Pearls Before Swine (comics)
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{{Infobox Comic strip
|title=Pearls Before Swine
|image=<!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:Pearlsmain.jpg|250px]] -->
|caption= The four main ''Pearls Before Swine'' Characters.
From top to bottom: Rat, Zebra, Pig, Goat.
|creator=[[Stephan Pastis]]
|current=
|status=Running
|syndicate=[[United Feature Syndicate]]
|comictype=print
|genre=Humor
|first=[[December 30]], [[2001]] (''[[Orlando Sentinel]]'')<br>[[December 31]], [[2001]] (''[[The Washington Post]]'')<br>[[January 7]], [[2002]]
|last=
}}
'''''Pearls Before Swine''''' is an [[United States|American]] [[comic strip]] written and illustrated by [[Stephan Pastis]], formerly a lawyer in [[San Francisco, California]]. It is Pastis' fifth attempt to syndicate a comic strip, the first four including ''Rat'', ''The Infirm'', and ''Bradbury Road''. It chronicles the daily lives of four [[anthropomorphic]] animals, Pig, Rat, Zebra, and Goat. Although created in 1997, it was not published until 2000, when [[United Feature 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.<ref name="nob">[http://www.newsobserver.com/105/story/514076.html ''The News & Observer'' ([[November 24]], [[2006]]): "Stephan Pastis: ''Pearls Before Swine''", by Matt Ehlers]</ref>
United Feature launched the strip in [[newspaper]]s beginning [[December 31]], [[2001]], in ''[[The Washington Post]]''.<ref>Pastis, Stephan, ''Sgt. Piggy's Lonely Hearts Club Comic'' (Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2004; ISBN 0-7407-4807-6), p.5: "''Pearls'' was supposed to launch in newspapers on [[January 7]], [[2002]]. But just prior to the launch, the ''Washington Post'' bought the strip and wanted to start running it a week early. Thus, this week of strips [dated beginning 12/31] was quickly put together just for the ''Post'', and this [12/31] strip became the first ''Pearls'' strip, published in exactly one paper".</ref> On [[January 7]], [[2002]], it began running in approximately 150 papers.<ref name="ammp">[http://www.andrewsmcmeel.com/products/?isbn=0740738135 ''This Little Piggy Stayed Home'' (March 2004): "Product Detail"]</ref> As of early 2007, the strip appears in more than 400 newspapers worldwide.<ref name="cm">[http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070116/REPOSITORY/701160341&SearchID=732703280885 ''Concord Monitor'' ([[January 16]], [[2007]]): "Artist says he likes his humor dark", by Allison Steele]</ref>
== The beginning of "Pearls" ==
As noted in the first treasury book, the beginning of "Pearls Before Swine" was not the first strip, but the creation of the non [[Comic strip syndication|syndicated]] comic "Rat." Pastis created "Rat" in his [[Law School]] Days. He tried to get them syndicated but failed. He then took the character "Rat" and put him in "Pearls."
He also created another strip known as "The Infirm" about a struggling lawyer. He attempted to have that comic strip syndicated but it was rejected by the syndicates. There was a pig character in "The Infirm" which he took and put in the strip Pearls Before Swine.
According to Pastis, "Pearls" was supposed to launch on [[January 7]], [[2003]]. However, ''[[The Washington Post]]'' had bought the strip and needed strips for a week before. Therefore, Pastis drew a week of strips strictly for ''Post'' readers (in addition to a Sunday strip he drew strictly for the ''[[Orlando Sentinel]]''), and the strip's unofficial start date was [[http://images.chron.com/apps/comics/images/2002/12/30/Pearls_Before_Swine.190.g.gif December 30, 2002]].
== Influences ==
{{Unreferencedsection|date=July 2008}}
As are most strips, "Pearls" is influenced by many other [[Comic Strips|comic strips.]] Stephan Pastis claims it to be influenced by ''[[Peanuts (comic strip)|Peanuts]]'', ''[[Dilbert]]'', ''[[Get Fuzzy]]'', ''[[The Far Side]]'' and many others. These were the main influences. In an interview with the [[Roanoke, Virginia|Roanoke]], [[Virginia]]-based newspaper ''The Roanoke Times'' that his three favorite comics growing up were ''[[Calvin and Hobbes]]'', ''[[Bloom County]]'', and ''The Far Side'', saying he liked ''The Far Side'' best. He also states in his first treasury collection, ''[[List of Pearls Before Swine Books|Sgt. Piggy's Lonely Hearts Club Comic]]'', that if you want to learn how to write a good comic strip, you need to study Dilbert.
==Cast==
''Pearls Before Swine'' has a few central characters, supplemented by a fresh array of minor figures starring in their own mini-series.
==Main Characters==
===Rat===
{{main|Rat (Pearls Before Swine)}}
'''Rat''' (debut: [[December 31]], [[2002]]) is a [[narcissism|megalomaniacal]] [[rat]], and is the strip's main protagonist. He is frequently critical of the strip's style and [[artwork]] as well as the other characters in the strip and all living things. Often self-employed, most of his businesses involve either punishing or [[defraud]]ing people for their ignorance, much in the same vein as [[Dogbert]], though with a darker humor. Rat lives with Pig in a house somewhere in [[Albany, California]].
