Pearls Freaks the #*%# Out: A (Freaky) Pearls Before Swine Treasury (Volume 18)

Stephan Pastis has created a modern day classic with Pearls Before Swine. Beneath the controversial content and somewhat simplistic art, Pastis is an amazing storyteller and in his strips does something that most cartoonists today fail to do. They make the reader laugh. I read through this last night and was told to keep the noise down from laughing so hard. The commentary included is great as always and makes this purchase worth it. I've always liked annotated editions and now whenever I read the strip, I always look forward to the treasuries for what the commentary will be. Also included is a gallery of sorts of the various headers used to introduce the sundae strips. As many people (including myself) have never seen them before, they are a cool read.This collection has a special significance for me. Around the time parts of the book's strips were running in papers was when my grandmother died. She had been living with my family for three years and it hit me hard. This strip helped me through the aftermath. This is more than just controversy and cheap laughs. There is something about the writing that really touches people (as seen in the second treasury  Lions and Tigers and Crocs, Oh My!: A Pearls Before Swine Treasury  with the Jerusalem bus strip. If you are ever in a funk and need help then this strip can be that help.

I just love Pearls Before Swine. It’s great to go back and reread and re-laugh at these treasuries. Thank You Stephan

My 12-year-old son adores Pearls Before Swine. He owns every treasury and continues to read them.This latest treasury (as of late 2012) contains the typical wacky humor of the Pearls series. Like other treasuries, it also includes author Pastis's annotations, so readers can discover what he thinks of each strip. That's a nice touch not found in most other cartoon treasuries and makes the Pearls treasuries a bit more essential for true fans.Though the title of this one, with its grawlix (which takes the place of profanity), seems unnecessary, amping up that image of being cutting edge without being TOO cutting edge is de rigueur. This is a favorite of a 12-year-old, remember, and Pearls definitely has that "could have been in MAD Magazine" feel to it. So there you go.If you like Pearls Before Swine and feel a need to have it ever before you, then this is a must buy.

I love Pearls Before Swine and always look forward to the treasuries for the comments Stephan Pastis writes about his strips. But in this collection, its seems like he's running out of things to say. The strips themselves are as funny as always, but the comments seem to be re-hashing things he's already talked about in previous treasuries. I'll accept that his repeated declarations of how he schedules his worst strips for the week between Christmas and New Years are something of a running gag. But his other comments don't vary much from statements like "I was surprised this strip didn't get more complaints" or "I can't draw bicycles". It's not exactly the most insightful material. Still, it's Rat, it's Pig, it's Larry, it's Zeeba Neighba, and it's funny. Buy it.

I love Pearls Before Swine! I can remember the first time I ever saw one. I had no scissors so I just tore it out of the paper, folded it, and stored it inside my Curse of the Black Pearl DVD box (I just check and it's still there!). I am so glad that Stephan is still making comics! This collection starts out with a funny story from Stephan, and then is just comics. That's right, this book is tons upon tons of Pearls Before Swine, nothing more, nothing less!!! (Also, I also always enjoy the little bits of commentary written under lots of the comics)Thanks for all the laughs Stephan!ALSO: I noticed a typo. The signature after the beginning short story is dated at September 2013, but I think this is supposed to be September 2012, unless it is some kind of joke...

I love PBS. I love the commentary just as much. I did have a strange dream after spending a couple of hours reading this treasury. I can only remember a small snippet of it. I am yelling at a strange woman that I will punch her in the ovary if she lets go with one more pun. I am not a violent person and had no clue my psyche would be so effected by the puns Pastise is so good at making. So maybe I will read this book in smaller snippets the next time around. I would definitely suggest this book to people looking for a Google or two.

This treasury took me a little longer to get into than the previous ones, but by the time I hit page 50 either Pastis was out of his rut, or I was in the mood of things and loved the rest of the book. One of the issues in this book was that the strips just didn't seem as subversive as previous outings, and some of the strips seemed redundant. Overall, this was made a 4-star book by Pastis' commentaries in the margins. I will now be buying the next treasury.

If you can hold out that long, always buy the Treasury. They are made up of his last 2 Collections. You'll save money this way.Anyhow, I'm a Pastis fanatic and so is my wife. Comics are the first thing we look at in the local paper every day and I have all his books. The best part of this book (and any of his books) are the puns he writes into the strip. The man has a fantastically sick mind (and I LOVE IT!! hehe) Pig is so straight and Rat so cutting edge and on top of everything. Each character has a role, from the Crocs to the Zebra, the Guard Duck, etc.

What a great book. Funny jokes, puns, word plays, wonderful little stories in each week's panels. I love this book and you will too. The author is a good guy in rea life. I had the pleasure of meeting him at a comic convention and he was gracious, kind and well mannered. I liked him.These are my 3 favorite Amazon purchases:- Swarovsky Pink Mo- Tahitian Treat 24 pack (liquid happiness!)- Great Fighter Jets of the Galaxy 1 by Tim Gibson

I love Stephan Pastis and his work in Pearls before Swine. I have written reviews of his other works and I can never find anything negative to say.Now, I'll be the first to admit that it takes a special type of person to enjoy PBS humour since it's not your average inoffensive pap that fills most comics pages in todays papers. This stuff is edgy and throws political correctness for a loop. The main thing is that IT MAKES YOU LAUGH! CONSISTENTLY! How many other cartoons can say that?As I've said before.....buy this book and keep a lawyer (Pastis) off the streets.

Treasuries are a great way to get more information about each strip and to get a nice collection of your favourite comics.Pastis seems to get this, as with most of his strips he will give you some kind of little blurb to make you feel like you paid money for something extra, not just a rerun of the comics on better paper.Pearls Before Swine has its own brand of humour that you'd best enjoy if you buy this. If you don't like the strip, this isn't something you should buy.

funny

Every so often you just want something light and fun to read, and Pearls always fills that gap. Another of the treasury editions, so the strips are enhanced with little notes from Pastis, sometimes about the strips themselves, and sometimes about whatever he feels like writing. If you've ever read any of the strips, you'll know exactly what you're getting. Maybe not the strongest art on the comics page, but certainly one of the best written.