Pearls Gets Plastered: A Pearls Before Swine Treasury

by Stephan Pastis

Enjoy months of side-splitting laughter with the daily misadventures of Rat, Pig, Zebra and Goat! This collection of the beloved Pearls Before Swine comic strip features 18 months of strips from 2022-2024, complete with reflections, personal stories, and strip-by-strip commentary by award-winning cartoonist and USA TODAY bestselling author Stephan Pastis.

For over two decades Pearls Before Swine has offered some of the funniest and most thought-provoking observations about the world, blowing the whistle on everything from modern technology to current events to human nature. Cartoonist Stephan Pastis continues to entertain with sharp, witty humor and endearing characters. This collection is a treasure trove of laughs, featuring behind-the-scenes notes on every comic strip, personal stories and photographs, and thoughtful reflections on the last few years. If you're a fan of Pearls Before Swine, this book is a must-have for your collection.

Genres: Comics, Humor, Fiction

272 pages, Paperback

Published October 28, 2025

About the author

Stephan Pastis was born in 1968 and raised in San Marino, California, a suburb of Los Angeles. He graduated from the University of California at Berkeley in 1989 with a degree in political science. Although he had always wanted to be a syndicated cartoonist, Pastis realized that the odds of syndication were slim, so he entered UCLA Law School in 1990 and became an attorney instead. He practiced law in the San Francisco Bay area from 1993 to 2002. While an attorney, he began submitting various comic strip concepts to all of the syndicates, and, like virtually all beginning cartoonists, got his fair share of rejection slips. Then, in 1997, he began drawing Pearls Before Swine, which he submitted to the syndicates in mid-1999. In December, 1999, he signed a contract with United.
Pearls Before Swine debuted in newspapers in January, 2002, and Pastis left his law practice in August of that year. Pearls Before Swine was nominated in 2003, 2004 and 2007 as "Best Newspaper Comic Strip" by the National Cartoonists Society (NCS) and won the award in 2004 and 2007. Pastis lives with his family in Northern California.

Reviews

[Travis · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's interesting to think of these strips like I do those in the middle volumes of The Complete Peanuts. There's no new recurring characters introduced, each established character gets screentime, and even older characters like the Crocs (or Franklin in Peanuts) are still around. All the tropes are on full display (long-winded puns, wise ass on the hill, boxes and balloons).

There are a few strips that are more sentimental than usual. One has Rat visiting his dad's grave and another has Pig comforting someone else at a grave. Having lost my father-in-law in 2021 and my own dad having a stroke in 2025, I definitely get these strips now more than ever. It shows how versatile the strip and its characters are. When even Rat can pull at heartstrings, you've successfully established your strip.

The strips leading up to the 2024 United States presidential election (the last strip is October 6) are cleverly done to never lean too far to one side or the other. This isn't done in a capitalistic "even Republicans wear Nikes" way of thinking. Pastis just doesn't want people to read his strip with a predetermined lens. I think it's also good to take the piss out of both sides. Pastis makes the astute point that the real differences are based on class and wealth, not political parties. He's able to make these observations without being preachy or accusatory, while still being funny. He also rarely, if ever, mentions anyone or anything by name, so the strips can remain evergreen rather than being too topical.

The only downside to finishing a Pearls Before Swine treasury is having to wait another couple years for one to get published!

[Jiří Pavlovský · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tohle je asi poslední stripová série, u které jsem zůstal a pravidelně čtu (nepočítám Garfielda, kterého vydáváme). A podobně jako u sitcomů, i tady už znáte své postavy, víte, co budou dělat... a i jaké tu asi najdete vtipy. Což je v tomhle případě mix velmi komplikovaně připravovaných slovních hříček a postřehů o životě. To poslední už převažuje nad vtipy. Je to v podstatě zábavně podaný souhr autorových názorů.

Prase: Včera mi někdo říkal, že pro něj je únikem sledování televize. Někdo jiný řekl, že pro něj je únikem jídlo. Pro někoho jiného je únikem pití... To mě přivádí k otázce... Je tohle život nebo útěk z vězení?
Krysa: Ve vězení máš jídlo zdarma.

Celkem se mi líbí, že je to jeden z těch stripů, kdy do hry vstupuje sám autor - buď to schytává za své dětinské fórky, nebo se tu celá jedna linie točí kolem jeho šňůry autogramiád. Autor tady do děje vstupuje i poznámkami po obrázky, někdy souvisejícími, většinou zcela mimochodnými.

Prase: Velký moudrý osle, chtěl bych zkusit něco nového, ale bojím se, že mi to nepůjde.
Velký moudrý osel: Pamatuj, můj synu. Mineš sto procentem ran, které nikdy nevystřelíš.
Prase: No bezva. Takže selžu, i když se ani o nic nesnažím.
Prase (ke kryse): Je vážně děsně demotivující.

Je už to vyloženě spíš mudrování, která není zase tak úplně pitomý, ale rozhodně jsem se tady mockrát nerozchechtal... a funguje líp, když to člověk čte po jednotlivých stripech, ne takhle vcelku.

[Colin Murtagh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I do adore Pearls, this is quite possibly one of the best strips available at the moment. Comic strips aren't really a thing in the papers anymore, which is a great shame, as really this needs pushed out to a wider audience.
While the art may not be amongst the best in the business, the stories more than make up for it, and the heart in it is possibly unmatched since the days of Calvin And Hobbes.
The wonderful thing about this strip, especially reading it in this way, is that you can go through two or three days having a giggle, and he'll suddenly hit you with something that either makes you think or make you feel. It never feels like he's pushing something, despite the fact he talks politics occasionally, it's not actually possible to tell which side he's on.
As a treasury this is loaded with extra features, and commentary, which to be fair are probably worth the entrance fee alone.
If your not reading this yet, you should be.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really liked this one.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a big Pearls fan, but sometimes the funniest parts of the treasury are the comments by Pastis. Fans will want to add this to their collection.

[Tony Laplume · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of strips, the strips and Stephan’s commentary, feels like they’re specifically designed to reward fans.

Everyone else is hosed.

(And I got 50 Pearls points for this review!!!)

[Janet Sketchley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good fun, as always, with some things to provoke thought as well.

[Jessica Horton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have yet to read a bad Pearls Before Swine Treasury. Have I bought all others before this? Yes. Will I buy the next one? Also yes.