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Pearls Before Swine #17-18
Pearls Hogs the Road: A Pearls Before Swine Treasury
Move over! Pearls Before Swine is back and badder than ever in the new treasury collection Pearls Hogs the Road .
The Pearls gang returns with characteristically misanthropic humor (but with more leather): no self-aggrandizing is too flagrant for Rat, no subject is too erudite for Goat, and no sensory input is too basic for Pig.
All topics are fair game for Stephan Pastis and his brass-knuckle punch lines. Comic strip censors, apathetic baristas, and IRS employees are all strongly advised to laugh or get out of the way.
Pearls Hogs the Road also features three comic strips illustrated by the legendary Bill Watterson of Calvin and Hobbes , who ended a 19-year hiatus from the comics page to collaborate with Pastis.
The Pearls gang returns with characteristically misanthropic humor (but with more leather): no self-aggrandizing is too flagrant for Rat, no subject is too erudite for Goat, and no sensory input is too basic for Pig.
All topics are fair game for Stephan Pastis and his brass-knuckle punch lines. Comic strip censors, apathetic baristas, and IRS employees are all strongly advised to laugh or get out of the way.
Pearls Hogs the Road also features three comic strips illustrated by the legendary Bill Watterson of Calvin and Hobbes , who ended a 19-year hiatus from the comics page to collaborate with Pastis.
264 pages, Paperback
First published April 25, 2017
78 people are currently reading
63 people want to read
About the author
Stephan Pastis
91 books445 followersStephan 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
April 9, 2017
*I received this book from the publisher and Netgalley in return for a fair review.*
This is a Treasury instead of a Collection which means that it contains two of the smaller 'collections'. Which two? hmms. Not sure. I do know that it contains "18 months' worth of Pearls strips." because the introduction says so. That tidbit plus the part wherein three of the comic strips were "drawn by Calvin and Hobbes creator Bill Watterson, who, in 2014, ended a 19-year hiatus fromt eh comics page to draw three Pearls Before Swine strips."
So, if nothing else, this Treasury contains that important bit of comics - three Waterson drawn comic strips. - And then I read the introduction. And it was hilarious. All about attempting to contact Bill Watterson, workign with him, etc. And then the introduction indicated where I could find the Watterson strips so obviously . . . I finished reaing the introduction. But once that was done, I hurriedly turned to those pages and gazed upon them (okay, I wrote that I did. Now I'll go gaze upon them; and so I read those three strips, and they were brilliant).And then I read the rest of the book. The end. Yay screamed . .
. um . . . something screaming.
That was a neat hook to use, to pull myself into and through writing something, anything. Otherwise . . . what exactly do I write? 'The comic strips were good, they were funny - when the were, occasionally flat, enjoyable experience' - seems the safest without me going line by line and writing a 900 page treastise on Stephan Pastis's comic book. Because that's what I tend to do when I review comic books I pick up from Netgalley - ramble in a text box while reading. Occasionally inserting things like '*giggles* - you had to be there'. Fun, right? So - glad I had a hook to sink into the fish shaped . . . um . . . I need another word than hook, I already used it. mmphs.
Well, there is obviously something else I could mention - there are little wiggly lines underneath the comic strips - they form letters/words/sentences - Pastis has left thoughts on his comic strips. I do not recall if I've seen his thoughts before in such a manner. This is what I get for reading collections instead of treasuries, I assume. And there are some rather hilarious bits in those sentences (as, for example: "Whenever I'm unsure about something in the strip, I check Wikipedia, because whoever does the page for Pearls knows more about the strip than I do."). Occasionally I found myself laughing loudly - and realize that it wasn't because of the comic but because of the words under it. And then I'll giggle a few times, later, and realize it was because of the comic and not the words (see, this is what I was saying earlier, this is kind of boring. I stop now).
