Pearls Gets Sacrificed: A Pearls Before Swine Treasury (Volume 24) Paperback – September 22, 2015

My favorite thing about the Pearls treasuries are the comments Stephan Pastis writes beneath most strips. Most treasuries are just the last two smaller collections stapled together, printed on a larger page, and cranked out to increase revenue without giving a reader anything new. Don't get me wrong, I don't fault anyone for this fact. I'm just noting that Pastis really puts something special in for the reader in his treasuries, even if it's a drawing of a cruise ship he did thirty years ago.Pastis gives insight into the modes of his disturbed thinking and hilarious results. He gives random, funny points that feel genuine and enjoyable. What his comments note most is that he is human. He concedes some of his strips are weak, and others plain pathetic. While I would not call any of his remarks profound, they add value to his work. There's a lot that goes into a comic strip that most people are finished with in under a minute. his treasuries give a peak into the process, which can actually make the reader appreciate more of the god-awful puns Pastis slops onto his panels.The humor is fantastic, and pretty much what Pearls fans should expect. It's got vulgarity, drinking and violence. It pushes the envelope and offends too many. That is why this strip is needed. It's not vanilla. Its got heart and substance. Sure, there are more than a couple of strips that don't work, but they are buried amongst quality humor. Pearls Before Swine is not my favorite comic strip, but I can only reread Far Side so many times. Pastis is continuing to introduce something new to the comics, trying out new ideas and delivering something unique. In a world with so many overly-sensitive whiners, this strip unabashedly pokes fun at them, itself, and pretty much everything else. Almost no one is safe. Thank goodness.

They may burn Stephan Pastis at the stake, but they'll never kill PEARLS BEFORE SWINE! This treasury, with commentary by Stephan Pastis, solidifies why this comic is the funniest strip today. The well-known cast of characters delivers day-after-day some of the most creative comedy in the genre. If only a fourth of the comics in newspapers were half as funny as PEARLS, the industry would be thriving. Thank goodness these comics are also available in these books. They will live on forever because brilliant comedy never dies. This one is terrific.

This book is great! Ordered for my 15 year old who reads every Stephan Pastis strip he can get his hands on. Not disappointed. This was actually a used book that said it was in good shape. I'd say it was in fair to poor shape, but my son didn't care. He loved it anyhow! Always saying, "read this one" to me.

Hysterically funny, this is Stephan at his best. We saw him at a signing and sit-down / stand-up routine for this book where he was truly as amusing as you expect him to be. The book purchased at the signing never did get signed (lines well over an hour long and I am not able to stand) but we all enjoyed the afternoon with Mr. Pastis so much that I bought another copy to help him make his alimony payments.

This is classic Stephen Pastis. Rat is his usual despicable self, Pig is still the wide-eyed innocent, zebra is still avoiding the crocodiles most successfully, goat is still his erudite self, in a mix of various and sundry visitors. "Pearls" is the one rather dark comic that I happen to like, being a bit of a cynic and pessimist myself, but then with this outlook I'm rarely disappointed.

There are not that many comics out there these days that are truly funny. So many of the older strips are reruns from decades ago, or their authors retired far too early (you know who I am talking about!), and many of the current ones are just... not... funny... This one however, is my favorite strip out of the current market. I LOVE Mr. Pastis' treasuries, because he comments throughout and it is fascinating to see a little of how his mind works. I own all of his books and can hardly wait for the new ones to come out. Thank you Stephan Pastis!

Great compilation as always. Love the extras and commentaries. I can't believe this guy keeps coming out with funny stuff! I own all of them!

I read this book sepraty. And it was great. On kindle, not so great. There was a greything all over the book and I could not read the amazing strip, which is 100% annoying.