cat Jail, they surprisingly notice that a remnant of a cutie shootie has fallen onto the upper left-hand corner of Cat Jail and destroyed it. As Big Jim and Grampa look at the destroyed part of Cat Jail, Grampa contemplates about what would have happened to him if he stayed in his cell in the upper left-hand corner of Cat Jail. Big Jim tells Grampa that his bad luck was a good thing, as it saved him from worse luck. Grampa is in disbelief about this, but Big Jim reassures Grampa and says, "Some day, I believe you will." As the night sky falls, the book concludes with Big Jim and Grampa looking over the damaged Cat Jail in peace.

Gallery

Images

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Trivia

  • This is the first book in the series to:
    • Not have Chief say his catchphrase, "Oh boy, this is gonna be great!"
    • Be fully colored by Wes Dzioba, with no contribution from Jose Garibaldi.
  • This is the second book in the series to:
    • Not have a chapter titled "A Buncha Stuff That Happened Next" (the first being the very first book).
    • Not have Petey make a major appearance. (In this book, Petey only appears in Grampa's flashback as a newborn kitten.)
  • This is the third book in the series to mention Batman (the first being Brawl Of The Wild and the second being Mothering Heights).
  • The flaming ball object that set Little Jim's bungalow on fire actually originated from the "Disco Pants & Haircuts" sign on Grampa's disco business building (the dot on the letter "i" of "Disco"). Therefore, it can be concluded that Grampa indirectly set Little Jim's bungalow on fire by blowing up his own disco business, causing flaming debris to fly everywhere.
    • It is also possible that Grampa was the one who ended up crashing into Big Jim's parents' car (resulting in Big Jim's parents' deaths), since at the end of Grampa's story flashback, two car headlights can be seen in the distance and Grampa isn't looking where he is driving.

Goofs/Errors

  • On the second panel of page 12, the little shine on the cute TV camera's eyes are missing.
  • On the first panel of page 14, Sarah's left arm and microphone are missing (most likely due to Sarah being right next to the right edge of the panel).
  • On the third panel of page 21, Big Jim's head is circular despite the circular head shape being phased out starting with this book.
  • On the last two panels of page 106, Grampa's ears are missing.
  • On the first panel of page 131, Grampa's freckles and front beard are missing.
  • On the first panel of page 156, the cutie shootie's blushes are missing.
  • During the time when the heroes are cutie-fied, Dog Man and Grampa's legs seem to alternate from U-shaped to normal every now and then.
  • At the end of the book, the cutie shootie remnant on the damaged part of Cat Jail is purple and a fourth of its original shape. However, in Chapter 10, the purple cutie shootie was actually cut into three pieces and the blue cutie shootie was the one that was cut into four pieces. Therefore, it would have made more sense if the cutie shootie remnant at the end was blue instead of purple (or a third of its original shape).

References

  1. ↑ https://mediaroom.scholastic.com/press-release/scholastic-unleashes-dog-man-global-campaign-celebrating-reading-and-heroes-around-wor
  2. ↑ https://www.scholastic.com/site/dav-pilkey-books/dog-man-books/dog-man-big-jim-believes.html
  3. ↑ https://people.com/dog-man-big-jim-believes-out-soon-see-the-cover-11730848
Dog Man Books
Dog Man (2016) | Dog Man: Unleashed (2016) | Dog Man: A Tale of Two Kitties (2017) | Dog Man and Cat Kid (2017) | Dog Man: Lord of the Fleas (2018) | Dog Man: Brawl of the Wild (2018) | Dog Man: For Whom the Ball Rolls (2019) | Dog Man: Fetch-22 (2019) | Dog Man: Grime and Punishment (2020) | Dog Man: Mothering Heights (2021) | Dog Man: Twenty Thousand Fleas Under the Sea (2023) | Dog Man: The Scarlet Shedder (2024) | Dog Man: Big Jim Begins (2024) | Dog Man: Big Jim Believes (2025)
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