Rat is the most insensitive character in the strip, except when it comes to his love for [[Pig]]'s sister Farina; he also seems to feel some genuine friendship toward Pig himself, although this hardly gives Pig any immunity from Rat's insults. Rat's interactions with others are typically sarcastic, condescending, insulting and sometimes [[violent]], particularly when dealing with what he considers to be exceptionally annoying people (i.e. virtually everyone) and their habits. [[Rat]] frequently breaks the [[fourth wall]] to berate his creator on his joke writing, artwork, or the general content of the strip itself, once even threatening him with a baseball bat in the [[June 15]], [[2008]] strip. He is the author of two book series; '''The Adventures of Angry Bob''' and, for children, '''Danny Donkey''', and writes the comic '''Dickie the Cockroach You Love To Love'''. In '''The Adventures of Angry Bob''', the protagonist is Angry Bob and he is, of course, always angry. Because he is angry, he tries to cheer himself up, but instead ends up getting himself killed. At the beginning of every Angry Bob story, Bob is brought back to life, usually "undying". In '''Danny Donkey''', a series of children's books, Danny is a protagonist who makes bad morals for the stories, for instance, "If you can't make yourself better, make those around you worse." Rat has a superhero-alter identity, Ego-Man, but he only is the protector of himself, making him a very selfish superhero.
Rat has died several times. The first being [[January 6]], [[2003]]. He dies while being helped across the street by pig after getting his eyes dilated. St. Peter denies him access and he sees his grandma and Abraham Lincoln. 11 days later you find out that rat is in a coma in the hospital (or as pig puts it combing toes.)
Rat was temporarily killed off for a week after his body exploded following an attempt by him to smile, despite two instances where he was smiling before (once in an attempt by Pastis to suck up to the ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'', which had just started running ''Pearls'' and once after he and Pig were high off of [[http://images.chron.com/apps/comics/images/2003/4/17/Pearls_Before_Swine.9.g.gif Prozac]]). In the [[July 10]], [[2008]] strip, he again died abruptly (again, he had been smiling; this time it was over the abrupt death of his creator).
===Pig===
{{main|Pig (Pearls Before Swine)}}
Naïve '''Pig''' (debut: [[December 31]], [[2002]]) is childlike and dim, but also well-meaning and kind, all of which leads to constant ridicule by his housemate Rat. Pig's jokes generally involve his incompetence and not knowing his true surroundings. Pig has a short-tempered girlfriend named Pigita. Pastis says that Pig is the easiest character to write for: "He just has to misunderstand everything that he hears, then when it's explained to him, he has to misunderstand that too." Pig has a habit of talking to inanimate objects such as food, stop lights, bait and various other things (although since, in the "Pearls" universe, the objects talk back, this is not as odd as it might otherwise be). His dimness is often exhibited in the strip. For instance, he once went to a Halloween party as a hostage and could not see, causing him to fail miserably at charades. Pig's least appropriate characteristic is his love of pork products; He likes bacon, ham, hot dogs, and so on, making him a [[cannibal]]. He is also sometimes able to tell which member of his family has been made into the food product.
===Zebra===
{{main|Zebra (Pearls Before Swine)}}
'''Zebra''' (debut: [[http://images.chron.com/apps/comics/images/2003/1/18/Pearls_Before_Swine.849.g.gif January 18, 2003]]), also known as "zeeba neighba" (zebra neighbor) by the comically stupid Fraternity of Crocodiles next-door (Zeeba Zeeba Eata), is a [[zebra]] who is often seen trying to patch up relations between his herd back home and its predators, lions and hyenas. His troubles include various encounters with the Fraternity of Crocodiles. He also serves as a less-irritable version of Goat, and is also the only character Goat can put up with.
Because Stephan Pastis used to not be able to draw lions, these particular predators were not shown in the strip until [http://www.chron.com/apps/comics/showComic.mpl?date=2007/5/31&name=Pearls_Before_Swine [[May 31]], [[2007]]], when two were shown moving next door to Zebra, on the opposite side from the crocodiles. They are the second-most mentioned predators, behind the crocodiles. Prior to their appearance Zebra has been seen corresponding with them via letter, attempting to give them more culture than just eating zebras and establish a friendship between their species. Instead, the lions' replies are always terse and stupid responses, often featuring them taking his advice the wrong way by eating a zebra. The lions remain the only predators capable of instilling fear in Zebra; the crocodiles just induce frustration due to their complete incompetence. Zebra's lion neighbors, however, are male lions, which do not hunt, and they seem to like Zebra, often giving him advice on how to avoid their wives, who actually would hunt him down if given the chance. The lions tend to speak like [[surfer]]s, constantly calling Zebra "dude".
Hyenas are the third type of predator that plague Zebra's herd. Before 2008, they had only appeared in the strip twice: once, a series in which Zebra was an online advice columnist for other zebras; the second appearance was a single Sunday strip in September 2007 as new neighbors of Zebra. Starting on [http://www.chron.com/apps/comics/showComic.mpl?date=2008/2/25&name=Pearls_Before_Swine [[February 25]], [[2008]]], a strip was published featuring the hyenas as operators of a [[funeral home]]. One time, Larry sent a cat to Zebra, but in the first years, the cat was harmless to Zebra. However, in
early winter 2008, Zebra was arrested by the [[FBI]] because of the cat's terrorist activities, although Snuffles loves Zebra,
and he didn't mean to put his owner mistakenly in jail.
In one strip, he was revealed to be a big fan of [[Peanuts (comic strip)|Peanuts]], which the crocs attempted to exploit, without success.