Rating: 4.44
April 8 2017
This is a Treasury instead of a Collection which means that it contains two of the smaller 'collections'. Which two? hmms. Not sure. I do know that it contains "18 months' worth of Pearls strips." because the introduction says so. That tidbit plus the part wherein three of the comic strips were "drawn by Calvin and Hobbes creator Bill Watterson, who, in 2014, ended a 19-year hiatus fromt eh comics page to draw three Pearls Before Swine strips."
So, if nothing else, this Treasury contains that important bit of comics - three Waterson drawn comic strips. - And then I read the introduction. And it was hilarious. All about attempting to contact Bill Watterson, workign with him, etc. And then the introduction indicated where I could find the Watterson strips so obviously . . . I finished reaing the introduction. But once that was done, I hurriedly turned to those pages and gazed upon them (okay, I wrote that I did. Now I'll go gaze upon them; and so I read those three strips, and they were brilliant).And then I read the rest of the book. The end. Yay screamed . .
. um . . . something screaming.
That was a neat hook to use, to pull myself into and through writing something, anything. Otherwise . . . what exactly do I write? 'The comic strips were good, they were funny - when the were, occasionally flat, enjoyable experience' - seems the safest without me going line by line and writing a 900 page treastise on Stephan Pastis's comic book. Because that's what I tend to do when I review comic books I pick up from Netgalley - ramble in a text box while reading. Occasionally inserting things like '*giggles* - you had to be there'. Fun, right? So - glad I had a hook to sink into the fish shaped . . . um . . . I need another word than hook, I already used it. mmphs.
Well, there is obviously something else I could mention - there are little wiggly lines underneath the comic strips - they form letters/words/sentences - Pastis has left thoughts on his comic strips. I do not recall if I've seen his thoughts before in such a manner. This is what I get for reading collections instead of treasuries, I assume. And there are some rather hilarious bits in those sentences (as, for example: "Whenever I'm unsure about something in the strip, I check Wikipedia, because whoever does the page for Pearls knows more about the strip than I do."). Occasionally I found myself laughing loudly - and realize that it wasn't because of the comic but because of the words under it. And then I'll giggle a few times, later, and realize it was because of the comic and not the words (see, this is what I was saying earlier, this is kind of boring. I stop now).
Rating: 4.44
April 8 2017
January 11, 2020
I can't imagine ever giving a PEARLS treasury less than 5 stars. I love this strip, & the snarky, needling, self-deprecating, and/or anti-social comments from Pastis make it even better. :D My one nit-picky wish is for more crocs...I guess he cut back on them a little? PLEASE RE-INCREASE THE CROCS RATIO, STEPHAN! 🐊 Also revisit the Killer Whale & Victor the Vegan.
March 14, 2017
I loved all of Pastis's commentary.
May 19, 2017
Still making me laugh out loud, do NOT miss the bonus section!
Read
May 1, 2018My wife bought me this book for our 30th wedding anniversary. You traditionally give pearls at 30 years, but I got this. Is there a message here I am missing?
I liked the book.
I liked the book.
February 18, 2022
You know what you're getting when you pick up a Pearls Before Swine collection. That's right, lots of puns. So many puns. It's amazing Stephan Pastis can still pull off such amusing and elaborate puns this far into the strip's history.
The usual cast of characters is all here: Rat, Pig, Goat, Zebra, Stephan, the crocs. There are some other returning characters, like the lemmings and guard duck, that I'm not as much a fan of, so it's good those are in limited quantities. I felt like Stephan made more appearances than usual, which isn't a bad thing.
The treasury contains the most touching strip I've seen in all of Pearls Before Swine.
Oh, this also has the three strips drawn by Bill Watterson. That's right, Mr. Calvin and Hobbes. The story of how Pastis pulled off this coup is in the foreward to this treasury. Although the story behind the strips is probably more entertaining than the strips themselves, honestly. Still, it's Bill freaking Watterson.
Overall, I laughed a lot throughout the entire book. And that's all you really need from a humor comic strip.
