The Adventures of Ook and Gluk: Kung-Fu Cavemen from the Future

The Adventures of Ook and Gluk: Kung-Fu Cavemen from the Future
Author Dav Pilkey (credited as George Beard)
Illustrator Dav Pilkey (credited as Harold Hutchins)
Country United States
Language English
Series Captain Underpants series
Genre Children's novel
Publisher Blue Sky (US),
Scholastic (US)
Publication date
 August 10, 2010
Media type Print (Hardcover, Paperback)
ISBN 978-0-545-17530-2
Followed by The Adventures of Ook and Gluk Jr.: Kung-Fu Cavekids in Outer Space

The Adventures of Ook and Gluk: Kung-Fu Cavemen from the Future is a graphic novel by Dav Pilkey[1] and a second spin-off of Captain Underpants. Pilkey uses "George Beard" as the author and "Harold Hutchins" as the illustrator. These are the names of his characters in the Captain Underpants books.

The plot of the book involves George and Harold, the lead characters from Pilkey's Captain Underpants series, complaining that scientists don't know everything, so they make a comic book about science facts.

Plot summary

Plot

Their story begins with two cavekids named Ook Schadowski and Gluk Jones who live in Caveland, Ohio. The dictator of Caveland, Chief Goppernopper, hates them because they often hurt him and defile his throne. Goppernopper is also insulted when people (such as his henchmen) keep misspelling his name. Goppernopper forces Ook's older sister Gak to marry him in order to keep Ook and Gluk from being imprisoned. After a brief adventure, the two cavekids befriend a T-Rex named Mog-Mog (after she saved them from a gorilla) and her daughter, and stop the wedding. Angered by this, Goppernopper walks away with his guards until Goppernopper meets his descendent, J.P. Goppernopper, who is the CEO of Goppernopper Enterprises from the year 2222. The two Goppernoppers work together to steal natural resources from cavemen days through time portal since all natural resources will be used up by 2222. Ex-Chief Goppernopper goes back to the past and forces every cavemen living in Caveland to become slaves for the rest of their lives, making them official property of Goppernopper Enterprises. Becoming slaves, Ook, Gluk, and baby Mog-Mog are shoveling until the two Goppernoppers take the cavekids to 2222 to torture them, but baby Mog-Mog follows them to help them escape. Ook, Gluk, and baby Mog-Mog hide in Master Wong's School of Kung-Fu. There they train and became good at kung-fu. Ook falls in love with Master Wong's daughter, Lan. Lan names baby Mog-Mog "Lily" after her favorite flower.

Ook and Gluk grow up, training under Master Wong, but no matter how good they are at kung-fu, Master Wong does not award them new belts as they constantly request. In order to get new belts, the cavemen have to give the right answer to Master Wong's question: Who is the greatest man? When it is time for Ook and Gluk to save their village, they finally answer who the greatest man is: nobody. It is the correct answer to Master Wong's question, so he finally awards them black belts, telling them that titles and trophies have no value to the man who is at peace with himself and true greatness is anonymous, therefore the greatest man is literally nobody. Ook and Gluk realize that these belts have no value since they are at peace, but they take the belts anyway.

Then Ook, Gluk, and Lily enter Goppernopper Enterprises, time-travel back to cavemen days, and fight the guards only to free the slaves. Then Ook's sister Gak falls in love with Gluk and calls him a hero. After that, Chief Goppernopper returns and orders his Mechasaurs (A mechanical Tyranosaurus, a mechanical Triceratops, and a mechanical Pteranodon) to attack Ook, Gluk, and Lily. Then Lily and the cavemen spray-paint pictures of themselves on the buildings so the Mechasaurs will destroy anything that has the faces of Lily and the cavemen. They also spray-paint on the Goppernopper Enterprises building so it will be destroyed, and spray-paint on the explosive tank, which also destroys the Mechasaurs themselves.

After Ook and Gluk's victory, J.P. Goppernopper sends them a letter, telling them that he captured Master Wong and Lan and that they will be killed to death if Ook and Gluk won't give up now. When Ook, Gluk, and Lily return to 2222, they see Master Wong and Lan tied up. As soon as the Goppernoppers are going to kill the Wongs, Ook and Gluk pleads with the Goppernoppers to release the Wongs and say they will do anything. The Goppernoppers agree and have Ook, Gluk, and Lily handcuffed and change their minds about releasing the Wongs and vow to kill them all.

Ook and Gluk wonder how to get out of this and Master Wong tells them to remember their training. Then Ook and Gluk remember all of the teachings from Master Wong and get an idea. When J.P. Goppernopper raises his ray gun to kill them, Ook and Gluk ask the Goppernoppers the question: Who is the greatest man? J.P. Goppernopper answers that he is the greatest man while Chief Goppernopper answers he is the greatest man. After that, the Goppernoppers disagree with each other and argue about who the greatest man is and get into a fight. J.P. Goppernopper betrays and zaps Chief Goppernopper, killing him and accidentally erasing himself from history, as Goppernopper did not have children yet. The polluted world begins to be replaced with the world without Goppernoppers. Ook, Gluk, and Lily run back to the disappearing time portal, but Ook soon returns because of his love for Lan. Lan says she will be his cave-wife and they both enter the cavemen days. The time portal, J.P. Goppernopper and his world from 2222 disappear. Master Wong walks home where he says there is a part of the kids in him. A sign shows Ook and Gluk's future descendants open a business right next to Master Wong's Kung-Fu School called "Shadowski & Jones Inventors". Lily finally re-unites with her mother Mog-Mog. Ook, Gluk, Lan, Mog-Mog, and Lily return happily to Caveland.

Characters

Reception

The book was at #2 on the New York Times hardcover graphic novel best-sellers list its first week of release,[2] and remained at first place for six consecutive weeks. It served 33 weeks on the list,[3] its period on the list overlapping with the paperback edition's presence on the paperback best sellers list.[3]

School Library Journal described the book's humor as "completely immature, and for the target audience, completely hilarious". Booklist suggested that the book would "appeal to those who like silly adventures, puke-based humor, and kung-fu fighting."

Sequel

The author plans that the sequel to The Adventures of Ook & Gluk: Kung-Fu Cavemen from the Future which will be titled "The Adventures of Ook and Gluk Jr. Kung-Fu Cavekids in Outer Space". The book is about Ook and Gluk's kids having an adventure in space with an alien after them.

References

  1. ↑ Lee, Felicia R. (18 March 2010). "Good News for Fans of Bathroom Humor". The New York Times. Retrieved June 13, 2011.
  2. ↑ "Dav Pilkey". The New York Times.
  3. 1 2 "HARDCOVER GRAPHIC BOOKS (September 18, 2011)". The New York Times. September 18, 2011.
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