PEARLS BEFORE SWINE: "A Piggish Attack On an American Cartoon Family"

Above: The Sunday June 24, 2012 PEARLS BEFORE SWINE featuring "well-known child" Jeffy Keane tearing apart PEARLS.  Copyright © 2012 Universal Uclick, All rights reserved.

From The Eagle letters page, a Texas newspaper, comes a cry to discontinue PEARLS BEFORE SWINE by that "jerk" Stephan Pastis for portraying Jeffy FAMILY CIRCUS Keane as a "foul-mouthed bully:"

A piggish attack on an American cartoon family

Pearls Before Swine, a comic strip drawn by Stephan Pastis, which appeared in last Sunday’s Eagle, was, to say the least, despicable. It depicted a well-known child, Jeffy Keane, from another comic strip, Family Circus, drawn by Bil Keane, as a foul-mouthed bully, who beat up Pastis’s “Pig,” for somehow “messing” with the Family Circus clan — after which Jeffy tore up Pastis’ strip, leaving it to the reader to re-assemble, and then ran to a church, asking if he needed forgiveness for “(expletive deleted) up a pig.”

This, of course, cast unwarranted aspersions on one of the most iconic, family-oriented comic strips in print, and identified Pastis for what he truly is: a jerk, who is a comic strip wannabe, with absolutely no respect for his betters, and even less talent.

This is not the first episode of Pastis’ comedic voyeurism over the past several months. Readers may recall his “kidnapping” by competing comic strip writers or the misadventures of “Guard Duck” and his hand grenades and other weaponry. Makes one wonder if Pastis has his head screwed on tight.

It would be too easy to depict this as mere pettiness on my part, and maybe it is. But when well-meaning and serious strip writers are impaled on the barbs of such as Pastis it is time to stand up for what is right.

Pastis’ strip should be discontinued by The Eagle — which, of course, won’t happen; freedom of speech, don’t ya know.

RICHARD W. ARNOLD
Bryan

It's all in fun until Jeffy beats up a Pig.

Mr. Arnold is articulate and serious about Pastis' being a "jerk" and a "comic strip wannabe" based on these attacks on other comic strip characters. What's stunning is how serious people take the funnies. 

I have seen Stephan Pastis and the real-life Jeff Keane in a room together more than once and they are friends. Heck, they've traveled into war zones together. And this PEARLS v. CIRCUS comic strip "war" has been going on for some time. Stephan has been nominated by his cartoonists peers for the "Oscar of cartooning," the Reuben Award. That don't happen to a wannabe.