Title |
Publication Date |
ISBN |
Contents |
Cover/title parody |
Pearls Before Swine: BLTs Taste So Darn Good |
March 2, 2003 |
ISBN 0-7407-3437-7 |
Strips from December 31, 2001 to October 6, 2002. |
Title is taken from a line Pig said in the January 12, 2002 strip and cover features him eating a BLT. |
This Little Piggy Stayed Home |
March 1, 2004 |
ISBN 0-7407-3813-5 |
Strips from October 7, 2002 to July 13, 2003. |
Title is taken from a line in the nursery rhyme "This Little Piggy"; cover shows Pig watching TV while everyone else leaves the house. |
Nighthogs |
March 31, 2005 |
ISBN 0-7407-5009-7 |
Strips from July 14, 2003 to April 18, 2004. |
The title and cover are parodies of Edward Hopper painting "Nighthawks". Stephan Pastis stated that Hopper is one of his favorite artists, which may state why the parody is from "Nighthawks". Rat takes the place of the waiter behind the counter while Goat, Pig, and Zebra sit around it. The cover was originally one of Pastis' Sunday strip title panels. |
The Ratvolution Will Not Be Televised |
March 1, 2006 |
ISBN 0-7407-5674-5 |
Strips from April 19, 2004 to January 23, 2005. |
Title is a parody of Gil Scott-Heron's poem/song The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, cover features a Croc, Rat, Goat, Zebra, Pig, and Rat's cartoon character, Dickie the Cockroach, as a militant group |
Da Brudderhood of Zeeba Zeeba Eata |
March 1, 2007 |
ISBN 0-7407-6801-8 |
Strips from January 24, 2005 through October 30, 2005. |
The cover vaguely parodies the movie poster of Animal House (note the pirate costume on one of the crocodiles, similar to that worn by John Belushi in the film, and the toga worn by Rat) |
The Sopratos |
September 1, 2007 |
ISBN 0-7407-6847-6 |
Strips from October 31, 2005 to August 6, 2006. |
Title and cover are a parody of The Sopranos TV series; various characters that were killed off in prior strips appear buried in the dirt |
Macho Macho Animals |
September 1, 2008 |
ISBN 0-7407-7369-0 |
Strips from August 7, 2006 to May 13, 2007. |
Title and cover parody the Village People; the title is a play on the song title "Macho Man" and Larry, Zebra, Guard Duck, Rat, Pig, and Goat are all dressed as members of the Village People. Bil Keane provides the foreword. |
The Saturday Evening Pearls |
March 17, 2009 |
ISBN 0-7407-7391-7 |
Contains strips from May 14, 2007 to February 16, 2008. |
Title and cover are a parody of The Saturday Evening Post. The cover setting parodies the painting "Freedom from Want" by Norman Rockwell, a regular illustrator for the Post. In this case, various crocodiles are sitting around a table while Patty (Larry the croc's wife) serves Zebra for dinner and Rat, Pig, and Guard Duck watch on in horror. |
50,000,000 Pearls Fans Can't Be Wrong |
April 6, 2010 |
ISBN 0-7407-9141-9 |
Contains strips from February 17, 2008 to November 16, 2008. |
Title and cover are a parody of the Elvis Presley album 50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong; Pastis is featured on the front cover by himself in various poses while wearing an Elvis costume, and on the back he is confronted by Pig, Rat, Larry, and Goat- Rat calls it the "worst, most arrogant cover ever", Pig urges Pastis to get help, Larry says "me want keel you", and Goat demands to know when he gets a cover to himself. 50,000,000 Pearls Fans Can't Be Wrong is the first Pearls collection to feature full-color Sunday strips; publisher Andrews McMeel Publishing has begun to print Sunday strips in color in many of its regular-sized comic collections after strictly limiting them to treasury-sized books for years. |
When Pigs Fly |
September 7, 2010 |
ISBN 0-7407-9737-9 |
Contains strips from November 17, 2008 to August 23, 2009. |
Title is taken from the old saying "When pigs fly." Cover features Pig participating in a slam dunk contest while various Pearls characters and Stephan Pastis watch on. Features "The Unseen Pearls", eleven strips from the web-only days of Pearls that Stephan Pastis refused to publish in newspapers with annotations by the cartoonist (the first time Pastis provides annotations for a regular collection). |
Larry in Wonderland |
October 4, 2011 |
ISBN 1-4494-0817-6 |
Contains strips from August 24, 2009 to May 23, 2010. |
Title refers to, and cover art illustrates, a storyline from the comic strip that appears in the book. |
Because Sometimes You Just Gotta Draw a Cover with Your Left Hand |
April 10, 2012 |
ISBN 1-4494-1023-5 |
Contains strips from May 24, 2010 to February 27, 2011. |