On one occasion, he was given a cat who got him thrown in jail for harboring [[terrorists]] (for more on this see ''Minor and one-off characters#snuffles''_. He was released on the condition that he get the cat to [[spill the beans]] on his weapon business.
Zebra's birthday was celebrated in the [http://www.chron.com/apps/comics/showComic.mpl?date=2008/2/20&name=Pearls_Before_Swine [[February 20]], [[2008]]] strip, where Rat gave him a used bar of hotel soap.
Zebra also has a niece named Joy, who is the [[girlfriend]] of Larry the Crocodile's son Billy. Joy's father is Stumpy, and
Stumpy is the brother of Zebra. However, Zebra seems to act like a friend to Billy as well, since he's a vegetarian.
===Goat===
{{main|Goat (Pearls Before Swine)}}
An intellectual [[goat]] who interacts sparingly with the other characters, '''Goat''' (debut: [[http://images.chron.com/apps/comics/images/2003/1/30/Pearls_Before_Swine.418.g.gif January 30, 2003]]) usually appears whenever there is a small issue dealing with a character or a conflict to be mediated. Goat has an equally hard time dealing with Pig's incompetence and Rat's cruelty and occasional ignorance. Goat maintains a [[blog]] that, as Rat likes to point out, receives no hits. Goat in turn tends to criticize Rat's forays into writing, often telling him not to write them at all. In early strips, Goat had a beard; he first appeared without it in the [http://www.chron.com/apps/comics/showComic.mpl?date=2004/3/31&name=Pearls_Before_Swine [[March 31]], [[2004]]] strip. He is smart and knows how to solve problems.
In a few strips, he is seen telling Rat and Pig about various [[philosophical]],[[political]], and [[social]] issues. However, Rat and Pig don't pay attention, and usually start talking about something else, like [[baseball]] or the [[television]] [[show]] [[The Apprentice]].
Goat dislikes conversing with the other characters at all; he much prefers reading books. However, it seems that he most tolerates talking to Zebra; he is least tolerant when talking to Rat (although he tends to be just as equally hostile towards Pig). Goat's real name is revealed as Paris in the [http://www.chron.com/apps/comics/showComic.mpl?date=2007/9/21&name=Pearls_Before_Swine [[September 21]], [[2007]]] strip, and it claims that "Goat" is his stage name.
Because he is friends with [[feminist]] [[Gloria Steinem]], it is quite possible that he is politically [[liberal]]. However, it was revealed in a 2007 strip that he does not vote.
===The Fraternity of Crocodiles===
The Fraternity of Crocodiles are the main antagonists and villains of the strip, and while they are indeed on very poor terms with all four main characters (with the possible exception of Rat), they are usually involved in various attempts to kill and eat Zebra, all of which fail due to their stupidity. All of the crocodiles in this fraternity speak with a monosyllabic accent (although this accent doesn't have a name, it represents the tone of voice of [[Frankenstein]]'s Monster or [[Tarzan]])' and their statements often tend to begin with "Hullooo, zeeba neighba! Leesten,..." The fraternity name is "Zeeba Zeeba Eata" (although one of them called it "[[Zeta (letter)|Zeta]], Zeta, [[Epsilon (letter)|Epsilon]]" in a botched attempt to fool their suspicious neighbor). The male crocodiles, when talking, are often saying words in the [[phonetics|phonetical style]], such as "goowoo" ([[guru]]), "nome" ([[gnome]]), "meester" (mister), "mouf" (mouth), "peese" (please), "becuss" (because), "keel" ([[murder|kill]]), "woomun" (woman), etc. They also say "me" instead of "I", and refer themselves as "crockydiles". They also exclude such words as "is", "was", and "am". They also speak in an unusual font: their dialogue are shown in crude, lower-case letters (like Moe, the playground bully from ''[[Calvin and Hobbes]]''). The female crocodiles, Billy, and various "Smart Guy" crocodiles speak normally.
The crocodiles are dimwitted and poor hunters (they believe they are hunting prey when they catch plastic flamingos, garden gnomes or carved tofu cows) who usually need to go to the [[Safeway Inc.|Safeway]] supermarket or order fast food to eat (one ordered pizza every night for seven straight weeks). Their inability to catch prey is looked upon with shame by other crocodiles, especially their wives, girlfriends and mothers. The main crocodile in the strip is "Larry". Other crocs include Bill, Bob, Floyd, Rick, Jerry, Willie, Jojo, Jimmy, and Vern, most of whom have died at some point. Larry usually works with Bob, another crocodile, or any others of his friends. Larry is known as the Zebra's arch nemesis.
While Pastis had depicted various crocodiles in the strip as early as February 2004, these crocs were relatively competent and spoke normal English in a normal typeface. "Da Brudderhood of Zeeba Zeeba Eeta" (to quote the title of Pastis' fifth book) were not introduced until [[January 3]], [[2005]]; they have since become the collective fifth "main character" of the strip.
====Larry====
Larry, his [[beehive (hairstyle)|beehive]]-sporting wife Patty, and son Billy (also called "Junior"), are the most-frequently-depicted family of crocodiles in the strip.