The usual cast of characters is all here: Rat, Pig, Goat, Zebra, Stephan, the crocs. There are some other returning characters, like the lemmings and guard duck, that I'm not as much a fan of, so it's good those are in limited quantities. I felt like Stephan made more appearances than usual, which isn't a bad thing.
The treasury contains the most touching strip I've seen in all of Pearls Before Swine.
Oh, this also has the three strips drawn by Bill Watterson. That's right, Mr. Calvin and Hobbes. The story of how Pastis pulled off this coup is in the foreward to this treasury. Although the story behind the strips is probably more entertaining than the strips themselves, honestly. Still, it's Bill freaking Watterson.
Overall, I laughed a lot throughout the entire book. And that's all you really need from a humor comic strip.
July 27, 2019
'Pearls Hogs the Road: A Pearls Before Swine Treasury' by Stephan Pastis is a large collection featuring lots of comics and funny comments by the creator.
The centerpiece of this collection is the strips that Bill Watterson did as a collaboration with Stephan Pastis. In these strips a little girl shows how she is a better artist than Pastis. The work of the little girl was contributed by Watterson. This is talked about in the intro.
The rest of the collection is the usual zany silliness and bad puns. This time around a lot of the strips have commentary from Pastis. Either talking about how he sneaks things past the censors, or the mail he gets on certain strips. The comments are pretty funny and show that his humor is in fine form.
I received a review copy of this ebook from Andrews McMeel Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.
The centerpiece of this collection is the strips that Bill Watterson did as a collaboration with Stephan Pastis. In these strips a little girl shows how she is a better artist than Pastis. The work of the little girl was contributed by Watterson. This is talked about in the intro.
The rest of the collection is the usual zany silliness and bad puns. This time around a lot of the strips have commentary from Pastis. Either talking about how he sneaks things past the censors, or the mail he gets on certain strips. The comments are pretty funny and show that his humor is in fine form.
I received a review copy of this ebook from Andrews McMeel Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.
August 18, 2024
-5 stars. i do enjoy this comic strip.
contains the comics from # 17 i'm only in this for me and # 18 stephans web.
"Pearls Hogs the Road also features three comic strips illustrated by the legendary Bill Watterson of Calvin and Hobbes, who ended a 19-year hiatus from the comics page to collaborate with Pastis."
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contains the comics from # 17 i'm only in this for me and # 18 stephans web.
"Pearls Hogs the Road also features three comic strips illustrated by the legendary Bill Watterson of Calvin and Hobbes, who ended a 19-year hiatus from the comics page to collaborate with Pastis."
[image error]
June 1, 2017
Nykyisin luen ja ostan vain paria sarjakuvaa systemaattisen säännöllisesti. Stephan Pastisin strippisarjakuva Helmiä sioille on yksi niistä.
Uusimpaan "Pearls Hogs the Road: Pearls Before Swine Treasury" (Andrews McMeel, 2017) -kokoelmaan mahtuu toki heikompiakin strippejä, mutta kokonaisuutena albumi on oikein hyvätasoinen. Suurimmat nauruntyrskähdykset saivat aikaiseksi ilmastonmuutoksen puolesta kampanjoiva hai ja maailmanlaajuista huomiota saanut tarinalinja, jonka toisena tekijänä kunnostautui lähes kahdenkymmenen vuoden tauon jälkeen sarjakuvamaailmaan palaava Bill Watterson.
Lisäarvoa kokoelmalle tuo strippien alla juokseva kommenttiraita, jolla tekijä kertoo muun muassa saamastaan palautteesta tai käsittelee muuten vaan maailman menoa.
Uusimpaan "Pearls Hogs the Road: Pearls Before Swine Treasury" (Andrews McMeel, 2017) -kokoelmaan mahtuu toki heikompiakin strippejä, mutta kokonaisuutena albumi on oikein hyvätasoinen. Suurimmat nauruntyrskähdykset saivat aikaiseksi ilmastonmuutoksen puolesta kampanjoiva hai ja maailmanlaajuista huomiota saanut tarinalinja, jonka toisena tekijänä kunnostautui lähes kahdenkymmenen vuoden tauon jälkeen sarjakuvamaailmaan palaava Bill Watterson.
