List of Pearls Before Swine characters
Encyclopedia
This is a partial list of characters in the comic strip Pearls Before Swine
by Stephan Pastis
.
, who is frequently critical of the strip's style and artwork, as well as the other characters in his and other strips, real life people, and almost all living (and often nonliving) things. He believes himself to be much more intelligent than he actually is, and thinks more or less anybody else is stupid. He tends to irritate people, particularly his intelligent friend Goat, and is easily irritated by his naïve, dim-witted housemate Pig. Rat believes himself to be the wisdom of the strip, if not wisdom itself, and that anybody else is more or less dumb, whereas most other characters view him as "a loudmouth, pompous malcontent". He may or may not be a personification of the Seven Deadly Sins
.
Rat is very prideful and arrogant (he once made a list of all the genius
es in the world that only said "Mozart
, da Vinci
, Me", and then said that he only put 'that music dude' there to be nice), and is constantly dreaming up schemes that invariably would keep him away from anyone and everyone else, though these inevitably backfire. He often appears incapable of seeing his own faults.
Rat is also a con artist, as he is often taking up professions he knows almost nothing about and charging people a lot of money, often insulting or confusing his customers, co-workers and boss in the process. He is often self-employed, using his jobs to trick vain, unintelligent people into either giving him money or making them do things for him. In one instance, he even started a big controversy over a bogus weight-loss scheme he created, involving the starvation
of obese people, that wound up on the Senate floor. At times, other companies make the mistake of hiring him, in which case Rat is usually rude to his customers and employers.
In the comic's history, Rat has hosted several jobs for varying lengths of time. Some of them include a marriage counselor, a book store information guide, a Feng Shui
expert, a telemarketer, a supermarket cashier, a reporter for the New York Times, where he is allowed to make everything up (Pastis has said this was inspired by the Jayson Blair
scandal), a pizza
parlor manager, a pet
psychic
, a stockbroker, a life coach, a talk radio
host, an oil
company CEO, a barista
at a coffee
shop, a supermarket tabloid manager, a Lawyer
, a cartoonist, a perennial candidate
, and a hotel
concierge among others. Much about his family is unknown, but he did telephone his mother in one strip, and we know that his father was killed
by a circus
clown
for an unknown reason.
Despite the partial success of many of his get-rich-quick schemes, he constantly claims to be poor, although it is quite possible that he always squanders or otherwise loses the money. Despite this, he has enough money to get by in life (although it is possible his housemate, Pig, chips in to help him), and he often does things that would require large amounts of money, such as purchasing nuclear missiles from Russia.
He has been known to collect people in whom he sees a severe flaw in their driving, lifestyle, or other personality aspects, and place them in an area whose name corresponds with their supposed imperfection (collectively referred to as "Box O' Stupid People", they have also been known as "Cubicle O' Shame", "Pit O' Useless Blowhards, etc.). Strips featuring this invariably feature another character (usually Pig) objecting, only to wind up in the "box" himself.
He has also made various forays into the world of literature, and Sunday strips often depict him typing novels. These novels usually are about a character called Angry Bob, who, in every book, finds true happiness, followed by an untimely death. Rat also has a comic strip, Dickie the Cockroach, about a cockroach who ties people up and slaps duct tape over the mouths of people who say stupid things (he did this to the titular character of the comic strip Cathy
); he is seemingly oblivious to the fact that no one reads it. Recently he has begun writing children's books, starring the character Danny Donkey (Rat even made a doll of Danny who mysteriously came alive (similar to Hobbes
of Calvin and Hobbes
) and robbed a liquor store
(ironically, this occurred right after Pig commented that another strip should do this)). He has made references to poetry many times too, although he has almost never written a poem himself (except for rhymes that he used to put in postcards, who turned out to be almost always rather insulting to the postcard's owner), and also wrote things for peoples gravestones that were very insulting to the dead person, i.e. "He lived, he died. We barely cried." He once said that the key to writing great poetry is making your work so obscure that "no one can understand you, much less criticize you". He once wrote the following free verse poem: "Atop the fog the Zebra's buttocks angry at my mother's sloth".
While Rat is often cold-hearted or mean to his housemate Pig, he has been shown to be kind at times, saying nice things to him (although quickly covering it up with his usual attitude). He sometimes lies to Pig to spare his feelings, although not very often. It has also been revealed that Rat has a soft spot for Pig's sister, Farina, a germaphobe who lives in an air-filtered bubble. She, however, had on-and-off feelings about Rat, often breaking Rat's heart and dating other characters. This has proven to be one of the few things that can destroy his giant ego.
He is also quite materialistic
in his likes; he has said that the American Dream
is to have a video store on every block, enjoys pornography
and slasher film
s, and his philosophies tend to say that we're all doomed and that there is no moral law.
He is also seen criticizing the quality of other comic strips, particularly older ones or those aimed at a specific group (the more sympathetic Pig often states his admiration for these same strips). For this reason, he and the other characters were banned from the 75th anniversary of Blondie
. He sometimes even goes into the "real world" and complains to the strips writer, Stephen Pastis directly. Rat once mentioned that another reason the funnies are "unfunny" is because the censorship code hasn't been updated since the 1950s, meaning they can't do things commonly seen on prime time television for various reasons (Pastis has written that Rat's penchant for criticizing the funnies has made Pearls the target of complaints from other cartoonists). He explains that some comic strips, such as The Far Side
and Calvin and Hobbes, were genuinely funny, but the writers retired, because they had the good sense to not let their features grow stale and let new cartoonists make their livings. Unfortunately, most of the new writers follow in the footsteps of the very comics Rat states as the root of the problem, so the funnies are trapped in a vicious cycle.
According to the January 2, 2011 strip, Rat is a fan of and bets on the Pittsburgh Steelers
.
is disputable. He is friends with Satan
, but has also stated at least once that he would likely be much more religious if it "weren't for all that 'love thy neighbor' stuff", as he hates his neighbors (this caused Goat to comment that [his] soul
is so dark it smudges [his own], after which Rat said: "Maybe I could love YOUR neighbors. I don't even have to SEE them"). He was once seen at the "Church of the Amazing Grace
Annual festival". Rat has "invented" several new types of philosophy
/religion
over the strips run, a few of which include "Unthinkology", "Mulliganology", and "Cheezepuffology". He explains "Unthinkology" as "The belief that thinking causes pain... hence, one must cease all thinking." He explains "Mulliganology" as "In golf, when you screw up on a shot, you say 'Mulligan', and you get to take it over again. A Mulliganologist applies this purpose to all tenets of life". He explains "Cheezepuffology" as "The fundamental tenet is that nothing you dream ever comes true, so you might as well live in front of your television and scarf cheeze-puffs."
City Council
against a deceased opponent, faking his own death to even up the polls, and, after that plan backfired, advocating the invasion
and occupation of Mexico
. He only received one vote, with even he himself voting for his opponent (Pig "had a little trouble with the
butterfly ballot"). In 2004, he ran for president
as an Independent
(joining the race 10 days prior to the election after being incorrectly informed by Pig that it was in six months). During this campaign, he appeared on Meet the Press
, where he voiced support for the wars in Iraq
and Afghanistan
, but said he would remove all troops in order to invade France. He also criticized Ralph Nader
for his book Unsafe At Any Speed
and John Kerry
for his first name. In 2006, he ran for mayor against Jojo the Crocodile in an election that was moot
as Duck staged an election day coup d'état
. During these campaigns (and several other times), he voiced extremist conservative opinions (whether or not this was ever direct commentary on Pastis' part is a matter of debate, though he has implied liberal politics in the past). On the other hand, he has voiced anti-capitalist and even revolutionary socialist
beliefs during his employment at Joe's Rostery and called George W. Bush
a "[bleeping] fool" during a visit to The Boondocks, although these may have been more intended to spite his boss and suck up to known leftist Huey Freeman
, respectively, than to express his actual views.
During one series of three strips, he was known as "Johnny on Top, Folk Singer
Singer For the Far Right
", an extreme right-wing folk singer intended as a counterweight to other politically liberal/leftist folk singers. He wrote three songs; "Shoot the Hippie
out of the Redwood Tree", "If You're not White, and You Talk Funny, We'll Drop Bombs Right on Your Bunny" (because camel
didn't rhyme) and a pro oil spill song titled "Maybe Your Ducky Likes Swimming in Mucky". He has also been known as "Blind Bobby Z, Blues
Singer for the Rich and Uptrodden" (also known as "Blind Jimmy Windthrop") for three strips, singing songs about taxation and Nordstroms. His only known song was "My Capital Gains Are Blowin' Away In The Wind".
During a two-week series containing nine strips, he attempted to buy a rifle from "Walmartopialand Guns"
to "pop his neighbor in the
rear
". When the gun dealer refused to sell, he accused him of being a far left
radical, going to the extent of calling him a "Dennis Kucinich
-loving liberal" and "Hanoi Jane
", unlikely scenarios among gun shop employees.
In 2008, he donned the name "El Jefe, The Cuban Evenger" and sent the Guard Duck and Snuffles the cat as mercenaries to topple the Cuba
n dictatorship
of Raul Castro
. This failed, as the two landed in Jamaica
and were arrested for shooting a police officer
, though the Guard Duck claimed that he had shot the sherrif but had not shot a police officer
.
He has on three occasions testified before the United States Congress
; the first time on the "growing pet psychic
scandal (where he pretended to read the Congressmen's minds, predicting them all saying (apparently correctly) "Fundraising and sex with [their] intern), testified at hearings on his "Box Me In!" weight loss program where he sparred with Teddy Kennedy (see above), and more recently attempted with the title character of Dennis the Menace
(unsuccessfully) to get Congressional bailout money
for comic strips.
s, Elly Elephant (a helpful elephant
who sometimes kills people who do not return her many favors), at least two books focusing on a private investigator
named "Detective Bob", and a short story
focusing on Zorro
's brother, "Orro." He has also written a comic strip entitled Dickie the Cockroach, and briefly a rip-off of Dilbert entitled Bildert.
, only to be turned away by St. Peter, after being hit by a car (while he was coma
tose in a hospital). Rat's first official death came in 2005 when, after being encouraged to smile more, his body exploded from the stress (although he'd return one week later). His second official death came in July 2008 as he suffered a heart attack from overstimulation related to the death of Stephan Pastis
in the strip one day before, but both he and Pastis were returned to Earth later that week at the intervention of United Feature Syndicate.