Billy is far more intelligent than his father and he is also a pacifist and a vegetarian, similar to the relationship between the [[Warner Bros.]] cartoon characters [[Sylvester the Cat]] and his son, [[Sylvester Junior]]. At one point, Billy started dating Zebra's niece, a young female zebra named Joy. His dad doesn't yet understand the concept of going out with food and when he sees the two kissing he thinks Billy is killing Joy in a very weird way. However, on December 2006, Billy ran away to live with Zebra and Joy forever. Patty blames Larry for all of the mess, and they have Stumpy, a crocodile, wear a zebra suit in order to catch Zebra and Joy. It can be assumed this attempt failed, as Zebra mentioned to Patty over the phone that Joy went home to [[Florida]].
Larry also buys [[Kentucky Fried Chicken]], and tries to impress his wife by crossing the brand-name off the bucket and writing "''zeeba meat''" on instead. Patty is not fooled by this, and one time was so angered that she and Billy left the house; after changing her mind, she called the event a ''[[lie]]''. Patty is jealous because the lions are more intelligent than the zebras (despite the fact they never ate [[Zebra]]) because they have mysteriously found an unknown store where they sell frozen zebra meat. However, Larry said that this store was [[Payless Shoe Source]].
Patty is Larry's second wife; he was married in a previous strip to a female crocodile named Frieda who spoke the same way as the Fraternity of Crocodiles. She made a one-off appearance in a strip where Larry was lamenting to Zebra how Frieda didn't respect him because he couldn't catch prey. Frieda told him that it wasn't true, that she "NEVAH respekk" him. She was never seen again.
===Duck===
Duck is the "guard[[duck]]" for Pig and Rat's home, and still lives with them despite often taking on different occupations. Pig has described him as "very sensetive and ha[ving] an [[anger management]] problem". He's known for a short temper and a violent streak (usually [[rocket launcher]]-related) bordering on stereotypical [[sociopathy]]. Pig often locked him in a clothes hamper or wastebasket as a punishment for irrational actions. However, we do not see any change on Pig's face. Normally, he is seen watching TV with a mouthless face, then in the last panel of the strip, Duck is locked up in the hamper, but Pig's face doesn't change to annoyed, he looks like as if he never did lock the
Duck up in the hamper. Duck's biggest punishment was for destroying 74% of the neighborhood and destroying the neighbors' minivan, thus, Duck disguised himself like [[Fidel Castro]], and he made fake English-Spanish words to make sure the people get fooled by how he looks.
His first appearance was [http://www.chron.com/apps/comics/showComic.mpl?date=2005/3/14&name=Pearls_Before_Swine [[March 14]], [[2005]]], when Pig bought him due to the fact that a proper Guard Dog was too expensive. Pig's neighbors frequently laugh at the Guard Duck, but the neighbors usually then get beat up or blown up by a [[rocket launcher]]. Soon after he was fired for stealing a neighbor's inflatable pool.
Duck usually did not have his cap for the first years, but soon wore it around the time he met Maura, and he looked just like a plain white duck. However, everybody must watch out for his villainous ways of destruction, such as swallowing an entire man and cutting a bush-like figure of him attacking a gardener neighbor with a chainsaw.
Over time, a metamorphosis took place in this Duck's personality. Originally, he was nothing but a violent duck with anger management problems, but he eventually transformed into a duck associated with the [[army]], seeing the world as his battlefield. He has occasionally referenced the [[Vietnam War]] and [[war movies]] such as ''[[Apocalypse Now]]''.
Months later, the Duck robbed a bank and was thrown in prison. Though he was awarded release on bail, the Duck escaped prison and has been with Pig and Rat ever since.
The Duck once staged a [[coup]] to become [[mayor]]. Once Mayor, he began checking off neighbors of the town he had written down on his "Enemies List" and began a very corrupt reign as a [[Despotism|despot]]. The reign ended because of the Duck's ineffectiveness as a civic leader (most of his strategies involved eliminating the opposition), but Duck later represented Zebra in a lawsuit the Crocodiles brought against him.
During his brief term as mayor, Duck frequently used language (and, to a lesser extent, tactics) reminiscent of [[Richard Nixon]], for instance: His "Enemies List", his mistaking [[All The President's Men]] for a strategy book (he seemed to thinks he needed to capture the [[Watergate Hotel]]), his resignation after having been caught spying, and an illustration in which he gives a [[salute]] similar to Nixon's infamous one.
The [[December 3]], [[2006]] strip revealed that Duck did not know ducks could fly, never having been taught because he never knew his parents; he referred to himself as "a broken duck". Things became more hopeful for Duck when on [http://www.chron.com/apps/comics/showComic.mpl?date=2007/1/1&name=Pearls_Before_Swine [[January 1]], [[2007]]], Maura the non-anthropomorphic female duck companion appeared with him and even kissed him. However, on [http://www.chron.com/apps/comics/showComic.mpl?date=2007/1/5&name=Pearls_Before_Swine January 5], she flew away to [[Bird migration|migrate]] with other ducks. Since then, several strips have featured the Duck coping with his loss; most recently, he spent [http://www.chron.com/apps/comics/showComic.mpl?date=2008/2/14&name=Pearls_Before_Swine Valentine's Day 2008] on the "Crate O' Sadness" where he was eventually joined by the entire main cast. The crocodiles, in particular, made the poor choice of laughing at the Duck at which point the Duck made Frank, one of the crocodiles, into a pair of boots.[http://www.chron.com/apps/comics/showComic.mpl?date=2007/1/24&name=Pearls_Before_Swine [[January 24]], [[2007]]].
