Larry in Wonderland: A Pearls Before Swine Collection [Paperback]

Stephan Pastis (Author)

Book Description

Release date: October 4, 2011 | Series: Pearls Before Swine Collection

One of the best-selling cartoons today. Offering blistering commentary on hot-button topics related to recent news events, popular culture, cartoon-page contemporaries, and more, Pearls Before Swine expertly illustrates the flaws and shortcomings of human nature through Pastis’s mindful menagerie of fiery and feisty characters.

Stephan Pastis offers Pearls Before Swine fans a visit to the other side of the looking glass with his latest collection, Larry in Wonderland. Collecting almost a year's worth of strips, Larry in Wonderland offers cutting-edge commentary on recent news events, popular culture, and cartoon-page contemporaries, and imparts the knowledge that in Wonderland, crocodiles taste a lot like chicken.

Through Pastis's mindful menagerie of characters, including the Mad Ducker, Cheshire Snuffles, Tweedledum Pig, and Tweedledee Idiot Pig, along with Raterpillar, Zebra, and Larry the Croc, Pearls Before Swine expertly illustrates the flaws and shortcomings of human nature, while remaining "indifferent" to conventional cartoon molds such as plotline "continuity." In the words of Raterpillar, "Plotline schmotline."

With multiple honors as Best Comic Strip of the Year by the National Cartoonists Society, and an international fan base that follows the strip's appearance in more than 600 newspapers worldwide, Pearls Before Swine transports readers to a world of shifting perspectives and alternate realities, like the one presented inside Larry in Wonderland.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Stephan Pastis is an attorney turned cartoonist. A graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, and the UCLA School of Law, he worked as a lawyer before trying his hand at cartooning. Pastis lives in the Bay Area, with his wife and two children.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing; Original edition (October 4, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1449408176
• ISBN-13: 978-1449408176
• Product Dimensions: 0.5 x 8.8 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #105,434 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Stephan Pastis took an unusual route to becoming a number-one best-selling comics creator: he went to law school. It's not that he didn't want to become a cartoonist - as a child growing up in the Los Angeles suburb of San Marino, he spent many happy hours off by himself drawing. He was routinely called on to create cartoons for his school newspapers. But by the time he graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a degree in political science, Pastis - a completely self-taught artist - felt it unlikely that his cartoons would ever be syndicated.

So he found himself sitting in class at UCLA Law School, hopelessly bored, sketching the character Rat (who would later become a mainstay of all his future comic strips). Creative inspiration followed him through graduation in 1993 to his first law firm job in San Francisco, where by 1996 he finally started submitting his comics to syndicates. Persisting through an initial spate of rejections, Stephan Pastis created his signature strip Pearls Before Swine and eventually signed on with his syndicate in 1999. Pearls was off and running, making appearances on the web, in newspapers, and in many best-selling books.

In 2013, inspired to break out of the box of a daily comic strip, Pastis took on the new challenge of becoming a children's author, penning the first book in a projected middle grade series called Timmy Failure, about an inept kid detective and his sidekick polar bear. Fail it did not; receiving stellar reviews and becoming an instant New York Times and National Indie bestseller. Now published in nearly 40 languages worldwide, Pastis' defective detective is poised to become the next big breakout children's book character.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I Love "Pearls" October 22, 2011

By Roger Farnham

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Stephan Pastis has to be one of the most creative and off-the-wall cartoonists since Gary Larson and his "Far Side" cartoons. This is a new collection of what I think is some of the best Pearls cartoons he has published. I always look forward to the release of a new book and this one does not disappoint. Just settle back and laugh.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars amazing October 10, 2011

By Hi

Format:Paperback

this book is amazing. its funny and has a variety of comics (croc vs. zebra, ect)
I recomend this book to anyone who enjoys pearls before swine or anyone who heard about this from a friend

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Larry in Wonderland November 5, 2011

By Kate Rose Carson

Format:Paperback

Stephen Pastis is the funniest cartoonist in America. Psychiatrists, psychologists and doctors should hand out his book to all patients. It will cure depression instantly. This crew of outlandish characters can make you laugh out loud every time. Steve, what a way to earn a living! Good for you!