Pearls Blows Up: A Pearls Before Swine Treasury

Pearls Before Swine #9-10

by Stephan Pastis

Smart, sharp, and sometimes cynical, Pearls Before Swine is the fastest growing cartoon property in the universe.

Stephan Pastis offers Pearls Before Swine fans a combustible collection brimming with explosive action inside Pearls Blows Up. Collecting every cartoon from 50,000,000 Pearls Fans Can't Be Wrong and When Pigs Fly, this hot-to-the-touch, volatile edition also includes annotated thoughts reflecting Pastis's searing wit.

Offering blistering commentary on hot-button topics related to recent news events, popular culture, cartoon-page contemporaries, and more, Pearls Before Swine expertly illustrates the flaws and shortcomings of human nature through Pastis's mindful menagerie of fiery and feisty characters. Arrogant, self-centered, and totally hilarious Rat stars in misadventure after misadventure with his four-legged friends, Pig, the slow but good-hearted conscience of the strip; Goat, the voice of reason that often goes unheard; Zebra, the activist; and those eternally inept carnivorous Crocs.

Catch the dynamite action inside this hot-off-the-press edition of Pearls Blows Up. With multiple honors as Best Comic Strip of the Year by the National Cartoonists Society, and an international fan base that follows the strip's appearance in more than 600 newspapers worldwide, Pearls Blows Up is guaranteed to be a blast.

Genres: Comics, Humor, Comic Strips, Fiction, Graphic Novels, Animals, Graphic Novels Comics

256 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2011

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

[Robert Garrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

*A group of hyenas moves into Zebra's neighborhood...and opens a funeral parlor (Note that hyenas are carrion eaters.)

*The crocodiles form a corporation, which they dub "Eetazeeb."

*Rat becomes a concierge.

*Guard Duck and Snuffles the cat try to overthrow the Cuban government.

*Guard Duck is reunited with his lost love, Maura.

*The crocodiles try to blow up Zebra with a nuclear missile.

*Three crocodiles form a super hero group called the Fantastic Four ("Math is not part of their fantasticalness.")

...and so on and so forth.

PEARLS BEFORE SWINE is my favorite currently-running comic strip, and I think it's darn funny. If, like me, you appreciate puns, talking animals, cartoon hijinx, breaking the fourth wall and occasional cynicism, then you should find it funny, too.

I love all the book collections, and this one is no exception. I went from collecting the single books to treasuries like one, because the treasuries are a much better bargain. They collect the equivalent of two single books (PEARLS BLOWS UP collects strips originally published in 50,000,000 PEARLS FANS CAN'T BE WRONG and WHEN PIGS FLY) and cost less than the same two books would separately. They are also larger, enabling one to better enjoy the artwork.

Finally, the treasuries include extra commentary from creator Stephen Pastis. Pastis provides insights into his creative process, cheerfully points out his mistakes (in both continuity and artwork) and conveys some self-deprecating humor. He also seems to have a bit of a love of the spotlight, and I admittedly sometimes feel that I know more about the guy that I really need to know, just from reading his comic collections. Overall, though, his commentary definitely enhances, rather than diminishes, the final reading experience.

I love PEARLS BEFORE SWINE (obviously) and highly recommend any PEARLS collection. It really doesn't matter which collection one picks up first, and PEARLS BLOWS UP is as good as many.

[Stewart Tame · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the Pearls Before Swine treasuries. It's a funny strip all by itself, but to have Pastis' running commentary on the strips is pure gold. It's like having a director's commentary on a DVD. His art is crude but serviceable. Where this stuff really shines is in the writing. Always happy to read his stuff.

[Nancy H · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great collection of Pearls Before Swine cartoons. The commentary that goes with them makes them even more hilarious. A definite must for cartoon fans.

[Colin Murtagh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another wonderful collection, from one of the best strips on the market.
As with the rest of the treasuries, as well as the strips, there's an ongoing commentary, sometimes sensible and explaining things, and sometimes just really silly.
The strips themselves, although not the best art in the industry, still manage to push the envelope with the how dark they can get. But when they do get sweet, and it's not often, it just means it hits even harder.
As an added bonus, there's an "Artist as a young man" gallery at the end, which may be a little self indulgent but I'm still pleased it's there.
I could read these all day.

[Travis · Rating 4 out of 5]

At this point, Pearls Before Swine has entered the Peanuts phase of comic strips. All the major characters are firmly established, the gags are consistent, and the tropes are all in place. The only thing still somewhat missing is the amount of puns, which is relatively low compared to the strip a decade later (this treasury is from 2011). The crocs in particular really come into their own this treasury. Larry's interactions with his wife and son are always funny, and his stint as Colonel Sanders is hilarious ("News travel slow een Kentuckyland.")

[Angel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick impressions: I found the humor somewhat inconsistent. When it is good, it really can be good. When it is bad, it can be pretty flat. Also, I can do without the author's commentary he includes in most of the strips; it often just boils down to overexplaining a joke or punchline. If you need to explain the joke, it was not that good for starters. I still liked most of it. I'd say borrow it if you want to read it.

(full review on my blog later)

[Chb4usc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great fun as always...with some neat insights~!

[Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two words - guard duck.

5 out of 5 stars.

[DK · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's cool and funny

[Laurla2 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Collecting every cartoon from 50,000,000 Pearls Fans Can't Be Wrong and When Pigs Fly, includes annotated thoughts and comments.

-5 stars. i really enjoy pearls before swine.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely hilarious! Love Pastis's characters and bad 1-page puns. Love Pearls!

[randomPfp · Rating 5 out of 5]

We are so fucking back.

