Pearls Before Swine (comic strip)
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Pearls Before Swine is a comic strip written and illustrated by Stephan Pastis. Although created in 1997, it was not published until 1999, when United Features Syndicate ran it on its website. Its popularity rose after Dilbert creator Scott Adams, a fan of the strip, spread the word to his own fans.
Another cartoonist also assisted Pastis in moulding his comic strip; Darby Conley (creator of Get Fuzzy) helped him with the technical aspects of cartooning. The strip became popular enough to be launched in newspapers (beginning December 31, 2001). As of 2004, the strip appears in more than 150 newspapers worldwide.
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Style
Pearls Before Swine is controversial, mainly because of its dark humor and masked references to sexual terms, but it remains popular among readers. It is a sort of "meta-comic" in that
- it often satirizes the comics medium, and
- the characters often appear to be aware that they are characters in a comic strip. This is referred to as "breaking the fourth wall".
- Is often dark and controversial, death is a common theme.
- most of the relatives named in the script are named after the creator's actual family
- many of the jokes are on word play or pun
Recurring Characters
- Pig — A naïve, unintelligent, but well-meaning pig. Humble (in fact, painfully aware of his limitations), practical, kind and a little slow in the head, Pig has few aspirations in life, other than to spend his days watching TV and doing almost nothing productive. Apparently sees something redeeming in Rat, as he is willing to endure Rat's endless barbs and numerous schemes. Kicked out of the Society of Cultured Pigs because he was caught eating a BLT.
- Rat — A megalomaniacal and self-centered rat who looks down upon Pig. Arrogant, self-centered, fatalistic, philosophical and quick-tempered, Rat is obsessed with fame, immortality and making a quick buck. Spends his time with Pig because it makes him feel superior and, more importantly, no one else will hang out with him.
- Zebra — A zebra who is most often seen trying to patch up relations between his herd back home and its predators. Zebra's attempts to thward this agressors have been compared to the Peanuts, 'football' gag. The humanitarian (or, more accurately, "zebratarian"). Focused almost solely on devising ways to protect his fellow zebras on the plains from their numerous, more able predators. Must endure repeated failures in this endeavor, as the lions, tigers and crocodiles win out repeatedly. Not even his placement of zebras in small Popemobiles can prevent their destruction.
- Goat — An intellectual goat who interacts sparingly with the other characters.
- Chuckie — A non-anthropomorphic sheep. The only such character in the comic strip. Chuckie has been killed in the strip multiple times, once being sacrificed by a cult started by Rat, another eaten by Piggita.
- Bear — A little bear, with a social conscience. Bear was arrested for protesting agianst K-mart
- The Alligators — Two alligators that live next door to Zebra. They are extremley stupid. Their speech is like that of a second grader and almost all their words are mispelled. The alligators try in vain to consume Zebra, but fall in their own traps due to their stupidity. They seem to have lots of relatives, who join them, or criticize them.
- Angry Bob a literary creation of Rat. in the Angry Bob stories, Bob usualy looks for happiness, finding it in common every day things, only to be killed shortly after obtaining it. like Kenny of South Park, Rat brings back Angry Bob for each story.
- Dickie the Cockroach a cartoon character created by Rat. Dickie beats up stupid people and ties them up.
- Moody Pigita Pig's on again off again girl friend. She has rapid and violent mood swings
Books
Regular collections
- BLTs Taste So Darn Good (ISBN 0740734377) - March 2nd 2003, contains strips which appeared in newspapers from December 31, 2001 through October 6, 2002
- This Little Piggy Stayed Home (ISBN 0740738135) - March 1st 2004, contains strips which appeared in newspapers from October 6, 2002 through July 13, 2003
- Nighthogs - March 31st 2005 (the cover is based on Edward Hopper's Nighthawks)
Treasury collection
- Sgt. Piggy's Lonely Hearts Club Comic (ISBN 0740748076) - September 1st 2004, contains strips which appeared in newspapers from December 31, 2001 through July 13, 2003, many with annotations by the artist, Sundays are in color
Awards
- Best Newspaper Comic - 2004 by United Media
- Reuben Award for Best Newspaper Comic Strip in 2002 (nominee)
See also
- Other uses of the phrase "Pearls Before Swine."
External link
- Pearls Before Swine Official Site (http://www.unitedmedia.com/comics/pearls/)