Guard Duck's 2 best ways of his job was saving Zebra from the Crocodiles in two ways: saving Zebra from becoming eaten by the crocodiles by threatening them with a rocket gun out of the swamp, and being Zebra's lawyer after the crocodiles sue Zebra to make him their food.
In the treasury ''The Crass Menagerie'', Stephan Pastis remarks that the Guard Duck has become so popular that he's become a sixth main character. Duck seems to also be far more venomous and extremely-dangerous than the Fraternity of Crocodiles, since he can turn them into crocodile skin products in five minutes.
==Recurring characters==
{{unsourced|section}}
*'''[[Stephan Pastis]]''' (debut: [[June 1]], [[2003]]) — Pastis appears [[Self-reference|self-reflexively]] in several strips as the cartoonist of the strip, usually exhibiting ambiguous feelings toward his characters (and an exasperation with Rat in particular, who gives it back to Pastis in return especially when things don't go his way). On one occasion, Rat had him briefly change the name of the strip to "Worship the Rat". He is often seen smoking, although Pastis has mentioned in his books that he does not smoke and has no idea why he drew himself that way to begin with (though Rat and Guard Duck are often featured smoking as well). In ''The Crass Menagerie'' he says that he's gotten criticism for his smoking, as people seem to believe he's glamorizing smoking (Pastis claims he's doing the exact opposite). On the week of [[July 7]], [[2008]], Pastis announced that he would be killing off one of ''Pearls''<nowiki>'s</nowiki> characters in order to "stay competitive" with other strips. That Wednesday ([[July 9]]), the cartoon Pastis [http://www.chron.com/apps/comics/showComic.mpl?date=2008/7/9&name=Pearls_Before_Swine was found dead].
*'''Staci Pastis''' (debut: [http://www.chron.com/apps/comics/showComic.mpl?date=2003/5/22&name=Pearls_Before_Swine [[May 22]], [[2003]]]) — Stephan's wife.
*'''Pigita''' (debut: [[August 19]], [[2002]]) — Pig's on-and-off [[girlfriend]], known for her wild [[mood swings]]. According to the strip published on [http://www.chron.com/apps/comics/showComic.mpl?date=2007/9/6&name=Pearls_Before_Swine [[September 6]], [[2007]]], Pig and Pigita have been together for seven years. Although, the strip also mentions that Pig and Pigita have never kissed (saying that they're "taking it slow").
*'''[[Farina (Pearls Before Swine)|Farina]]''' (debut: [[August 18]], [[2002]]) — Pig's [[Mysophobia|germophobic]] sister who lives in a bubble, although that doesn't prevent her from dating characters from many comic strips. Rat had dated her years before, and remains in love with her, though he denies it. She has a habit of telling Rat he is not manly enough while at the same time dating an otherwise geeky character like [[Dilbert]] or [[Ziggy (comic)|Ziggy]] (see [[irony]]). After her debut, Pastis removed her from the strip for two years, and when he brought her back he had to do a complete reintroduction (from ''Lions and Tigers and Crocs, Oh My!''). Farina doesn't appear often in the strip, and as such Pastis is forced to reintroduce her every time she appears (from ''The Crass Menagerie'').
==Setting==
The strip is set in a fictional suburb within or around [[Albany, California]], where Pastis currently lives. Every house appears to have siding on it.
The continuity of the strip is very loose, and Pastis even says that "sometimes characters get jobs once, and you never hear about it again." Many storylines are left with open endings, and sometimes continuity leaps are made (frequently characters presumed to be dead will come back to life). Usually, relationships between characters are left unaltered (Farina, who appears infrequently for long periods of time, has a relationship with Rat that usually picks up where it left off.)
The strip's universe appears to be a world where comic strip characters are actual people who can interact with the creators of their strips or the creators of other strips, as well as [[Pearls Before Swine (comic strip)#Crossovers|the characters in other strips]]. This is made apparent many times, none more memorable than when rat took over the strip and locked all the characters in, or when he escaped and went on the loose in all of the other strips (see "Crossovers" three paragraphs down). Pastis is a frequent character, usually being criticized by Rat for lack of drawing ability among other disqualifications.
==Meaning of the title==
The title ''Pearls Before Swine'' refers to the admonition "Neither cast ye your pearls before swine" that [[Jesus]] gave to [[Saint Peter|Peter]] according to [[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]] 7:6 in the [[Bible]]. In the context of the comic strip, Rat, who considers himself a genius, must cast his pearls of "wisdom" before Pig, who is the only one naïve enough to listen to him.
==Style==
Artistically, ''Pearls'' is extremely simplistic, with minimal art. Most of the characters have no mouths, dot eyes and stick limbs; those with lips are unintelligent. Pastis stated, "People say that they like my strip's simplicity, but I'm doing the best I can to just to get up to that level. I'm not dumbing the art down."<ref> [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa4026/is_200407/ai_n9458004/pg_2 "Forum Interview with Stephan Pastis, Creator of Pearls Before Swine" (Summer 2004)]</ref>
''Pearls Before Swine'' has proven controversial, largely due to its [[dark humor]]. Despite the simple drawing style, topics such as [[politics]], [[murder]], [[suicide]], and [[clinical depression|depression]] are common themes. [[Steven Pastis]] has often been sent hate-mail from people who have either been offended or opposed to these themes that he uses. The jokes themselves are often based on [[pun]]s and wordplay. Pastis also employs the format of the [[Shaggy dog story]], particularly with Sunday strips, relying on a great amount of text to spin an elaborate yarn that is ultimately resolved with an unforeseen and abrupt ending (such as the character’s random death, or an intentionally bad pun, which is sometimes identified as such by the characters).