, the strip's author and formerly a lawyer, started drawing Rat in law school, often killing him off for the sake of humor. He would often doodle Rat in classes while bored, and in his early stages Rat was more of a depressed, philosophical character as opposed to the cynical egomaniac he is today. Naturally, Pastis titled his doodled strips Rat after his title character.
Later, as he began attempting to get syndicated, Pastis added a second character as Rat's companion. This resulted in the creation of Poe, an amorphous blob that resembled nothing. However, Rat was deemed too depressing by newspapers and Pastis stopped drawing the strip.
Rat was later put into another one of Pastis' comics, Bradbury Road, which was also rejected.
After some rejection, Pastis eventually wrote Pearls Before Swine, which was an attempt to revive Rat with a less depressing tone. Poe was replaced by Pig, and began syndication by United Media
on December 31, 2001.
Pig is very dimwitted and naïve (he reads Sky Mall
to keep up with the War in Iraq), often being beaten up by Rat after trying to have a serious conversation with him, only to say something unrelated (i.e. Euthanasia
being confused for "Youth in Asia" or "Port-au-Prince
being confused with Port-a-Potty). Pig is usually oblivious to how cruel Rat often is.
Pig also has a knack for making friends with inanimate objects, mostly food (who are almost always eaten by the selfish Rat). In certain instances, Pig makes clubs with these friends, like "The Fruit
Buddies" and "The Bait Club". He also dated "Ms. Bootyworth" for a week.
Pig will often misunderstand an expression
or figure of speech
and apply it literally, with humorous results. He has also been known to use such terms literally in a context where he is misunderstood, often getting beaten up by someone who he does not realized he has offended. Unlike Rat, who is constantly criticizing other comic strips, Pig has occasionally been seen praising other comics, such as Mutts
.
Pig, when on a date, is most likely seen with Pigita, but earlier in the strip, he can be seen with other pigs. Pigita, like many people, is irritated by Pig's stupidity. She also has dramatic mood swings possibly resulting from bipolar disorder
, though these happen far less frequently in recent strips. Pig has also married a lamb named Sweet Fanny, his biggest fan. Unfourtnly,she was killed by officer Potus.
In one strip, he said his favorite TV show was The Office
. He has also mentioned liking the Care Bears
and Happy Days
and often says his favorite comic strip is Blondie
(although this at least once was "altered dialogue" being used as evidence to try to let the "Pearls" cast into the Blondie 75th Anniversary, which they had been banned from). Rat has referenced Pig's "point of reference" as Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner.
He also appears to know more about the people in the neighborhood than Rat does, for example when Rat bragged about knowing things about strangers and celebrities but couldn't identify the man who walked past, Pig identified him as Bob, their next-door neighbor for the last eleven years. In one strip, he mentioned going to "Father Nick's" funeral. When he told Rat (who didn't know who Father Nick was) that Nick had been their priest since 1979, Rat said "Maybe I've missed a [mass] or two".
He frequently writes letters to well-known real-life people, usually foreign authority figures at odds with the United States like Fidel Castro
or Kim Jong-Ill concerning rather unimportant things like image; while Rat constantly berates him for doing this, the people they are sent to have been shown to care about what he says, occasionally crying when he criticizes them. He also makes massive donations to Rainbow/PUSH
, misunderstanding Jesse Jackson
's slogan of "keep hope alive" and thinking the money will be used to afford medical treatment for Bob Hope
. [Note that when this strip ran, Hope was still alive].
He likes football
and has tried to play at least twice in the strip, with poor results: The first time, he tried to play touch football
, but the two teams, having picked everyone else, started picking inanimate street neighborhood objects, deceased
people, and even types of wine
over him; the second time, he ran into the wall and wrecked the "print registration", messing up the strip's artwork.
Not much is known about Pig's family, although Pig writes letters to his mother occasionally, and she writes back with indifference, if not rudeness, to him. Pig's mother's first appearance in Pearls, where she is actually seen, was on June 25, 2005 when she tried to get Pig out of a tree he was climbing. Pig was born in a liter of seven piglets, one of whom is his sister Farina who had a brief relationship with Rat. Pig is also a cannibal (since he eats corn dogs and BLT sandwich
es) but is somewhat oblivious to this fact. He can sometimes name the dead relative he is eating. The May 25, 2003 strip revealed that he lost a relative in the Vietnam War
.
Pig also had a rushed marriage with Pearls fan Fanny, a sheep that had been stalking him for a while. However, Officer Potus unwittingly crushed her to death while helping Zebra shut down Rat's restaurant McZeeba's for serving zebra meat, thus rendering him a widower.
Although The Infirm was rejected, Pastis liked the pig characters so much that he eventually simplified the artwork and one became known simply as "Pig" in the first Pearls strips Pastis sent to the syndicators. In fact, it was Pig's addition to the strip that caused it to be known as Pearls Before Swine- Rat would consistently be imparting his "pearls of wisdom" on Pig only to have it fall on deaf ears. (Pastis also said this was a play on a Biblical verse, part of which reads "neither cast ye pearls before swine".)
, who is often seen either writing to his predators or talking about recent deaths. He thinks it is a large problem and tries to promote peace and understanding between species. He is seen mainly around Pig or Rat, but also occasionally hangs out with Goat, being one of the comic's few characters Goat is able to stand for any particular length of time. Zebra was the fourth main character to be introduced, as Pastis said in "Sgt. Piggy's Lonely Hearts Club Comic" that his original intent was for Zebra to be in a limited run. His popularity forced Pastis to include him full-time.
He lives next door to the Fraternity of Crocodiles, much to his dismay, as they are constantly trying (and failing) to eat him. His other neighbors are a pride of lions who he apparently has a better relationship with as the male lions usually warn him whenever Zebra is acting "weak" which marks him as an easy target for the Lions' wives. Before these predators moved next door to Zebra, he often tried to reason with them by mailing them letters either encouraging them to give up their predatory
lifestyles or berating them on the immorality of their actions. The lions, on the other hand, would usually give terse and stupid responses, sometimes taking the advice the wrong way and eating a Zebra.
He recently adopted a pet cat named Snuffles that the Crocs tried to use to kill him. Instead the cat liked Zebra (the Crocs think the cat has a secret plan). It's later revealed that, while not homicidal like the crocs, Snuffles does have a criminal side; selling nuclear weapon
s technology to Arab
countries, posing as a "deposed" Nigeria
n king for an e-mail
scam, selling stolen Rolex
watches on the street, acting as a mercenary
, and scalping tickets
for a San Francisco Giants
baseball
game are among his crimes over the strips run.
Not much is known about the surviving members of his family except for their names, with those usually being a relative of Pastis. He has a brother named Peter, nicknamed "Stumpy" after a crocodile ate his left leg, and a brother or sister who has one child, a girl named Joy in memory of Stephan Pastis's grandmother.
He often tries to stop predation, but his efforts usually fail miserably. He once came up with a plan to fool the lions by playing dead. This didn't work, as 99 of the 100 zebras that tried it were eaten (the one who succeeded "wasn't faking"). Another time, he tried getting zebras some "pope
mobiles", so they could travel safely. However, it worked too well, and they wouldn't leave, eventually dying of other causes and leaving little if any offspring. Zebra also tries reasoning with the lions and crocodiles, but they refuse to listen, often eating their would-be instructors.
On one occasion he organized the "Zebra/Lion/Croc Olympics", which took place in Athens
, Greece, like the real-life Olympics going on at the time. The Olympics failed, as the Crocs kept eating the Zebras and the Greeks were more interested in smoking cigarettes and drinking soda pop then building the stadiums, a reference to real-life construction delays that took place prior to the games.
. Reader reaction to Zebra eventually made Pastis decide to make Zebra a permanent character.
Goat has a particular dislike for and rivalry with Rat, whom he criticizes on a regular basis for his ego as well as his writings. Rat in turn makes fun of Goat for having a blog that no one reads and (on at least one occasion) ruins a date for Goat by hanging around him and annoying him.
where Goat travels home and visits his mother, she comments on how his name is never used in the comic strip he works in, and that his real name is Paris. This name was chosen as a tribute to Stephan Pastis's grandfather who died before Stephen's birth, Paris Tripodes. Goat replies that "Goat" is just a stage name
.
, but after the syndicates rejected the idea Pastis reworked the character into a goat.
, hired by Pig because the cost of a proper guard-dog was too high. Initially simply a violent, sociopathic duck, he later assumed a more militaristic personality, seeing the world as his battlefield. He often blows up the neighbors' property, often assuming he is at war and that the neighbors are the enemy. On one occasion, he actually did go to war, albeit as a mercenary in Rat's plan to topple Raul Castro (see above). He was fired after stealing a neighbor's inflatable pool, and then robbed a bank, escaping from prison. He appears to see Pig as his General
, often referring to him as "Sir". He has twice rescued Zebra from the Crocs, once by force, and once as Zebra's attorney
. He also served as mayor
of Albany, California
, obtaining the position after overthrowing the incumbent in a coup d'état
, until he was caught using the city police force to bug the offices of political opponents
and forced to resign in disgrace.
Guard Duck fell in love with a non-anthropomorphic duck named Maura, who flew away from him and failed to return for over a year. Guard Duck thought he'd lost her forever, due to his being unable to fly (having never learned how), but one day she returned to him. He resigned his "commission" shortly thereafter and traveled to Paris with Maura, who left him while there to work for Aflac
. He was reintroduced during a Fantastic Four
-parody storyline focusing of the crocs under the pseudonym of "The Waterfowler" (likely a reference to Batman
's nemesis The Penguin
).
The fraternity name is "Zeeba Zeeba Eata" (although one of them called it "Zeta, Zeta
, Epsilon" in their first appearance in a botched attempt to fool Zebra).
