Pearls Before Swine (comics)

Pearls Before Swine
The cast of "Pearls" in order from left to right: Snuffles, Rat, Stephan Pastis, Pig, Goat, Larry, Guard Duck
Author(s)	Stephan Pastis
Current status/schedule	Running
Launch date	December 31, 2001 (The Washington Post) January 7, 2002
Syndicate(s)	United Feature Syndicate (2001–2011) Andrews McMeel Syndication (2011–present)
Publisher(s)	Andrews McMeel Publishing
Genre(s)	Humor, black comedy, gag-a-day, satire, anthropomorphic

Pearls Before Swine (also known as Pearls) is an American comic strip written and illustrated by Stephan Pastis. The series began on December 31, 2001.^[1] It chronicles the daily lives of an ensemble cast of suburban anthropomorphic animals: Pig, Rat, Zebra, Goat, and a fraternity of crocodiles,^[2] as well as a number of supporting characters, one of whom is Pastis himself. Each character represents an aspect of Pastis's personality and worldview.^[3] The daily and Sunday comic strip is distributed by Andrews McMeel Syndication (by United Feature Syndicate until 2011).

The strip's style is notable for its black comedy, simplistic artwork, self-deprecating fourth wall meta-humor, social commentary, mockery of itself or other comic strips, and occasional elaborate stories leading to a pun.^{[citation needed]}