''Pearls'' is also a [[meta-joke|meta-comic]] in that it often satirizes the comics medium, and allows its characters to break the [[fourth wall]] and either communicate directly with the author or with characters from other strips. Alternatively, the characters sometimes acknowledge the fact that they are in a comic strip published in newspapers; the strip published on [http://www.chron.com/apps/comics/showComic.mpl?date=2008/1/14&name=Pearls_Before_Swine [[January 14]], [[2008]]] had "roof fish" sitting on top of the panel fishing for the characters.
''Pearls'' comics only sometimes contain a continuity, where one storyline will carry on through about a week of comics before moving on to a new storyline. Continuity will often be breached, for instance, characters who are dead will sometimes come back to life. More often however, comics will be stand alone, such as when Rat sold Pig for 10 million dollars, but in the next strip both were back to normal, Rat being poor and Pig still with him.
===Crossovers===
{{OR}}
''Pearls Before Swine'' often interacts with other comics, as in a story arc that featured members of ''[[The Family Circus]]'' sheltering [[Osama bin Laden]], unaware of his identity. In late August-early September 2007, a story arc featured Rat lost in the desert, and taken hostage by fans of ''[[Family Circus]]'', angry at the strip's mocking in ''Pearls''. Rat proceeded to call ''Circus'' creator [[Bil Keane]], who also was angry at the mockery. Rat was freed on the condition that he participated in some pro-[[Family Circus]] comics. After one panel of this, Rat says that this was a bad idea. Bil Keane has recently shown the psychiatrist a snowman was visiting as one "Dr. Pastis".
TV characters have also been included, such as [[Stewie Griffin|Stewie]] from ''[[Family Guy]]''.
In early 2007, one of the crocodiles appeared on a cereal box in ''[[Baby Blues]]''. In ''Pearls Before Swine'', the children from ''[[Baby Blues]]'' were once portrayed as driving a car to get beer for Rat and ended up running over and killing Jeremy from ''[[Zits]].'' Baby Wren from Baby Blues was portrayed as one of those "bad-arse" types whom one does not mess with. It is this attitude that results in her killing several members of the fraternity of crocodiles when they try to eat her. The following Monday in the Baby Blues strip, baby Wren was seen playing with a stuffed crocodile with Xed-out dead eyes, an allusion to that storyline. On [[December 7]], [[2007]], a crocodile appeared in ''[[Lio]],'' only to say "OK, me freeked out by dat keed."
Bucky Katt from ''[[Get Fuzzy]]'' once appeared in early 2007 when Rat suggested Pastis add a cat to the strip for more popularity. Bucky then asked if Pastis had a lawyer. Bucky also appeared in the end of a storyline where Rat tried to learn (from Earl and Mooch of ''[[Mutts]]'') how to be a lovable character; Rat said that both he and Bucky flunked.
On the back cover of "Nighthogs" you can see Satchel Pooch from ''[[Get Fuzzy]]'' in a window.
Characters from ''[[Cathy (comic strip)|Cathy]]'', ''[[B.C. (comic strip)|B.C]]'', ''[[Dilbert]]'', and several others have made guest appearances as well, in which they are often mildly mocked. [[Garfield]] has also been the brunt of many punchlines, though only once has a character from the strip appeared in ''Pearls''.
During ''[[Blondie (comic strip)|Blondie]]'' 's 75th-anniversary sequence of strips in September 2005, which was referred to within some 25 other, generally older and more well-established comics, Pig and Rat were among the comic strip characters not "invited" to the event- in fact, a sign outside the celebration said that Pig and Rat were to be shot on sight if they were spotted entering. As a response, Pastis in his strip had Pig and Rat complain for weeks. To console them, in a self-reflexive sequence, Pastis set up a competing party in his own strip for other comic characters not invited to the Bumstead home in ''Blondie''. [[Opus the Penguin]] from ''[[Bloom County]]'' and [[Opus (comic strip)|his eponymous strip]] was the only other attendee.
Others artists, particularly other young and newly established cartoonists, have collaborated on these meta-comic exchanges. On [[April Fool's Day]] 2005, Pastis, ''[[Get Fuzzy]]'' creator [[Darby Conley]] and ''[[FoxTrot]]'' creator [[Bill Amend]] published the same storyline involving a [[Ouija]] board using each strip's respective characters.
In 2006, Conley used four days of ''Pearls Before Swine'' strips verbatim in place of his own comic (having received them in the mail by accident), pasting stock illustrations of ''Get Fuzzy'' characters over the ''Pearls Before Swine'' characters. This led to a comically nonsensical ''Get Fuzzy'' sequence. Specifically, the strips in question saw Zebra getting attacked in his bed by the Fraternity of Crocodiles; Conley pasted stock illustrations of Satchel Pooch over Zebra. The final strip in the series showed Conley and Pastis arguing over the strips.
