Recently, one search term has exploded in online forums and parenting groups:

A: You can, but a full-color print job (230 pages) at Staples will cost you over $40 in ink. Just buy the hardcover for $14.99.

But what is driving this demand? Is a full-color version of the original book available legally? And how does the digital format stack up against the physical "flip-o-rama" experience? This article dives deep into everything you need to know about the full-color phenomenon of Dav Pilkey’s masterpiece. The original Captain Underpants book (published in 1997) was intentionally rough. Dav Pilkey drew it in a scrappy, black-and-white comic style to look like a notebook a kid would actually make. For purists, that grit is the charm.