Lisäarvoa kokoelmalle tuo strippien alla juokseva kommenttiraita, jolla tekijä kertoo muun muassa saamastaan palautteesta tai käsittelee muuten vaan maailman menoa.
August 9, 2017
Five stars is not a high enough rating for this book.
It’s very rare but occasionally a book comes along that has a dramatic effect on our cultural persona. Yes you can say that Fitzgerald, Salinger, Hemingway and even Patterson have all attempted to reach the pinnacle of this life affirming achievement. Stephen Pastis is the master of this and looking down at all other authors from his anointed perch. This book will make you laugh and cry all at the same time. Be sure to have a couple extra pairs of underwear as you will most likely wet yourself while reading this book.
It’s very rare but occasionally a book comes along that has a dramatic effect on our cultural persona. Yes you can say that Fitzgerald, Salinger, Hemingway and even Patterson have all attempted to reach the pinnacle of this life affirming achievement. Stephen Pastis is the master of this and looking down at all other authors from his anointed perch. This book will make you laugh and cry all at the same time. Be sure to have a couple extra pairs of underwear as you will most likely wet yourself while reading this book.
October 18, 2018
Aside from containing the three strips with art from Bill Watterson, the rest of this treasury is classic Pearls as Pastis has really settled into the strip, with excellent and hilarious commentary as always. In fact, the commentary is almost worth the price of admission itself, and the funniest bits actually have nothing at all to do with the material but rather a little boy who was sitting in front of the cartoonist on a plane ride. That's the kind of quality humor you can expect, folks.
December 10, 2019
What you would expect from a Pearls Before Swine collection along with commentary by the author/illustrator (which at times can be funnier than the strips themselves). Some history of Pearls and some of his complaint letters are also included with the introduction and his comments (usually on the strip but he does have some randomness such as a child who might have farted, but to be fair, could have been Stephan), but mostly it is just Pastis being Pastis.
April 21, 2022
Quick impressions: I found myself laughing often while reading this. Some of the puns Pastis does work better than others, but overall the humor is good with a bit of dark humor here or there. This is not a cuddly comic series, but it is a funny one overall.
(Full review on my blog)
(Full review on my blog)
July 28, 2025
Makes You Smile
I absolutely love Pearls before Swine. I really enjoy
the comments under most of the strips. Being a
participant in social media, I feel frustrated that I can't reply the way you can online.
I absolutely love Pearls before Swine. I really enjoy
the comments under most of the strips. Being a
participant in social media, I feel frustrated that I can't reply the way you can online.
May 29, 2017
I read Pearls Before Swine every day, but these books still surprise and amuse me.
July 11, 2017
I love Pearls Before Swine. One of the funniest comic strips keeping the art form alive today. Thanks for the laugh.
October 15, 2017
4.5 really, with the extra .5 star there solidly for the "afterword" strips that had been altered... :D
January 16, 2018
Hilarious, but not earth breaking literature. It's a collection of pearls before swine comic strips, so you either already like it or not.
March 13, 2018
My favourite comic-strip! I can always count on Pastis to make me howl with laughter!
July 30, 2022
Pearls Hogs the Road by Stephan Pastis – No one is safe from being made fun of…even the artist! Happy Reading!
June 19, 2023
This is a hilarious book, and I look forward to reading more of these!
September 30, 2023
It's still weird to re-read strips I saw in the newspaper, but I think this was around the time I stopped reading it regularly because MAN there wasn't much here.
October 24, 2025
Funny comics with goofy notes by Pastis. More fun than the collections.
June 8, 2020
This book has a collab with Bill Watterson (creator of Calvin and Hobbes). That alone makes the book worth it - although, of course, there are plenty of absurd, dark, and pun-filled storylines besides that.