The male crocodiles often speak in broken English or improper grammar. In an e-mail to a fan, Pastis claimed, "My inspiration was probably from a Saturday Night Live skit that had Tarzan and Frankenstein trying to talk [to each other]." (The "language" would later be called "Croc-ese" by Pastis in a February 2009 strip.) When talking, they often say words in the phonetical style
, such as "nome" (gnome), "keel" (kill), "eediot" (idiot), "gud" (good), "woomun" (woman), "mouf" (mouth), "juss" (just), and "stoopid" (stupid). They also say "me" instead of "I', refer to themselves as "crockydiles", and omit the linking verbs. The Fraternity also writes this way (i.e., a valentine sent to Zebra reading "Hapy valeentine day, zeeba neighba! Me keel yu ded, Me eet yu hed"). They also speak in an unusual font: their dialogue is shown in crude, lower-cased letters (sometimes shown in capitals when they yell, scream or talk loudly) which is also used for the lions, toy Vikings and the Killer Whale, although they spoke normally. They often begin with their catch phrase
"Hullooo, zeeba neighba!". On one occasion, a croc tried to explain their accent. One of these crocs is Larry's young son Junior, who despite his father's idiocies is actually quite intelligent. The female crocodiles, Junior, and various "Smart Guy" crocodiles speak normally. In a 2010 strip, Larry claimed to have a speech impediment.
It should be noted that Junior actually thinks that killing wildlife is immoral and decided to become a vegetarian.
They believe they are hunting prey when they catch plastic flamingos, garden gnomes, or carved "tofu
cows
". The crocs usually need to go to the Safeway
supermarket
or order fast food
(one ordered pizza
every night for seven straight weeks; at least one croc has resorted to cannibalism
) to get food. Larry has been known to buy Kentucky Fried Chicken, often crossing out the brand logo and writing, "fres zeeba meet" to try to fool his wife. They often come up with harebrained plans to lure Zebra into their house, including toga parties
, swimming, and attempts to get into his house (one croc posed as a cable guy
). Rat has often taken advantage of their incompetence (Including by selling them tomato
seeds that he claims will produce Zebras). Their inability to catch prey is looked upon with shame by other crocodiles, especially their wives, girlfriends, and mothers. The main crocodile in the strip is "Larry". Other crocs include Bill, Biff, Bob, Floyd, Rick, Jerry (this and the one before it were seemingly named after Rick Kirkman
and Jerry Scott
, and both appeared in a story arc involving the characters of Baby Blues), Willie, Jojo, Fat Fred, Ted, Frank, Fred, Erik, Dan, Bert, Smart Guy Fred, Gary, Gus, Nick, Joe, Jimmy and Vern. Larry usually works with Bob, Floyd, or another crocodile. Larry is known as the Zebra's arch nemesis.
At least two of the crocs have girlfriends or are married (not to be confused with Larry's family); one croc had two children who were accidentally eaten by his wife, Debbie, after he slapped her on the back (she had opened her mouth to show Zebra that crocodiles hide their young in their mouths to hide them from other predators; Larry remarked that "Is okay. We make more"
).
In September 2007, the crocs finally did catch Zebra; Jeffy from The Family Circus
jumped into the crocs swamp, thinking it was a swimming pool, Zebra jumped in to save him, and the crocs got them both. Jeffy persuaded the crocs to release him (Zebra commented "I always liked Billy better") and Guard Duck scared the crocs away with a rocket launcher.
A recurring gag is the crocs' tendency to die, usually due to their own ineptitude; they have been shot, blown up, choked, eaten, stabbed with a speargun
, drowned, covered in cement
, suffocated, shredded, had a heart attack, wood chippered, hung, and killed in some way by other characters; often, it is a result of their own attempts to kill Zebra. Regarding how they always come back, it is unclear if they are many crocs with the same names, or come back to life a la Kenny McCormick
.
While Pastis had depicted various crocodiles in the strip as early as February 2002, these crocs were relatively competent and spoke normal English in a normal typeface. "Da Brudderhood of Zeeba Zeeba Eata" (to quote the title of Pastis' fifth book) were not introduced until January 3, 2005; they have since become the collective fifth "main character" of the strip.
-sporting wife Patty, and son Junior, are the most-frequently-depicted family of crocodiles in the strip. The family house neighbors that of Zebra, and, although Zebra's home is also neighbored, on another side, by the Zeeba Zeeba Eata house, they have little relation to the fraternity. Larry is, however, sometimes involved with the Zeeba Zeeba Eata's schemes to kill Zebra (several strips prior to Patty and Junior's existence portrayed ZZE members named "Larry").
Patty and Junior are far more intelligent than Larry, and Junior is a pacifist
and a vegetarian
. Junior, a studious young crocodile, is often frustrated by his father's stupidity, though he still loves him, similar to the relationship between Warner Bros.
character Sylvester the Cat and his son, Sylvester Jr.
. As if his son being a vegetarian wasn't enough, Junior has also been shown dating Zebra's niece, a Floridian
named Joy, after Pastis' grandmother, at one point even eloping with her and hiding out at Zebra's house.
Junior also tries to bring the Zebra and Crocodile families together from time to time. In one Christmas series, Junior, wanting to be with his girlfriend, ran away. He agreed to come back only when Patty and Larry said they would invite the Zebra family over for Christmas. At this point, Patty, who had previously found the idea appalling, caves in and tries to be a good hostess. Larry, however, is not so accepting, and the series ends with him biting off the Zebra uncle's leg.
It is unclear what Junior's age is. His vocabulary and the fact that he has entered a romantic relationship indicates that he would be at least a pre-teen. However, he also likes it when Larry reads him nursery rhymes and Sesame Street before bedtime, a characteristic that is identified with younger kids.
Larry made a cameo in the webcomic Kevin and Kell
on July 31, 2006 where he tried to apply for a job at Herd Thinners.
, much to the exasperation and shame of Larry. In fact, Junior often gets along with Zebra, and even is in a relationship with the Zebra's niece Joy.
Tragic Poem Thingie" or "A Big Fat Tale 'O Woe".
In every story, Angry Bob becomes frustrated with his life, usually stating that he is either angry or sad, or both. During the course of the story Bob will decide to try to do something about it, and more often than not succeeds. However, as is the case in nearly every Angry Bob story, something goes wrong and Bob meets a horrible and gruesome death at the end, often shot
or crushed.
Pearls Before Swine (comic strip)
Pearls Before Swine is an American comic strip written and illustrated by Stephan Pastis, who was formerly a lawyer in San Francisco, California. It chronicles the daily lives of four anthropomorphic animals, Pig, Rat, Zebra, and Goat, as well as a number of supporting characters...
by Stephan Pastis
Stephan Pastis
Stephan Thomas Pastis is an American cartoonist and the creator of the comic strip Pearls Before Swine.-Background:...
.
Personality
Frank Lloyd Rat, always referred to by his surname, is a megalomaniacal ratRat
Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents of the superfamily Muroidea. "True rats" are members of the genus Rattus, the most important of which to humans are the black rat, Rattus rattus, and the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus...
, who is frequently critical of the strip's style and artwork, as well as the other characters in his and other strips, real life people, and almost all living (and often nonliving) things. He believes himself to be much more intelligent than he actually is, and thinks more or less anybody else is stupid. He tends to irritate people, particularly his intelligent friend Goat, and is easily irritated by his naïve, dim-witted housemate Pig. Rat believes himself to be the wisdom of the strip, if not wisdom itself, and that anybody else is more or less dumb, whereas most other characters view him as "a loudmouth, pompous malcontent". He may or may not be a personification of the Seven Deadly Sins
Seven deadly sins
The 7 Deadly Sins, also known as the Capital Vices or Cardinal Sins, is a classification of objectionable vices that have been used since early Christian times to educate and instruct followers concerning fallen humanity's tendency to sin...
.
Rat is very prideful and arrogant (he once made a list of all the genius
Genius
Genius is something or someone embodying exceptional intellectual ability, creativity, or originality, typically to a degree that is associated with the achievement of unprecedented insight....
es in the world that only said "Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
, da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...
, Me", and then said that he only put 'that music dude' there to be nice), and is constantly dreaming up schemes that invariably would keep him away from anyone and everyone else, though these inevitably backfire. He often appears incapable of seeing his own faults.
Rat is also a con artist, as he is often taking up professions he knows almost nothing about and charging people a lot of money, often insulting or confusing his customers, co-workers and boss in the process. He is often self-employed, using his jobs to trick vain, unintelligent people into either giving him money or making them do things for him. In one instance, he even started a big controversy over a bogus weight-loss scheme he created, involving the starvation
Starvation
Starvation is a severe deficiency in caloric energy, nutrient and vitamin intake. It is the most extreme form of malnutrition. In humans, prolonged starvation can cause permanent organ damage and eventually, death...
of obese people, that wound up on the Senate floor. At times, other companies make the mistake of hiring him, in which case Rat is usually rude to his customers and employers.
In the comic's history, Rat has hosted several jobs for varying lengths of time. Some of them include a marriage counselor, a book store information guide, a Feng Shui
Feng shui
Feng shui ' is a Chinese system of geomancy believed to use the laws of both Heaven and Earth to help one improve life by receiving positive qi. The original designation for the discipline is Kan Yu ....
expert, a telemarketer, a supermarket cashier, a reporter for the New York Times, where he is allowed to make everything up (Pastis has said this was inspired by the Jayson Blair
Jayson Blair
Jayson Blair is an American reporter formerly with The New York Times. He resigned from the newspaper in May 2003 in the wake of the discovery of plagiarism and fabrication in his stories. Since 2007 he has worked as a life coach in the field of mental health.-Background:Blair was born in...
scandal), a pizza
Pizza
Pizza is an oven-baked, flat, disc-shaped bread typically topped with a tomato sauce, cheese and various toppings.Originating in Italy, from the Neapolitan cuisine, the dish has become popular in many parts of the world. An establishment that makes and sells pizzas is called a "pizzeria"...
parlor manager, a pet
Domestication
Domestication or taming is the process whereby a population of animals or plants, through a process of selection, becomes accustomed to human provision and control. In the Convention on Biological Diversity a domesticated species is defined as a 'species in which the evolutionary process has been...
psychic
Psychic
A psychic is a person who professes an ability to perceive information hidden from the normal senses through extrasensory perception , or is said by others to have such abilities. It is also used to describe theatrical performers who use techniques such as prestidigitation, cold reading, and hot...