A similar reversal happened in November 2006, when a "disgruntled newspaper layout artist" inserted random ''Get Fuzzy'' panels into ''Pearls''. There have also been other allusions: Satchel from ''Get Fuzzy'' once had a ''Pearls'' book next to his beanbag, as [[Rob Wilco|Rob]] asked about a phone call from "an annoying lawyer named Stephan" (Pastis was a lawyer before becoming a cartoonist), and Pig has attended at least one evening class led by a "Professor Conley". ''FoxTrot'' referenced ''Pearls Before Swine'' by having Jason Fox redraw the Crocodiles to look like his sister Paige. On the cover of a ''[[Get Fuzzy]]'' book, ''Bucky Katt's Big Book of Fun'', Rat can clearly be seen flying an airplane. Further, during a series of strips where Darby Conley was injured, the artist shared some ideas for strips, including one that warned him "Do ''not'' give Stephan Pastis a plug" (the strip in question featured Bucky Katt roasting Jason Fox and Billy from Family Circus on a spit over an open flame).
In 2005, [[Rick Stromoski]]'s strip ''[[Soup To Nutz]]'' introduced a short-lived character, a kid named Stephan Pastis with a grossly enlarged head, as a friend of Andrew Nutz. This was Stromoski's response to Pastis' creation of Stromoski the Undateable Frog (see above). While Pastis drew the strips featuring Stromoski the Undateable Frog first, the ''Soup To Nutz'' strips featuring big-headed Stephan Pastis ran first- Stromoski was not as far ahead of his deadlines as Pastis was.
Cartoonist [[Bill Holbrook]] referenced the strip in his own ''[[Kevin and Kell]]''.<ref>[http://www.kevinandkell.com/2006/kk0731.html ''Kevin and Kell'', [[July 31]], [[2006]]]</ref>
On [[August 13]], [[2006]], Pig and Rat were in a bar discussing a rule that all comic-strip characters needed to age in real-time, a la ''[[For Better or For Worse]]'', ''[[Doonesbury]]'', and the first to do this, ''[[Gasoline Alley]]''. While this rule, made up by Pastis for the sequence, didn't affect the 5-year-old ''Pearls'', it strongly affected the 50-year-old ''Family Circus'' and the 75-year-old ''Blondie'' within the confines of Pastis' strip.
For a brief period starting [http://www.chron.com/apps/comics/showComic.mpl?date=2007/2/22&name=Pearls_Before_Swine [[February 22]], [[2007]]], ''Pearls Before Swine'' featured Jason, Peter, Andy and Quincy from ''[[FoxTrot]]'' as homeless individuals living on Rat and Pig's lawn. This came after ''FoxTrot'' switched to a Sunday-only format.
A likeness of both Rat and Pig also featured in an ''F Minus'' strip, published on [[24 June]] [[2007]].
For the [[January 13]], [[2008]] Sunday strip, ''Pearls'' parodied ''[[Slylock Fox]]''. The [[January 16]] ''Slylock Fox'' contained a quiz question about ''Pearls'' in return, and the [[February 3]] Sunday strip featured Rat as the guilty suspect in a [[robbery]] (with Pig looking on).
In a series of strips for the week of [[March 23]], [[2008]], when Rat gets a job as a hotel [[concierge]], two of his clients are Darryl McPherson from ''Baby Blues'' and Ted Forth from ''[[Sally Forth]]''. The first strip, on [http://www.chron.com/apps/comics/showComic.mpl?date=2008/3/26&name=Pearls_Before_Swine March 26], featured Darryl MacPherson asking Rat to have housekeeping make his bed, only to be ridiculed by Rat for the size of his nose which "could provide shade for a family of corpulent [[gypsies]]". On [http://www.chron.com/apps/comics/showComic.mpl?date=2008/3/27&name=Pearls_Before_Swine March 27], Ted Forth asked Rat to help him find a date because his wife Sally is "homely", "bland", and emasculates him. This strip was concurrent with a storyline in ''Sally Forth'' where Ted accompanied Sally on a business trip in [[New York City]] and [http://francescoexplainsitall.blogspot.com/2008/03/ted-and-rat-together-again-for-first.html asked for advice from a concierge]; Pastis and ''Forth'''s [[Francesco Marciuliano]] had planned the crossover months [http://francescoexplainsitall.blogspot.com/2007/10/looking-for-love-in-all-wrong-places.html in advance].
On [[June 19]], [[2008]], two of the crocodiles appeared in Matt Janz's strip ''[[Single and Looking]]'' as part of a storyline involving one of the characters' recent obsession with his own mortality. The crocs are seen carrying [[U-Haul]] boxes and being set to move into the strip on Monday, when they're informed that there's no proof anyone is going to die. One of the crocs responds with "Dis awkwurd momeent" when spotted. (It should be noted that ''Single and Looking'' ended on [[June 22]], [[2008]], which might have explained one of the crocs saying "Eeets no Monday yet?")
===The ''Pearls'' Labor Dispute===
Beginning [[May 12]], [[2002]], the characters from ''Pearls'' began leaving the strip. Rat began the strike when he left a diner that never had food on its plates (blaming Stephan Pastis' lack of ability to draw food for that) and left to "be in a strip where the guy can draw." Rat went to ''[[The Family Circus]]'', using Zebra as a go-between between him and Pastis and demanding that Blondie (from ''[[Blondie (comic strip)|Blondie]]'') make a guest appearance at least once a week in the strip. When Pastis offered him [[Cathy (comic strip)|Cathy]] instead, Rat balked, leading Pastis to begin interviewing other characters to replace him ([[Marmaduke]] being the first).