The plotlines are great, the characters are great, the jokes are properly dry and make you feel really strange for laughing at them, top tier Pastis right here.

[Jacob · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first Pearls treasury I got when I was maybe 10. Good to know it's still right up my alley.

[Haasini Rajathilak · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was funny.

[Lady Lioness · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd read the books collected in this treasury (50,000 Pearl Fans Can't Be Wrong and When Pigs Fly), but I didn't buy them and the treasury was 50% off from B&N. I couldn't not get it.

I almost prefer the treasuries over the individual collections because of Pastis's commentary. One can see very clearly where Rat got his distinctive voice. In addition, Pastis will occasionally discuss his inspiration for various strips, as well as some of his interactions with other cartoonists. I read this after Larry in Wonderland and it only highlighted how awful that collection was. In Pearls Blows Up, Pastis juggles several storylines, crams them together, and makes it seem perfectly logical in a ludicrous kind of way. I have a soft spot for the reoccurring Lion characters and I always enjoy Guard Duck. I liked the way Pastis handled Guard Duck's storyline with Maura and how he was able to flirt with continuity while still making the strip accessible to a lackadaisical reader.

However, my favorite strip in the book has to be the one from January 15th, 2009 because if I stay in libraries, that's gonna be me in thirty years!

[Dani Shuping · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite comic strips to read in the morning. First the artist doesn't take himself too seriously and when he's short on ideas he often draws himself in the comic (generally looking like a bum) and has his characters poke fun at him for not being great. Secondly, its almost always funny. From Rat doing and saying the things you really want to in real life, but not being able to; to Pig's sweetness balancing it out. Oh and of course the crocodiles...always trying to catch Zebra in some elaborate scheme (ok elaborate is probably too big of a word for the crocs, but some type of scheme.) Thirdly he has fun with some of the other comics, normally Family Circus, and it's always fun to see their interactions with Pastis's world.

The biggest bonus of buying the treasury is to read Pastis's commentary and see what he's thinking. He openly admits when he thinks a strip is bad and often provides some great insight into what he was thinking in the storyline. Pearls before swine is always a fun read and this latest treasury provides entertainment to last hours upon hours.

[Lucus · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the book I just kept reading through the whole April holidays. The humour is witty, with the most smartypants comments coming from Rat. Most of the characters have vivid and hilarious personalities. However, I found a couple of characters that didn't seem to have any personalities at all, the most important character without a personality being Goat. This didn't drag down the book down when we're talking about ratings, though. Under most comics are commentary by Stephen Pastis that adds to why I really like this book so much. If you have a small, but powerful, interest in comics, this is a must-have, or at least a rent from the library.

I have one question, though: WHO SAID THIS WAS ANOTHER EDITION OF PEARLS SELLS OUT!? My homework is ruined forever.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pearls Before Swine and Get Fuzzy are the only comic strips I try to read every day, so although I have read these in daily strip form, it's great to reread them in a collection too. Pig, Rat, Goat and the Crocs are always funny. The commentary by Stephan Pastis makes the collection even better. He comments on about 2/3rds of the strips in the collection and his remarks are funny and insightful.

[LauraW · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used to not like Pearls Before Swine, because I especially didn't like the crocodiles and they way they talk, but it was one of my younger daughter's favorite cartoons, so I tried it again. I still am not particularly fond of the crocodiles (or the guard duck, for that matter), but I have thoroughly enjoyed the Treasuries. I especially like that he annotates the series, adding another dimension of humor. I am Goat. My daughter is Rat.

[Kenneth · Rating 4 out of 5]

The commentary on this treasury is quite insightful, and pretty just darn-right hilarious. Stephan Pastis makes one of my favorite comic strips even funnier. Something that is often hard to do. I found myself breathless from laughter at many points throughout the book and he understands how unique a world the comic making world is and allows you an insight into what its like to work with other artists and create ideas for profound comics.

[MizziQ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would have given it 5 stars--but for some unexplainable reason--it had an end. Perfect for the comic lover. I never get to the Sunday comics but having it in a book was great! I loved it all. The book comes with hilarious commentary be the author and that is something that adds *at least* 2 stars for my review. Love the drawings. Love the jokes. Love the book! Keep em' coming Pastis!

[Sheri Fresonke Harper · Rating 5 out of 5]

A hoot! This book is a fun collection of comic strips, some short, some full page. Many of the strips follow a series on various topics. I found it to be the perfect gift for a sick husband. We both found many reasons to laugh and steal the book from the other. Introduced are the zeebas and pig, rat, cat, guard duck and many more besides the gators.

[Hannah Mason · Rating 4 out of 5]

My brother loves the Pearls Before Swine Treasuries. That works out well for me because they make an excellent gift and when he is finished reading them, I tend to pick them up. If I'm honest, I love them too. I always enjoy Pastis's comics and, just as much, his commentary in the treasuries. This one was no exception. 

[Daniel Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A few gems from this book: the adventures of Guard Duck and Snuffles; the introduction of Elly Elephant and Henry Hippo; the killer whale "un-died" to play in a baseball game; and rat as a hotel concierge.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's not a better comic running than Pearls Before Swine. I like the extra commentary in the treasuries, too.

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved reading the latest PBS collection- a guilty pleasure.

[David Curwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great treasury from Stephan Pastis. I love his commentary - maybe even more than the strips!

[Matthew Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

I particularly enjoyed this collection because Pastis adds his reflections and comments to the strips throughout the book.

[Juliana Haught]

I'm reading this here and there in between books or when I need a little laugh. I like the way Pastis' mind works. Pig is my absolute favorite of his characters. Silly stuff.

[hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the cat.