, a stockbroker, a life coach, a talk radio
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
host, an oil
Oil
An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....
company CEO, a barista
Barista
A barista is a person, usually a coffee-house employee, who prepares and serves espresso-based coffee drinks.- Application of the title :...
at a coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
shop, a supermarket tabloid manager, a Lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, a cartoonist, a perennial candidate
Perennial candidate
A perennial candidate is one who frequently runs for public office with a record of success that is infrequent, if existent at all. Perennial candidates are often either members of minority political parties or have political opinions that are not mainstream. They may run without any serious hope...
, and a hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
concierge among others. Much about his family is unknown, but he did telephone his mother in one strip, and we know that his father was killed
Homicide
Homicide refers to the act of a human killing another human. Murder, for example, is a type of homicide. It can also describe a person who has committed such an act, though this use is rare in modern English...
by a circus
Circus
A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...
clown
Clown
Clowns are comic performers stereotypically characterized by the grotesque image of the circus clown's colored wigs, stylistic makeup, outlandish costumes, unusually large footwear, and red nose, which evolved to project their actions to large audiences. Other less grotesque styles have also...
for an unknown reason.
Despite the partial success of many of his get-rich-quick schemes, he constantly claims to be poor, although it is quite possible that he always squanders or otherwise loses the money. Despite this, he has enough money to get by in life (although it is possible his housemate, Pig, chips in to help him), and he often does things that would require large amounts of money, such as purchasing nuclear missiles from Russia.
He has been known to collect people in whom he sees a severe flaw in their driving, lifestyle, or other personality aspects, and place them in an area whose name corresponds with their supposed imperfection (collectively referred to as "Box O' Stupid People", they have also been known as "Cubicle O' Shame", "Pit O' Useless Blowhards, etc.). Strips featuring this invariably feature another character (usually Pig) objecting, only to wind up in the "box" himself.
He has also made various forays into the world of literature, and Sunday strips often depict him typing novels. These novels usually are about a character called Angry Bob, who, in every book, finds true happiness, followed by an untimely death. Rat also has a comic strip, Dickie the Cockroach, about a cockroach who ties people up and slaps duct tape over the mouths of people who say stupid things (he did this to the titular character of the comic strip Cathy
Cathy (comic strip)
Cathy was a comic strip drawn by Cathy Guisewite. It featured a woman who struggled through the "four basic guilt groups" of life — food, love, mom, and work — the strip gently poked fun at the lives and foibles of modern women. Cathy's characteristics and issues both made fun of and...
); he is seemingly oblivious to the fact that no one reads it. Recently he has begun writing children's books, starring the character Danny Donkey (Rat even made a doll of Danny who mysteriously came alive (similar to Hobbes
Hobbes (Calvin and Hobbes)
Hobbes is a character in the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson. He is Calvin's stuffed tiger, and is depicted with two distinct identities.-Hobbes Personality:...
of Calvin and Hobbes
Calvin and Hobbes
Calvin and Hobbes is a syndicated daily comic strip that was written and illustrated by American cartoonist Bill Watterson, and syndicated from November 18, 1985, to December 31, 1995. It follows the humorous antics of Calvin, a precocious and adventurous six-year-old boy, and Hobbes, his...
) and robbed a liquor store
Theft
In common usage, theft is the illegal taking of another person's property without that person's permission or consent. The word is also used as an informal shorthand term for some crimes against property, such as burglary, embezzlement, larceny, looting, robbery, shoplifting and fraud...
(ironically, this occurred right after Pig commented that another strip should do this)). He has made references to poetry many times too, although he has almost never written a poem himself (except for rhymes that he used to put in postcards, who turned out to be almost always rather insulting to the postcard's owner), and also wrote things for peoples gravestones that were very insulting to the dead person, i.e. "He lived, he died. We barely cried." He once said that the key to writing great poetry is making your work so obscure that "no one can understand you, much less criticize you". He once wrote the following free verse poem: "Atop the fog the Zebra's buttocks angry at my mother's sloth".
While Rat is often cold-hearted or mean to his housemate Pig, he has been shown to be kind at times, saying nice things to him (although quickly covering it up with his usual attitude). He sometimes lies to Pig to spare his feelings, although not very often. It has also been revealed that Rat has a soft spot for Pig's sister, Farina, a germaphobe who lives in an air-filtered bubble. She, however, had on-and-off feelings about Rat, often breaking Rat's heart and dating other characters. This has proven to be one of the few things that can destroy his giant ego.
He is also quite materialistic
Materialism
In philosophy, the theory of materialism holds that the only thing that exists is matter; that all things are composed of material and all phenomena are the result of material interactions. In other words, matter is the only substance...
in his likes; he has said that the American Dream
American Dream
The American Dream is a national ethos of the United States in which freedom includes a promise of the possibility of prosperity and success. In the definition of the American Dream by James Truslow Adams in 1931, "life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each...
is to have a video store on every block, enjoys pornography
Pornography
Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
and slasher film
Slasher film
A slasher film is a type of horror film typically involving a psychopathic killer stalking and killing a sequence of victims in a graphically violent manner, often with a cutting tool such as a knife or axe...
s, and his philosophies tend to say that we're all doomed and that there is no moral law.
He is also seen criticizing the quality of other comic strips, particularly older ones or those aimed at a specific group (the more sympathetic Pig often states his admiration for these same strips). For this reason, he and the other characters were banned from the 75th anniversary of Blondie
Blondie (comic strip)
Blondie is an American comic strip created by cartoonist Chic Young. Distributed by King Features Syndicate, the strip has been published in newspapers since September 8, 1930...
. He sometimes even goes into the "real world" and complains to the strips writer, Stephen Pastis directly. Rat once mentioned that another reason the funnies are "unfunny" is because the censorship code hasn't been updated since the 1950s, meaning they can't do things commonly seen on prime time television for various reasons (Pastis has written that Rat's penchant for criticizing the funnies has made Pearls the target of complaints from other cartoonists). He explains that some comic strips, such as The Far Side
The Far Side
The Far Side is a popular single-panel comic created by Gary Larson and syndicated by Universal Press Syndicate, which ran from January 1, 1980, to January 1, 1995. Its surrealistic humor is often based on uncomfortable social situations, improbable events, an anthropomorphic view of the world,...
and Calvin and Hobbes, were genuinely funny, but the writers retired, because they had the good sense to not let their features grow stale and let new cartoonists make their livings. Unfortunately, most of the new writers follow in the footsteps of the very comics Rat states as the root of the problem, so the funnies are trapped in a vicious cycle.
According to the January 2, 2011 strip, Rat is a fan of and bets on the Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
.
Religion
Rat's religionReligion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
is disputable. He is friends with Satan
Satan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
, but has also stated at least once that he would likely be much more religious if it "weren't for all that 'love thy neighbor' stuff", as he hates his neighbors (this caused Goat to comment that [his] soul
Soul
A soul in certain spiritual, philosophical, and psychological traditions is the incorporeal essence of a person or living thing or object. Many philosophical and spiritual systems teach that humans have souls, and others teach that all living things and even inanimate objects have souls. The...
is so dark it smudges [his own], after which Rat said: "Maybe I could love YOUR neighbors. I don't even have to SEE them"). He was once seen at the "Church of the Amazing Grace
Amazing Grace
"Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn with words written by the English poet and clergyman John Newton , published in 1779. With a message that forgiveness and redemption are possible regardless of the sins people commit and that the soul can be delivered from despair through the mercy of God,...
Annual festival". Rat has "invented" several new types of philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
/religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
over the strips run, a few of which include "Unthinkology", "Mulliganology", and "Cheezepuffology". He explains "Unthinkology" as "The belief that thinking causes pain... hence, one must cease all thinking." He explains "Mulliganology" as "In golf, when you screw up on a shot, you say 'Mulligan', and you get to take it over again. A Mulliganologist applies this purpose to all tenets of life". He explains "Cheezepuffology" as "The fundamental tenet is that nothing you dream ever comes true, so you might as well live in front of your television and scarf cheeze-puffs."
Politics
Rat has made multiple sojourns into politics. In 2003, he ran forJohn Ashcroft
John David Ashcroft is a United States politician who served as the 79th United States Attorney General, from 2001 until 2005, appointed by President George W. Bush. Ashcroft previously served as the 50th Governor of Missouri and a U.S...
City Council
City council
A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...
against a deceased opponent, faking his own death to even up the polls, and, after that plan backfired, advocating the invasion
Invasion
An invasion is a military offensive consisting of all, or large parts of the armed forces of one geopolitical entity aggressively entering territory controlled by another such entity, generally with the objective of either conquering, liberating or re-establishing control or authority over a...
and occupation of Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. He only received one vote, with even he himself voting for his opponent (Pig "had a little trouble with the
United States presidential election in Florida, 2000
The 2000 United States presidential election in Florida took place on November 7, 2000 as it did in the other 49 states and D.C., which was part of the 2000 United States presidential election...
butterfly ballot"). In 2004, he ran for president
United States presidential election, 2004
The United States presidential election of 2004 was the United States' 55th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2004. Republican Party candidate and incumbent President George W. Bush defeated Democratic Party candidate John Kerry, the then-junior U.S. Senator...
as an Independent
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
(joining the race 10 days prior to the election after being incorrectly informed by Pig that it was in six months). During this campaign, he appeared on Meet the Press
Meet the Press
Meet the Press is a weekly American television news/interview program produced by NBC. It is the longest-running television series in American broadcasting history, despite bearing little resemblance to the original format of the program seen in its television debut on November 6, 1947. It has been...
, where he voiced support for the wars in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
and Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, but said he would remove all troops in order to invade France. He also criticized Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader is an American political activist, as well as an author, lecturer, and attorney. Areas of particular concern to Nader include consumer protection, humanitarianism, environmentalism, and democratic government....
for his book Unsafe At Any Speed
Unsafe at Any Speed
Unsafe at Any Speed: The Designed-In Dangers of the American Automobile by Ralph Nader, published in 1965, is a book detailing resistance by car manufacturers to the introduction of safety features, like seat belts, and their general reluctance to spend money on improving safety...
and John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
for his first name. In 2006, he ran for mayor against Jojo the Crocodile in an election that was moot
Wiktionary
Wiktionary is a multilingual, web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in 158 languages...
as Duck staged an election day coup d'état
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
. During these campaigns (and several other times), he voiced extremist conservative opinions (whether or not this was ever direct commentary on Pastis' part is a matter of debate, though he has implied liberal politics in the past). On the other hand, he has voiced anti-capitalist and even revolutionary socialist
Revolutionary socialism
The term revolutionary socialism refers to Socialist tendencies that advocate the need for fundamental social change through revolution by mass movements of the working class, as a strategy to achieve a socialist society...
beliefs during his employment at Joe's Rostery and called George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
a "[bleeping] fool" during a visit to The Boondocks, although these may have been more intended to spite his boss and suck up to known leftist Huey Freeman
Huey Freeman
Huey Freeman is a fictional character of The Boondocks syndicated comic strip written by Aaron McGruder, as well as the main character and recurrent principal narrator of the animated TV series of the same name...