April 6, 2017
It’s a Pearls Before Swine collection. Nuff said; I’m there.
Starts with a cool intro to say that Bill Watterson (Calvin and Hobbes) wrote three of the strips. But as to the comics themselves, all I can tell you is that if you love puns, this is your jam. Even if they make you groan, it’s still a good time.
So what makes this different than reading them in the newspaper or online? Besides having them all in one place and not having to click? Author commentary! It’s just as funny, like throwing your kid in the water to test out the theory that nurse sharks are the most harmless breed. And of course there’s an “except for you, reader” line in there.
Some of the best:
Close up of a lemming, his widdow hands curled into fists. . .
Sweater-neckers; yes, totally agree.
Elizabeth Hurley and Ron Cey in the same strip? Wow. . . even included the mustache. (On Cey, not the lovely still-crush-worthy Ms. Hurley.)
“Please don’t criticize my wheelhouse.” Been there.
Abraham Lincoln tweets!
“To infinity and bed, bath, and beyond!”
“Everything happens for a raisin.”
“Bombast cable!”
Definitely agree on the oyster thing. Eerie how sometimes Pastis and I are in telepathic communication. . . not to mention we’re about the same age and grew up in the same area. We probably met as kids.
End with a special extra: Pearls Without Rat. And then Pig. And Goat. And others. It’s surreal and funny in a completely different way.
Public Service Announcement (more of a warning): on the back cover—or last page if digital—do not look at the tramp stamp! For your own sanity!
Starts with a cool intro to say that Bill Watterson (Calvin and Hobbes) wrote three of the strips. But as to the comics themselves, all I can tell you is that if you love puns, this is your jam. Even if they make you groan, it’s still a good time.
So what makes this different than reading them in the newspaper or online? Besides having them all in one place and not having to click? Author commentary! It’s just as funny, like throwing your kid in the water to test out the theory that nurse sharks are the most harmless breed. And of course there’s an “except for you, reader” line in there.
Some of the best:
Close up of a lemming, his widdow hands curled into fists. . .
Sweater-neckers; yes, totally agree.
Elizabeth Hurley and Ron Cey in the same strip? Wow. . . even included the mustache. (On Cey, not the lovely still-crush-worthy Ms. Hurley.)
“Please don’t criticize my wheelhouse.” Been there.
Abraham Lincoln tweets!
“To infinity and bed, bath, and beyond!”
“Everything happens for a raisin.”
“Bombast cable!”
Definitely agree on the oyster thing. Eerie how sometimes Pastis and I are in telepathic communication. . . not to mention we’re about the same age and grew up in the same area. We probably met as kids.
End with a special extra: Pearls Without Rat. And then Pig. And Goat. And others. It’s surreal and funny in a completely different way.
Public Service Announcement (more of a warning): on the back cover—or last page if digital—do not look at the tramp stamp! For your own sanity!
April 9, 2017
Stephan Pastis has done it again. He managed to compile 18 moths of material, jammed it between two covers, and wrote "clever" remarks under various of the strips. But this volume does have a rare treasure included as three strips are drawn by Bill Watterson (Calvin and Hobbes)! If you like Pearls Before Swines, you are likely to enjoy this treasury. if you are not yet a fan, read this volume and you may become one.
April 21, 2017
I'm not a fan of this strip by any means, but I keep downloading books of it, either by accident or design. This collection, given the full archival treatment with new footnotes and so on, is still a little ropy, but heck – it actually managed to make me laugh a few times, especially with the convoluted puns such as the one-ton wonton futon etc. It remains more misses than hits, but it's perfectly adequate for a flick through.
August 8, 2017
So funny. So so funny. So so funny funny. Really, can't stop laughing. Thank you, hoopla, for making this accessible.
December 16, 2017
I've come to the end of my library's PBS collection. I'm sad. Though I'm sure my pun-loving friend is glad I'll stop flooding her FB page with these strips.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews