****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
Mainstream comic strips generally won't go the places that Pearls Before Swine goes.That is not to say that Pearls is either embarrassingly edgy or glumly depressing. Stephen Pastis truly is one of the great cartoonists of his generation, despite his art style being among the weakest, by virtue of how deftly, hilariously, and even poignantly he juggles topics like the war, American illiteracy, generational trauma and depression, post-Bush despair, and even suicide, while having utterly ridiculous storylines that involve scenarios like an adulterous syrup bottle dating a pig. This seemingly would make the strip feel unfocused, atonal and sporadic but the same spirit flows throughout all of it; life is ludicrously cruel and dumb. Sure, Pearls can be quite serious; one of its most memorable strips, contained in this collection, discusses the impact of violence in the Middle East in a way so deadly solemn and controversial that Pastis feared it would cost him his career. But in the main, this strip is joyously, maddeningly funny, daringly inane to remind you not to take it all too seriously, and with humor so genuinely off-color (particularly for comics in the early 2000s) that it feels uncompromising while also not being tasteless and stupid. Pastis does not punch down but he is also honest about finding humor in even the dark parts of life.Yes, this is still a review about the strip that loves to indulge in shaggy dog stories that end in belabored puns.I think the reason why Pearls has lasted so long lies in its universal appeal. Rat and Pig represent people we all know in our lives while also being relatable enough to us (or at least to me) to not be just mouthpieces for Pastis. Even at his worst we can relate to Rat's frustrations, even at his dumbest we can relate to Pig's desire to be things one can simply never be. Even the plethora of puns give the strip a charm in their self-effacing nature and give its heavier themes some needed levity.To be sure, especially in its early years, the strip's art is clean and basic at best. Watterson, this is not. But, in all honesty, despite how good Calvin and Hobbes is, I find Pearls to be genuinely much more funny being the cynical adult that I am.It is, to be clear, not for everyone; some jokes may age poorly depending on your taste, and may be a little too mean-spirited for some people. Comedy doesn't uniformly age well especially in light of changing attitudes. Still, I think there's a heart to Pearls that makes its merciless ripping into other comics in this collection palatable. After all, it riffs most of all on itself, leans into its own limitations and embraces them, and it gets down to its bones what makes comic strips great.Called it a flawed masterpiece.