, respectively, than to express his actual views.
During one series of three strips, he was known as "Johnny on Top, Folk Singer
Folk Singer
Folk Singer is a 1964 album by Muddy Waters. Waters plays acoustic guitar, backed by Willie Dixon on string bass, Clifton James on drums, and Buddy Guy on acoustic guitar...
Singer For the Far Right
Far right
Far-right, extreme right, hard right, radical right, and ultra-right are terms used to discuss the qualitative or quantitative position a group or person occupies within right-wing politics. Far-right politics may involve anti-immigration and anti-integration stances towards groups that are...
", an extreme right-wing folk singer intended as a counterweight to other politically liberal/leftist folk singers. He wrote three songs; "Shoot the Hippie
Hippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
out of the Redwood Tree", "If You're not White, and You Talk Funny, We'll Drop Bombs Right on Your Bunny" (because camel
Camel
A camel is an even-toed ungulate within the genus Camelus, bearing distinctive fatty deposits known as humps on its back. There are two species of camels: the dromedary or Arabian camel has a single hump, and the bactrian has two humps. Dromedaries are native to the dry desert areas of West Asia,...
didn't rhyme) and a pro oil spill song titled "Maybe Your Ducky Likes Swimming in Mucky". He has also been known as "Blind Bobby Z, Blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
Singer for the Rich and Uptrodden" (also known as "Blind Jimmy Windthrop") for three strips, singing songs about taxation and Nordstroms. His only known song was "My Capital Gains Are Blowin' Away In The Wind".
During a two-week series containing nine strips, he attempted to buy a rifle from "Walmartopialand Guns"
Gun politics in the United States
Gun politics in the United States refers to an ongoing political and social debate regarding both the restriction and availability of firearms within the United States. It has long been among the most controversial and intractable issues in American politics...
to "pop his neighbor in the
Gun violence
Gun violence defined literally means the use of a firearm to threaten or inflict violence or harm. Gun violence may be broadly defined as a category of violence and crime committed with the use of a firearm; it may or may not include actions ruled as self-defense, actions for law enforcement, or...
rear
Buttocks
The buttocks are two rounded portions of the anatomy, located on the posterior of the pelvic region of apes and humans, and many other bipeds or quadrupeds, and comprise a layer of fat superimposed on the gluteus maximus and gluteus medius muscles. Physiologically, the buttocks enable weight to...
". When the gun dealer refused to sell, he accused him of being a far left
Far left
Far left, also known as the revolutionary left, radical left and extreme left are terms which refer to the highest degree of leftist positions among left-wing politics...
radical, going to the extent of calling him a "Dennis Kucinich
Dennis Kucinich
Dennis John Kucinich is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1997. He was furthermore a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in the 2004 and 2008 presidential elections....
-loving liberal" and "Hanoi Jane
Jane Fonda
Jane Fonda is an American actress, writer, political activist, former fashion model, and fitness guru. She rose to fame in the 1960s with films such as Barbarella and Cat Ballou. She has won two Academy Awards and received several other movie awards and nominations during more than 50 years as an...
", unlikely scenarios among gun shop employees.
In 2008, he donned the name "El Jefe, The Cuban Evenger" and sent the Guard Duck and Snuffles the cat as mercenaries to topple the Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
n dictatorship
Dictatorship
A dictatorship is defined as an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by an individual, the dictator. It has three possible meanings:...
of Raul Castro
Raúl Castro
Raúl Modesto Castro Ruz is a Cuban politician and revolutionary who has been President of the Council of State of Cuba and the President of the Council of Ministers of Cuba since 2008; he previously exercised presidential powers in an acting capacity from 2006 to 2008...
. This failed, as the two landed in Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
and were arrested for shooting a police officer
Police officer
A police officer is a warranted employee of a police force...
, though the Guard Duck claimed that he had shot the sherrif but had not shot a police officer
I Shot the Sheriff
"I Shot the Sheriff" is a song written by Bob Marley, told from the point of view of a man who admits to having killed the local sheriff, but claims to be falsely accused of having killed the deputy sheriff. He also claims to have acted in self defense when the sheriff tried to shoot him. The...
.
He has on three occasions testified before the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
; the first time on the "growing pet psychic
Pet psychic
A pet psychic, animal communicator, or pet whisperer is a person who claims to be able to communicate psychically with animals. Some pet psychics claim to be able to communicate with long-dead animals, while others are more like animal communicators or animal psychologists...
scandal (where he pretended to read the Congressmen's minds, predicting them all saying (apparently correctly) "Fundraising and sex with [their] intern), testified at hearings on his "Box Me In!" weight loss program where he sparred with Teddy Kennedy (see above), and more recently attempted with the title character of Dennis the Menace
Dennis the Menace (U.S.)
Dennis the Menace is a daily syndicated newspaper comic strip originally created, written and illustrated by Hank Ketcham. It debuted on March 12, 1951 in 16 newspapers and was originally distributed by Post-Hall Syndicate...
(unsuccessfully) to get Congressional bailout money
First 100 days of Barack Obama's presidency
The first 100 days of Barack Obama's presidency began with his inauguration on January 20, 2009 as the 44th President of the United States. The first 100 days of a presidential term took on symbolic significance during Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration, and the period is considered a benchmark...
for comic strips.
Literature
Rat has also repeatedly forayed into literature, and Sunday strips often show him writing novels, often while drinking. His main character is Angry Bob (see below). In addition to Danny Donkey, mentioned above, he has also written Killing Zeebas for Dummies: A Step-By-Step Guide, which he marketed to the crocs, as well as multiple unnamed romance novelRomance novel
The romance novel is a literary genre developed in Western culture, mainly in English-speaking countries. Novels in this genre place their primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and must have an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending." Through the late...
s, Elly Elephant (a helpful elephant
Elephant
Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
who sometimes kills people who do not return her many favors), at least two books focusing on a private investigator
Private investigator
A private investigator , private detective or inquiry agent, is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private detectives/investigators often work for attorneys in civil cases. Many work for insurance companies to investigate suspicious claims...
named "Detective Bob", and a short story
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
focusing on Zorro
Zorro
Zorro is a fictional character created in 1919 by New York-based pulp writer Johnston McCulley. The character has been featured in numerous books, films, television series, and other media....
's brother, "Orro." He has also written a comic strip entitled Dickie the Cockroach, and briefly a rip-off of Dilbert entitled Bildert.
Death
Rat has died twice in this strip and was near death a third time. The first of these occasions, occurring in 2002, saw Rat ascend to HeavenHeaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
, only to be turned away by St. Peter, after being hit by a car (while he was coma
Coma
In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...
tose in a hospital). Rat's first official death came in 2005 when, after being encouraged to smile more, his body exploded from the stress (although he'd return one week later). His second official death came in July 2008 as he suffered a heart attack from overstimulation related to the death of Stephan Pastis
Stephan Pastis
Stephan Thomas Pastis is an American cartoonist and the creator of the comic strip Pearls Before Swine.-Background:...
in the strip one day before, but both he and Pastis were returned to Earth later that week at the intervention of United Feature Syndicate.
History
Stephan PastisStephan Pastis
Stephan Thomas Pastis is an American cartoonist and the creator of the comic strip Pearls Before Swine.-Background:...
, the strip's author and formerly a lawyer, started drawing Rat in law school, often killing him off for the sake of humor. He would often doodle Rat in classes while bored, and in his early stages Rat was more of a depressed, philosophical character as opposed to the cynical egomaniac he is today. Naturally, Pastis titled his doodled strips Rat after his title character.
Later, as he began attempting to get syndicated, Pastis added a second character as Rat's companion. This resulted in the creation of Poe, an amorphous blob that resembled nothing. However, Rat was deemed too depressing by newspapers and Pastis stopped drawing the strip.
Rat was later put into another one of Pastis' comics, Bradbury Road, which was also rejected.
Bradbury Road is the story of Gus, a ten year old boy who is befriended by Rat, a cynical rodent who gnaws his way through the wall into Gus' room. Gus, the child of divorced parents, lives with his mother and very rarely sees his father. Reserved and slightly awkward, he spends a lot of time in his own room. For those times when Gus is not around, Rat talks with Jingles, a stuffed, court jester doll that lives on a shelf in the boy's room.
After some rejection, Pastis eventually wrote Pearls Before Swine, which was an attempt to revive Rat with a less depressing tone. Poe was replaced by Pig, and began syndication by United Media
United Media
United Media is a large editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States, owned by The E.W. Scripps Company. It syndicates 150 comics and editorial columns worldwide. Its core business is the United Feature Syndicate and the Newspaper Enterprise Association...
on December 31, 2001.
Personality
Pig is a good-natured pig. He believes that there is good in every being, even his cynical housemate Rat. As well as somehow being friends with Rat (despite Rat's constant abuse), he also frequently is seen talking with Zebra and Goat.Pig is very dimwitted and naïve (he reads Sky Mall
Sky Mall
Sky Mall is a specialty publishing firm headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. SkyMall produces a quarterly in-flight publication, SkyMall, with an annual circulation of approximately 20 million copies distributed in airplane seat pockets...
to keep up with the War in Iraq), often being beaten up by Rat after trying to have a serious conversation with him, only to say something unrelated (i.e. Euthanasia
Euthanasia
Euthanasia refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering....
being confused for "Youth in Asia" or "Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince is the capital and largest city of the Caribbean nation of Haiti. The city's population was 704,776 as of the 2003 census, and was officially estimated to have reached 897,859 in 2009....
being confused with Port-a-Potty). Pig is usually oblivious to how cruel Rat often is.