On the Friday strip of that week, Goat announced he was leaving the strip as well, saying that he never liked any of his co-workers. Pastis responded by casting [[Nancy (comic strip)|Nancy and Sluggo]] to replace Rat and Goat (who went to join Rat at ''Family Circus''), but promptly fired them. After Zebra left the strip to spend some time with his herd, that left Pig, Pigita, and Chuckie the Non-Anthropomorphic Sheep as the only characters that hadn't left- with Chuckie promptly being slaughtered by Pigita and fed to Pig as mutton.
On [[May 21]], while Pig was trying to convince Rat again to come back as Pastis was filling the ''Pearls'' space with ads, he found out that Rat had left ''Family Circus'' and was now spending his time with the girl from ''[[Love is...]]''. Pig then decided to depart, visiting with Bucky and Satchel from ''[[Get Fuzzy]]''.
The next day, the dispute was resolved, with Pig returning from his trip to ''Get Fuzzy'', Rat returning when he found out about the boy from ''Love is...'', and Goat leaving ''Family Circus'', only to be intercepted by [[Garfield]] and hit with a newspaper.
===Other comic characters that have appeared in ''Pearls''===
*Walt and Connie Duncan from ''[[Zits (comic strip)|Zits]]''
*[[Mike Doonesbury]] from ''[[Doonesbury]]''
*Huey Freeman from ''[[The Boondocks]]''
*[[Charlie Brown]] from ''[[Peanuts (comic strip)|Peanuts]]'', in the form of a "Talking Charlie Brown lamp".
*Irving Hillman from ''[[Cathy (comic strip)|Cathy]]''
*Luann, Nancy, Frank, and Aaron Hill from ''[[Luann (comic strip)|Luann]]''
*Rose Gumbo from ''[[Rose is Rose]]'' (in her Vicky the Biker alter ego)
*Elly Patterson from ''[[For Better or For Worse]]''
*Two unnamed characters from ''[[B.C. (comic strip)|B.C.]]''
*Private Zero and Sgt. Snorkel from ''[[Beetle Bailey]]''
*Hagar from ''[[Hagar the Horrible]]''.
===Substitutions===
Most cartoonists work six to eight weeks ahead of schedule. Pastis, however, has said that he is ten months ahead of his deadlines. As a result, unreleased strips may converge with [[current events]] in a way that requires the strip's syndicate to hold back or modify them so as not to cause offense with the public; United Feature Syndicate, which publishes ''Pearls before Swine'', re-runs older strips when this happens, and has done so on two occasions:
* During 2002, Rat runs for the office of [[mayor]], against opposition who turns out to be dead; in his first treasury, Pastis explains that the storyline was based upon Missouri Governor [[Mel Carnahan]], who posthumously defeated [[John Ashcroft]] for his Senate seat in 2000. However, on the second day of the series, Minnesota Senator [[Paul Wellstone]] was killed in a plane crash. To avoid giving the impression that Pastis was making fun of the recently deceased, a majority of newspapers replaced the two-week series with earlier strips.
* On [[September 26]], [[2006]], such alternate strips were provided to newspapers due to that day's strip involving Pig playing in a [[washing machine]]. Concurrent news involved the Jimella Tunstall case, in which her children were allegedly murdered by a friend and hidden from the authorities in a washing machine. Many papers and websites that syndicated the strip ran the alternate strips instead.
==Adaptations==
In an interview on [[The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch]] that aired [[February 7]], [[2008]], Pastis mentioned that he had been approached by producers about an animated TV series based on ''Pearls.''<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFM9210sJlw</ref>
==Technical aspects==
* Cartoonist [[Darby Conley]], creator of ''[[Get Fuzzy]]'', helped teach Pastis the technical aspects of cartooning.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/books/05/03/pastis.pearls/index.html |work=CNN |first=Todd |last=Leopold |date=2006-05-04 |title=A Rat, a Pig and Some Really Dumb Crocodiles: Stephan Pastis dives deep for his 'Pearls Before Swine' strip }}</ref> The two remain friends, sometimes poking fun at each other in their strips.
==Books==
{{main article|List of Pearls Before Swine books}}
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==Awards==
* [[National Cartoonist Society]] Award for Best Newspaper Comic Strip in 2002 - Nominee
* [[National Cartoonist Society]] Award for Best Newspaper Comic Strip in 2003 - Nominee
* [[National Cartoonist Society]] Award for Best Newspaper Comic Strip in 2004 - Winner
* [[National Cartoonist Society]] Award for Best Newspaper Comic Strip in 2007 - Winner
==Footnotes==
{{reflist}}
==References==
* [http://www.unitedmedia.com/comics/pearls/ ''Pearls Before Swine''] at Unitedmedia.com
* [http://www.sptimes.com/2005/12/13/Floridian/Exactly_what_ees_that.shtml ''St. Petersburg <nowiki>[</nowiki>Florida<nowiki>]</nowiki> Times'' ([[December 13]], [[2005]]): "Exactly What Ees that Zeeba-Eating Accent?", by Chase Squires]
* [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa4026/is_200407/ai_n9458004 "Forum Interview with Stephan Pastis, Creator of Pearls Before Swine" (Summer 2004)]
==External links==
* [http://www.comics.com/comics/pearls/ ''Pearls Before Swine''] at Comics.com
{{United Media Comics}}
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