Title refers to a stunt Pastis pulled for this book where he drew the cover picture and hand wrote the intro, title, and blurbs entirely with his non-drawing hand (he draws Pearls with his right hand). |
Unsportsmanlike Conduct |
February 12, 2013 |
ISBN 978-1-4494-2774-0 |
Contains strips from February 28, 2011 to December 4, 2011. |
Cover depicts Stephan Pastis and Rat in a boxing match with Goat as the referee. Rat kicks Pastis in his "oompa loompas" (running joke word for testicles in the strip) while Goat tries to step in. Pig, Zebra, and Guard Duck work Pastis' corner while Larry and Snuffles work Rat's, and a poorly-drawn Dilbert is shown watching the fight. |
Rat's Wars |
October 1, 2013 |
ISBN 978-1-4494-2936-2 |
Contains strips from December 5, 2011 to September 3, 2012 |
The cover parodies Star Wars, featuring numerous Pearls characters as characters in the space franchise. Particularly, Rat is depicted as Luke Skywalker, Pig as Princess Leia, Goat and Snuffles as C-3PO and R2-D2, and Stephan Pastis as Darth Vader. |
Breaking Stephan |
November 4, 2014 |
ISBN 978-1-4494-5830-0 |
Contains strips from September 4, 2012 to June 2, 2013 |
The cover parodies the TV series Breaking Bad. The title artwork is styled like the show's, using symbols from the periodic table as the first letters of each word. The characters are standing in the middle of a desert with an RV issuing red smoke in the background. Pastis is depicted as Walter White from the show's pilot, holding a pencil and comic strip instead of a gun. Rat and Pig are dressed in yellow Hazmat suits similar to the ones worn by Walt and Jesse. Goat is dressed as Gus Fring holding a bucket of fried chicken with Guard Duck's picture on it. Snuffles is depicted as Hector Salamanca, sitting in a wheelchair ringing a bell. The words "Santa Rosa or Bust" can be read on the side of the RV, a nod to Pastis's home town, as can the name "Julia", while the name "Tom" can be seen in the background; these are nods to Pastis' two children. |
King of the Comics |
March 17, 2015 |
ISBN 978-1-4494-5828-7 |
Contains strips from June 3, 2013 to March 2, 2014 |
The cover and title roughly parody the film Titanic. Cartoon Pastis is standing on the bow railing of a large ocean liner—the S.S. Pearls—shouting with arms extended, much like Jack from the film when he shouts, "I'm the king of the world!". He has a rope tied around his chest, which Rat has attached to an anchor and is about to drop into the ocean. Pig is also standing on the railing, heaving violently into a seasickness bag. Goat stands by drinking a cup of coffee. The Lemmings are diving from the deck into the sea on one side of the ship, and the Crocs are wading in the surf on the other side. Zebra, Guard Duck, Elly Elephant, and Danny Donkey also appear as background characters. In the forward, Pastis talks about his trip to Muncie, Indiana to meet Garfield creator Jim Davis. |
I'm Only in This for Me |
May 3, 2016 |
ISBN 978-1-4494-7626-7 |
Contains strips from March 3, 2014 to December 6, 2014 |
The cover depicts a political rally with Rat running for President of the United States. Rat is standing at a podium, dressed in a suit and tie and an Uncle Sam hat, giving an impassioned speech. Goat, Larry the Croc, Guard Duck, Pig, and Zebra are standing around the podium wearing dark sunglasses, acting as Rat's security detail. In addition to several other Pearls characters attending the rally, characters from other strips are also shown, including Dilbert, Charlie Brown, and Jeffy from Family Circus. On the back cover, Rat is holding up a poster of himself, a parody of Shepard Fairey's Barack Obama "Hope" poster. Instead of "Hope", the poster reads "Despair." This collection features the strips where Pastis allowed Bill Watterson to draw the strip. |
Stephan's Web |
November 22, 2016 |
ISBN 978-1-4494-8202-2 |
Contains strips from December 7, 2014 to September 6, 2015 |
The title parodies the classic children's novel Charlotte's Web by E. B. White, and the cover is itself a parody of Garth Williams' illustrated cover for White's book. Cartoon Stephan takes the place of Fern, complete with red dress and ponytail. Pig stands in for Wilbur. Goat stands in for the sheep, and Guard Duck stands in for the goose. Instead of Charlotte, Rat is seen strung upside down from the spider web. The words "of Lies" can be seen written into the web, making the full title appear to be "Stephan's Web of Lies". A silver medal with an image of Danny Donkey also appears on the cover, showing the words "Not an Honor Book", parodying the Newberry Medal that appears on Charlotte's Web and many other notable children's books. |