Pig also has a knack for making friends with inanimate objects, mostly food (who are almost always eaten by the selfish Rat). In certain instances, Pig makes clubs with these friends, like "The Fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
Buddies" and "The Bait Club". He also dated "Ms. Bootyworth" for a week.
Pig will often misunderstand an expression
Emotional expression
In psychology, emotional expression is observable verbal and nonverbal behaviour that communicates emotion. Emotional expression can occur with or without self-awareness...
or figure of speech
Figure of speech
A figure of speech is the use of a word or words diverging from its usual meaning. It can also be a special repetition, arrangement or omission of words with literal meaning, or a phrase with a specialized meaning not based on the literal meaning of the words in it, as in idiom, metaphor, simile,...
and apply it literally, with humorous results. He has also been known to use such terms literally in a context where he is misunderstood, often getting beaten up by someone who he does not realized he has offended. Unlike Rat, who is constantly criticizing other comic strips, Pig has occasionally been seen praising other comics, such as Mutts
Mutts
Mutts is a daily comic strip created by Patrick McDonnell in 1994 based on the day-to-day adventures of two house pets: a dog named Earl and a cat named Mooch. Earl and Mooch interact with each other, their human owners and a large cast of neighborhood animals.Charles M...
.
Pig, when on a date, is most likely seen with Pigita, but earlier in the strip, he can be seen with other pigs. Pigita, like many people, is irritated by Pig's stupidity. She also has dramatic mood swings possibly resulting from bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder or bipolar affective disorder, historically known as manic–depressive disorder, is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a category of mood disorders defined by the presence of one or more episodes of abnormally elevated energy levels, cognition, and mood with or without one or...
, though these happen far less frequently in recent strips. Pig has also married a lamb named Sweet Fanny, his biggest fan. Unfourtnly,she was killed by officer Potus.
In one strip, he said his favorite TV show was The Office
The Office (UK TV series)
The Office is a British sitcom television series that was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 9 July 2001. Created, written, and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the programme is about the day-to-day lives of office employees in the Slough branch of the fictitious...
. He has also mentioned liking the Care Bears
Care Bears
The Care Bears are characters created by American Greetings in 1981 for use on greeting cards. The original artwork for the cards was painted by artist Elena Kucharik. In 1983, Kenner turned the Care Bears into plush teddy bears...
and Happy Days
Happy Days
Happy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984, on ABC. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in mid-1950s to mid-1960s America....
and often says his favorite comic strip is Blondie
Blondie (comic strip)
Blondie is an American comic strip created by cartoonist Chic Young. Distributed by King Features Syndicate, the strip has been published in newspapers since September 8, 1930...
(although this at least once was "altered dialogue" being used as evidence to try to let the "Pearls" cast into the Blondie 75th Anniversary, which they had been banned from). Rat has referenced Pig's "point of reference" as Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner.
He also appears to know more about the people in the neighborhood than Rat does, for example when Rat bragged about knowing things about strangers and celebrities but couldn't identify the man who walked past, Pig identified him as Bob, their next-door neighbor for the last eleven years. In one strip, he mentioned going to "Father Nick's" funeral. When he told Rat (who didn't know who Father Nick was) that Nick had been their priest since 1979, Rat said "Maybe I've missed a [mass] or two".
He frequently writes letters to well-known real-life people, usually foreign authority figures at odds with the United States like Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
or Kim Jong-Ill concerning rather unimportant things like image; while Rat constantly berates him for doing this, the people they are sent to have been shown to care about what he says, occasionally crying when he criticizes them. He also makes massive donations to Rainbow/PUSH
Rainbow/PUSH
Rainbow/PUSH is a non-profit organization formed as a merger of two non-profit organizations — Operation PUSH and the National Rainbow Coalition — founded by Jesse Jackson. The organizations pursue social justice, civil rights and political activism.In December 1971, Jackson resigned from...
, misunderstanding Jesse Jackson
Jesse Jackson
Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr. is an African-American civil rights activist and Baptist minister. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as shadow senator for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997. He was the founder of both entities that merged to...
's slogan of "keep hope alive" and thinking the money will be used to afford medical treatment for Bob Hope
Bob Hope
Bob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...
. [Note that when this strip ran, Hope was still alive].
He likes football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
and has tried to play at least twice in the strip, with poor results: The first time, he tried to play touch football
Touch football (American)
Touch football is a variant of American football in which the basic rules are similar to those of the mainstream game , but instead of tackling players to the ground, the person carrying the ball need only be touched by a member of the opposite team to end a down...
, but the two teams, having picked everyone else, started picking inanimate street neighborhood objects, deceased
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
people, and even types of wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
over him; the second time, he ran into the wall and wrecked the "print registration", messing up the strip's artwork.
Not much is known about Pig's family, although Pig writes letters to his mother occasionally, and she writes back with indifference, if not rudeness, to him. Pig's mother's first appearance in Pearls, where she is actually seen, was on June 25, 2005 when she tried to get Pig out of a tree he was climbing. Pig was born in a liter of seven piglets, one of whom is his sister Farina who had a brief relationship with Rat. Pig is also a cannibal (since he eats corn dogs and BLT sandwich
BLT sandwich
A BLT is a type of bacon sandwich. The standard BLT is made up of five ingredients: bacon, lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, and bread. The five ingredients can be altered according to preference; for example, the bread can be toasted and the mayonnaise home-made...
es) but is somewhat oblivious to this fact. He can sometimes name the dead relative he is eating. The May 25, 2003 strip revealed that he lost a relative in the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
.
Pig also had a rushed marriage with Pearls fan Fanny, a sheep that had been stalking him for a while. However, Officer Potus unwittingly crushed her to death while helping Zebra shut down Rat's restaurant McZeeba's for serving zebra meat, thus rendering him a widower.
History
Pig's beginnings lie in The Infirm, a third attempt by Pastis to get syndicated. In this strip, Pastis centered the story around a lawyer named Bob Grossman who screwed up a lawsuit brought by a sausage company and was forced to work at the farm the sausage company owned until he made up the difference. Grossman worked with pigs, one of whom told him he was "screwed" because the farmer was only paying minimum wage.Although The Infirm was rejected, Pastis liked the pig characters so much that he eventually simplified the artwork and one became known simply as "Pig" in the first Pearls strips Pastis sent to the syndicators. In fact, it was Pig's addition to the strip that caused it to be known as Pearls Before Swine- Rat would consistently be imparting his "pearls of wisdom" on Pig only to have it fall on deaf ears. (Pastis also said this was a play on a Biblical verse, part of which reads "neither cast ye pearls before swine".)
Personality
Zebra is a supportive and caring zebraZebra
Zebras are several species of African equids united by their distinctive black and white stripes. Their stripes come in different patterns unique to each individual. They are generally social animals that live in small harems to large herds...
, who is often seen either writing to his predators or talking about recent deaths. He thinks it is a large problem and tries to promote peace and understanding between species. He is seen mainly around Pig or Rat, but also occasionally hangs out with Goat, being one of the comic's few characters Goat is able to stand for any particular length of time. Zebra was the fourth main character to be introduced, as Pastis said in "Sgt. Piggy's Lonely Hearts Club Comic" that his original intent was for Zebra to be in a limited run. His popularity forced Pastis to include him full-time.
He lives next door to the Fraternity of Crocodiles, much to his dismay, as they are constantly trying (and failing) to eat him. His other neighbors are a pride of lions who he apparently has a better relationship with as the male lions usually warn him whenever Zebra is acting "weak" which marks him as an easy target for the Lions' wives. Before these predators moved next door to Zebra, he often tried to reason with them by mailing them letters either encouraging them to give up their predatory
Predation
In ecology, predation describes a biological interaction where a predator feeds on its prey . Predators may or may not kill their prey prior to feeding on them, but the act of predation always results in the death of its prey and the eventual absorption of the prey's tissue through consumption...
lifestyles or berating them on the immorality of their actions. The lions, on the other hand, would usually give terse and stupid responses, sometimes taking the advice the wrong way and eating a Zebra.
He recently adopted a pet cat named Snuffles that the Crocs tried to use to kill him. Instead the cat liked Zebra (the Crocs think the cat has a secret plan). It's later revealed that, while not homicidal like the crocs, Snuffles does have a criminal side; selling nuclear weapon
Nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
s technology to Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
countries, posing as a "deposed" Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
n king for an e-mail
E-mail
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
scam, selling stolen Rolex
Rolex
Rolex SA is a Swiss watchmaking manufacturer of high-quality, luxury wristwatches. Rolex watches are popularly regarded as status symbols and BusinessWeek magazine ranks Rolex No.71 on its 2007 annual list of the 100 most valuable global brands...
watches on the street, acting as a mercenary
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
, and scalping tickets
Ticket resale
Ticket resale is the act of reselling tickets for admission to events. Tickets are bought from licensed sellers and are then sold for a price determined by the individual or company in possession of the tickets. Tickets sold through secondary sources may be sold for less or more than their face...
for a San Francisco Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
game are among his crimes over the strips run.
Not much is known about the surviving members of his family except for their names, with those usually being a relative of Pastis. He has a brother named Peter, nicknamed "Stumpy" after a crocodile ate his left leg, and a brother or sister who has one child, a girl named Joy in memory of Stephan Pastis's grandmother.
He often tries to stop predation, but his efforts usually fail miserably. He once came up with a plan to fool the lions by playing dead. This didn't work, as 99 of the 100 zebras that tried it were eaten (the one who succeeded "wasn't faking"). Another time, he tried getting zebras some "pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
mobiles", so they could travel safely. However, it worked too well, and they wouldn't leave, eventually dying of other causes and leaving little if any offspring. Zebra also tries reasoning with the lions and crocodiles, but they refuse to listen, often eating their would-be instructors.
On one occasion he organized the "Zebra/Lion/Croc Olympics", which took place in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, Greece, like the real-life Olympics going on at the time. The Olympics failed, as the Crocs kept eating the Zebras and the Greeks were more interested in smoking cigarettes and drinking soda pop then building the stadiums, a reference to real-life construction delays that took place prior to the games.
History
Zebra debuted in the February 4, 2002 strip and was only scheduled to be a limited run character. His debut saw him trying to sell cookies to Rat and Pig to raise money to help save his herd, but Rat declined due to not wanting to mess with natural selectionNatural selection
Natural selection is the nonrandom process by which biologic traits become either more or less common in a population as a function of differential reproduction of their bearers. It is a key mechanism of evolution....
. Reader reaction to Zebra eventually made Pastis decide to make Zebra a permanent character.
Personality
Goat is intelligent and literate. Like Pig, he is well-meaning and tries to be kind; like Rat he is arrogant and easily irritated, which is often his stumbling block when dealing with characters other than Zebra. He has a hard time putting up with Rat's ego and Pig's stupidity. He willingly interacts with Zebra, but usually tries his hardest to keep away from the other characters. He likes to read, and would rather read than hang out with anyone else. He is described on the Pearls website as "the voice of reason that often goes unheard", referring to his level-headedness, compared to the other characters.Goat has a particular dislike for and rivalry with Rat, whom he criticizes on a regular basis for his ego as well as his writings. Rat in turn makes fun of Goat for having a blog that no one reads and (on at least one occasion) ruins a date for Goat by hanging around him and annoying him.
Name
As with most of other animal characters in the strip, Goat is only referred to by the noun as a name. However, in an arcStory arc
A story arc is an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, boardgames, video games, and in some cases, films. On a television program, for example, the story would unfold over many episodes. In television, the use of the story...
where Goat travels home and visits his mother, she comments on how his name is never used in the comic strip he works in, and that his real name is Paris. This name was chosen as a tribute to Stephan Pastis's grandfather who died before Stephen's birth, Paris Tripodes. Goat replies that "Goat" is just a stage name
Stage name
A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...
.
History
Goat was the third main character to debut in the strip and was the first of two conceived specifically for Pearls (as opposed to Rat and Pig, who as noted appeared in Pastis' rejected strips). He was originally supposed to be a bearBear
Bears are mammals of the family Ursidae. Bears are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans, with the pinnipeds being their closest living relatives. Although there are only eight living species of bear, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Northern...
, but after the syndicates rejected the idea Pastis reworked the character into a goat.
Trivia
- On the cover of the Pearls Before SwinePearls Before Swine (comic strip)Pearls Before Swine is an American comic strip written and illustrated by Stephan Pastis, who was formerly a lawyer in San Francisco, California. It chronicles the daily lives of four anthropomorphic animals, Pig, Rat, Zebra, and Goat, as well as a number of supporting characters...
comic strip treasury "The Crass Menagerie" Goat is seen seated on the right reading the book God Bless You, Mr. RosewaterGod Bless You, Mr. RosewaterGod Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, or Pearls Before Swine, is a novel written by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., published in 1965. The plot focuses on Eliot Rosewater, the primary trustee of the philanthropic Rosewater Foundation, whom one of the family lawyers, Norman Mushari, is attempting to have declared...
by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., * In the same story arc that says his name is Paris, it is revealed that he and his mother are the only anthropomorphic members of his family. - For the first two years of the strip, Goat had a beard. He first appeared without the beard on March 31, 2004. It began to appear irregularly shortly thereafter until it was dropped altogether
Personality
(Debuted March 14, 2005) The Guard Duck is a violent duckDuck
Duck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered...
, hired by Pig because the cost of a proper guard-dog was too high. Initially simply a violent, sociopathic duck, he later assumed a more militaristic personality, seeing the world as his battlefield. He often blows up the neighbors' property, often assuming he is at war and that the neighbors are the enemy. On one occasion, he actually did go to war, albeit as a mercenary in Rat's plan to topple Raul Castro (see above). He was fired after stealing a neighbor's inflatable pool, and then robbed a bank, escaping from prison. He appears to see Pig as his General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
, often referring to him as "Sir". He has twice rescued Zebra from the Crocs, once by force, and once as Zebra's attorney
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
. He also served as mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Albany, California
Albany, California
Albany is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. The population was 18,539 at the 2010 census.-History:In 1908, a group of local women protested the dumping of Berkeley garbage in their community...
, obtaining the position after overthrowing the incumbent in a coup d'état
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
, until he was caught using the city police force to bug the offices of political opponents
Watergate scandal
The Watergate scandal was a political scandal during the 1970s in the United States resulting from the break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C., and the Nixon administration's attempted cover-up of its involvement...
and forced to resign in disgrace.
Guard Duck fell in love with a non-anthropomorphic duck named Maura, who flew away from him and failed to return for over a year. Guard Duck thought he'd lost her forever, due to his being unable to fly (having never learned how), but one day she returned to him. He resigned his "commission" shortly thereafter and traveled to Paris with Maura, who left him while there to work for Aflac
Aflac
Aflac Incorporated is the largest provider of supplemental insurance in the United States, founded in 1955 and based in Columbus, Georgia. In the United States, Aflac underwrites a wide range of insurance policies, but is perhaps more known for its payroll deduction insurance coverage, which pays...
. He was reintroduced during a Fantastic Four
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four is a fictional superhero team appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The group debuted in The Fantastic Four #1 , which helped to usher in a new level of realism in the medium...
-parody storyline focusing of the crocs under the pseudonym of "The Waterfowler" (likely a reference to Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
's nemesis The Penguin
Penguin (comics)
Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot III is a DC Comics supervillain and one of Batman's oldest, most persistent enemies. The Penguin was introduced by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, making his debut in Detective Comics #58 .The Penguin is a short, rotund man known for his love of birds and his...
).
The Crocs
The Fraternity of Crocodiles are the main antagonists and villains of the strip, and while they are indeed on very poor terms with all five main characters (with the possible exception of Rat), they are usually involved in various attempts to kill and eat Zebra, all of which fail.The fraternity name is "Zeeba Zeeba Eata" (although one of them called it "Zeta, Zeta
Zeta (letter)
Zeta is the sixth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 7. It was derived from the Phoenician letter Zayin...
, Epsilon" in their first appearance in a botched attempt to fool Zebra).
The male crocodiles often speak in broken English or improper grammar. In an e-mail to a fan, Pastis claimed, "My inspiration was probably from a Saturday Night Live skit that had Tarzan and Frankenstein trying to talk [to each other]." (The "language" would later be called "Croc-ese" by Pastis in a February 2009 strip.) When talking, they often say words in the phonetical style
Phonetics
Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that comprises the study of the sounds of human speech, or—in the case of sign languages—the equivalent aspects of sign. It is concerned with the physical properties of speech sounds or signs : their physiological production, acoustic properties, auditory...
, such as "nome" (gnome), "keel" (kill), "eediot" (idiot), "gud" (good), "woomun" (woman), "mouf" (mouth), "juss" (just), and "stoopid" (stupid). They also say "me" instead of "I', refer to themselves as "crockydiles", and omit the linking verbs. The Fraternity also writes this way (i.e., a valentine sent to Zebra reading "Hapy valeentine day, zeeba neighba! Me keel yu ded, Me eet yu hed"). They also speak in an unusual font: their dialogue is shown in crude, lower-cased letters (sometimes shown in capitals when they yell, scream or talk loudly) which is also used for the lions, toy Vikings and the Killer Whale, although they spoke normally. They often begin with their catch phrase
Catch phrase
A catchphrase is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through a variety of mass media , as well as word of mouth...
"Hullooo, zeeba neighba!". On one occasion, a croc tried to explain their accent. One of these crocs is Larry's young son Junior, who despite his father's idiocies is actually quite intelligent. The female crocodiles, Junior, and various "Smart Guy" crocodiles speak normally. In a 2010 strip, Larry claimed to have a speech impediment.
It should be noted that Junior actually thinks that killing wildlife is immoral and decided to become a vegetarian.
They believe they are hunting prey when they catch plastic flamingos, garden gnomes, or carved "tofu
Tofu
is a food made by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into soft white blocks. It is part of East Asian and Southeast Asian cuisine such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indonesian, Vietnamese, and others. There are many different varieties of tofu, including fresh tofu and tofu...
cows
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
". The crocs usually need to go to the Safeway
Safeway Inc.
Safeway Inc. , a Fortune 500 company, is North America's second largest supermarket chain after The Kroger Co., with, as of December 2010, 1,694 stores located throughout the western and central United States and western Canada. It also operates some stores in the Mid-Atlantic region of the Eastern...
supermarket
Supermarket
A supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
or order fast food
Fast food
Fast food is the term given to food that can be prepared and served very quickly. While any meal with low preparation time can be considered to be fast food, typically the term refers to food sold in a restaurant or store with preheated or precooked ingredients, and served to the customer in a...
(one ordered pizza
Pizza
Pizza is an oven-baked, flat, disc-shaped bread typically topped with a tomato sauce, cheese and various toppings.Originating in Italy, from the Neapolitan cuisine, the dish has become popular in many parts of the world. An establishment that makes and sells pizzas is called a "pizzeria"...
every night for seven straight weeks; at least one croc has resorted to cannibalism
Cannibalism
Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other human beings. It is also called anthropophagy...
) to get food. Larry has been known to buy Kentucky Fried Chicken, often crossing out the brand logo and writing, "fres zeeba meet" to try to fool his wife. They often come up with harebrained plans to lure Zebra into their house, including toga parties
Toga party
A toga party is a particular kind of costume party in which party-goers wear a toga, or a semblance thereof, normally made from a bed sheet, and sandals...
, swimming, and attempts to get into his house (one croc posed as a cable guy
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
). Rat has often taken advantage of their incompetence (Including by selling them tomato
Tomato
The word "tomato" may refer to the plant or the edible, typically red, fruit which it bears. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and its many varieties are now widely grown, often in greenhouses in cooler...
seeds that he claims will produce Zebras). Their inability to catch prey is looked upon with shame by other crocodiles, especially their wives, girlfriends, and mothers. The main crocodile in the strip is "Larry". Other crocs include Bill, Biff, Bob, Floyd, Rick, Jerry (this and the one before it were seemingly named after Rick Kirkman
Rick Kirkman
Rick Kirkman is a cartoonist and co-creator of the comic strip Baby Blues. He received the National Cartoonist Society Newspaper Comic Strip Award for 1995 for his work on the strip. Served as co-executive producer of the WB Network TV series of Baby Blues.Prior to the creation of Baby Blues, Rick...
and Jerry Scott
Jerry Scott
Jerry Scott in South Bend, Indiana. He is an American cartoonist, co-creator of Baby Blues and co-creator of Zits.-Career:...
