Stephan Pastis

Stephan Thomas Pastis (born January 16, 1968) is the creator of the comic strip "Pearls Before Swine".

Background

Pastis was raised in San Marino, California and attended the University of California at Berkeley, earning a B.A. in Political Science in 1989, followed by UCLA School of Law.

From 1993, Pastis worked as a litigation attorney in the San Francisco Bay area. At this time he also tried to fulfill his childhood ambition of becoming a syndicated cartoonist by submitting different concepts to syndication agencies. "The Infirm", [ [http://www.baywalk.com/cartoons/infirm.htm Baywalk.com - Lifestyle Shopping and Articles - Cartoons and Funnies - The Infirm ] ] "Rat", ["Sgt. Piggy's Lonely Hearts Club Comic: a "Pearls Before Swine" collection"] and "Bradbury Road" [ [http://www.baywalk.com/cartoons/bradbury_road.htm Baywalk.com - Lifestyle Shopping and Articles - Cartoons and Funnies - Bradbury Road ] ] were rejected, but "Pearls Before Swine" was accepted by United Features in 1999. It started publication on December 31, 2001 and is still one of the fastest growing comic strips, appearing in more than 150 newspapers worldwide and counting. Pastis left his law job in August 2002.

Pearls Before Swine

The character of Rat came from Pastis's earlier strip, "Rat". The character of Pig was based on pigs that had been featured in "The Infirm". When Pastis invented the characters of Pig and Rat, they were just stick figures with jokes. He learned how to write by studying Dilbert comics in bookstores. He then collected the 40 comics that his attorney colleagues liked the best. Fearing another rejection, however, Pastis put them in an envelope and let it sit on the counter in his basement. It sat there for a year until he visited a friend's grave and, feeling as though he had let her down, had a change of heart. He sent it out 6 weeks later and with help from Scott Adams, United Features Syndicate called him to inform him that he was being considered for syndication. "Pearls Before Swine" was launched in syndication in 2001.

This information can be found in the introduction to Pastis's first treasury, "Sgt. Piggy's Lonely Hearts Club Comic". In this treasury "Lions and Tigers and Crocs, Oh My!" and "The Crass Menagerie" he includes background information on many of the strips they contain, as well as printing the Sunday strips in full color.

One-shot Characters and Guest Characters

Some characters, e.g. "The Wolf Who Cries Boy," have appeared in only one strip. Pastis often has characters from other strips, as well as real people i.e. Tim Russert, appear as guests - most often, the cast of "Family Circus."The Trix Rabbit ("Silly Rabbit") belongs in both categories - a guest character who has appeared only once.

Awards

Pastis was nominated for the National Cartoonists Society Newspaper Comic Strip Award for 2002 and 2006, and won the award for 2003 and 2007.

References

External links

* [http://www.unitedmedia.com/comics/pearls/html/about_author.html Biography from the official Pearls Before Swine website]
* [http://www.reuben.org/ncs/members/biogs/pastis.asp Short bio] (with picture) at The National Cartoonists Society
* [http://www.comics.com/comics/pearls/html/contact_the_artist.html Stephan Pastis FAQ] at comics.com
* [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8424854/site/newsweek/ Article about him from MSNBC]
* [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A36097-2004Sep20.html Interview with him, among other people]
* [http://www.baywalk.com/cartoons/ Some of his previous comics before "Pearls Before Swine"]
* [http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2006/dec/24/strip_deals_wry_pearls_wisdom/?living A recent interview with Pastis]
* [http://comicscoasttocoast.com/images/podcast/cccep2.mp3 Podcast interview with Pastis]