, and both appeared in a story arc involving the characters of Baby Blues), Willie, Jojo, Fat Fred, Ted, Frank, Fred, Erik, Dan, Bert, Smart Guy Fred, Gary, Gus, Nick, Joe, Jimmy and Vern. Larry usually works with Bob, Floyd, or another crocodile. Larry is known as the Zebra's arch nemesis.
At least two of the crocs have girlfriends or are married (not to be confused with Larry's family); one croc had two children who were accidentally eaten by his wife, Debbie, after he slapped her on the back (she had opened her mouth to show Zebra that crocodiles hide their young in their mouths to hide them from other predators; Larry remarked that "Is okay. We make more"
Sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
).
In September 2007, the crocs finally did catch Zebra; Jeffy from The Family Circus
The Family Circus
The Family Circus is a syndicated comic strip created by cartoonist Bil Keane and currently written, inked, and colored by his son, Jeff Keane. The strip generally uses a single captioned panel with a round border, hence the original name of the series, which was changed following objections from...
jumped into the crocs swamp, thinking it was a swimming pool, Zebra jumped in to save him, and the crocs got them both. Jeffy persuaded the crocs to release him (Zebra commented "I always liked Billy better") and Guard Duck scared the crocs away with a rocket launcher.
A recurring gag is the crocs' tendency to die, usually due to their own ineptitude; they have been shot, blown up, choked, eaten, stabbed with a speargun
Speargun
A speargun is an underwater fishing implement designed to fire a spear at fish.The basic components of a speargun are:A spear, a stock/barrel, and a handle/grip containing a trigger mechanism...
, drowned, covered in cement
Cement
In the most general sense of the word, a cement is a binder, a substance that sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. The word "cement" traces to the Romans, who used the term opus caementicium to describe masonry resembling modern concrete that was made from crushed...
, suffocated, shredded, had a heart attack, wood chippered, hung, and killed in some way by other characters; often, it is a result of their own attempts to kill Zebra. Regarding how they always come back, it is unclear if they are many crocs with the same names, or come back to life a la Kenny McCormick
Kenny McCormick
Kenneth "Kenny" McCormick is a fictional character in the animated television series South Park. He is one of the four central characters along with his friends Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, and Eric Cartman. His oft-muffled and indiscernible speech—the result of his parka hood covering his...
.
While Pastis had depicted various crocodiles in the strip as early as February 2002, these crocs were relatively competent and spoke normal English in a normal typeface. "Da Brudderhood of Zeeba Zeeba Eata" (to quote the title of Pastis' fifth book) were not introduced until January 3, 2005; they have since become the collective fifth "main character" of the strip.
Larry, Patty and Junior
Larry (born February 9, 1969), his beehiveBeehive (hairstyle)
The Beehive is a woman's hairstyle that resembles a beehive; it is elegant and it is also known as the B-52, for its similarity to the bulbous nose of the B-52 Stratofortress bomber. It originated as one of a variety of elaborately teased and lacquered versions of "big hair" that developed from...
-sporting wife Patty, and son Junior, are the most-frequently-depicted family of crocodiles in the strip. The family house neighbors that of Zebra, and, although Zebra's home is also neighbored, on another side, by the Zeeba Zeeba Eata house, they have little relation to the fraternity. Larry is, however, sometimes involved with the Zeeba Zeeba Eata's schemes to kill Zebra (several strips prior to Patty and Junior's existence portrayed ZZE members named "Larry").
Patty and Junior are far more intelligent than Larry, and Junior is a pacifist
Pacifism
Pacifism is the opposition to war and violence. The term "pacifism" was coined by the French peace campaignerÉmile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress inGlasgow in 1901.- Definition :...
and a vegetarian
Vegetarianism
Vegetarianism encompasses the practice of following plant-based diets , with or without the inclusion of dairy products or eggs, and with the exclusion of meat...
. Junior, a studious young crocodile, is often frustrated by his father's stupidity, though he still loves him, similar to the relationship between Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
character Sylvester the Cat and his son, Sylvester Jr.
Sylvester Jr.
Sylvester J. Pussycat, Jr., or simply Sylvester Junior, is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series. He is the son of Sylvester The Cat. Strangely enough, his mother is never seen nor mentioned in any of the Warner Bros. shorts...
. As if his son being a vegetarian wasn't enough, Junior has also been shown dating Zebra's niece, a Floridian
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
named Joy, after Pastis' grandmother, at one point even eloping with her and hiding out at Zebra's house.
Junior also tries to bring the Zebra and Crocodile families together from time to time. In one Christmas series, Junior, wanting to be with his girlfriend, ran away. He agreed to come back only when Patty and Larry said they would invite the Zebra family over for Christmas. At this point, Patty, who had previously found the idea appalling, caves in and tries to be a good hostess. Larry, however, is not so accepting, and the series ends with him biting off the Zebra uncle's leg.
It is unclear what Junior's age is. His vocabulary and the fact that he has entered a romantic relationship indicates that he would be at least a pre-teen. However, he also likes it when Larry reads him nursery rhymes and Sesame Street before bedtime, a characteristic that is identified with younger kids.
Larry made a cameo in the webcomic Kevin and Kell
Kevin and Kell
Kevin and Kell is a furry comedy webcomic strip by syndicated cartoonist Bill Holbrook. The strip began on September 3, 1995. It is one of the oldest continuously running webcomics....
on July 31, 2006 where he tried to apply for a job at Herd Thinners.
Males
Despite the seemingly large number of Crocodiles, most of the males (who are in turn most of the crocodiles) have virtually the same mindset; rude, smug, disloyal, but above all, incompetent. They never give up in their attempts to capture and kill Zebra. Despite their bravado, the crocodiles appear to be ashamed over their constant failures and try to hide them. The reason may be that the predator community appears to view buying your own food (something that one would naturally be forced to do if unable to capture anything) as a wimpy thing. They also have incredibly bad English, calling Zebra "zeeba" and rarely conjugating verbs correctly, if at all.Females
The female crocs (who the males collectively refer to as "woomun") are more intelligent than the males. They constantly find the males' failures embarrassing.Junior
The great exception to the general croc mindset is Junior, the bookish young son of Larry. Having decided that it is wrong to kill others, he is a vegetarianVegetarianism
Vegetarianism encompasses the practice of following plant-based diets , with or without the inclusion of dairy products or eggs, and with the exclusion of meat...
, much to the exasperation and shame of Larry. In fact, Junior often gets along with Zebra, and even is in a relationship with the Zebra's niece Joy.
The Adventures of Angry Bob
The books that Rat writes are entitled, "The Adventures of Angry Bob (by Rat)". Sometimes, they will have a subtitle, such as, "An EpicEpic poetry
An epic is a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation. Oral poetry may qualify as an epic, and Albert Lord and Milman Parry have argued that classical epics were fundamentally an oral poetic form...
Tragic Poem Thingie" or "A Big Fat Tale 'O Woe".
In every story, Angry Bob becomes frustrated with his life, usually stating that he is either angry or sad, or both. During the course of the story Bob will decide to try to do something about it, and more often than not succeeds. However, as is the case in nearly every Angry Bob story, something goes wrong and Bob meets a horrible and gruesome death at the end, often shot
Firearm
A firearm is a weapon that launches one, or many, projectile at high velocity through confined burning of a propellant. This subsonic burning process is technically known as deflagration, as opposed to supersonic combustion known as a detonation. In older firearms, the propellant was typically...
or crushed.
Minor Characters
- Stephan PastisStephan PastisStephan Thomas Pastis is an American cartoonist and the creator of the comic strip Pearls Before Swine.-Background:...
(debut: June 1, 2003) — Pastis appears self-reflexivelySelf-referenceSelf-reference occurs in natural or formal languages when a sentence or formula refers to itself. The reference may be expressed either directly—through some intermediate sentence or formula—or by means of some encoding...
in many strips as the cartoonist of the strip, usually exhibiting ambiguous feelings toward his characters (and an exasperation with Rat in particular, who gives it back to Pastis in return especially when things don't go his way). On one occasion, Rat had him briefly change the name of the strip to "Worship The Rat". He is often seen smoking, although Pastis has mentioned in his books that he does not smoke and has no idea why he drew himself that way to begin with (though Rat and Guard Duck are often featured smoking as well). In The Crass Menagerie he says that he's gotten criticism for his smoking, as people seem to believe he's glamorizing smoking (Pastis claims he's doing the exact opposite). On the week of July 7, 2008, the cartoon Pastis announced that he would be killing off one of Pearls's characters in order to "stay competitive" with other strips. That Wednesday (July 9), Pastis was found dead in the cartoon, but he and Rat (who died of a heart attack due to excitement from finding out) were sent back to the strip days later. Pastis has since returned to drawing himself in the strip. - Pigita (debut: July 22, 2002) — Pig's on-and-off girlfriend, known for her wild mood swingsMood SwingsMood Swings is an album by Koby Israelite released in 2005 on Tzadik.- Track listing :# "Dror Ikra" - 3:03# "Return of the Idiots" - 2:19# "It Is Not a War Here" - 7:05# "Ethnometalogy" - 5:08# "Europa?" - 2:49# "Hiriya On My Mind" - 4:53...
. According to the strip published on September 6, 2007, Pig and Pigita have been together for seven years. However, in the treasury "Pearls Sells Out" Pigita seems to want either that Pig propose to her or they stop going out. In March 2011 she broke up with Pig. - Chuckie is a non-anthropomorphic sheep who appears occasionally. He is good friends with Goat, but is despised by Rat, who finds no point of having a non-anthropomorphic animal in the strip. He can only say "Bah".
- Farina (debut: August 19, 2002) — Pig's germaphobicMysophobiaMysophobia is a term used to describe a pathological fear of contamination and germs. Someone who has such a fear is referred to as a mysophobe. The term was introduced by Dr. William Alexander Hammond in 1879 when describing a case of obsessive-compulsive disorder exhibited in repeatedly washing...
sister who lives in a bubble, although that doesn't prevent her from dating characters from many comic strips. After her debut, Pastis removed her from the strip for two years, and when he brought her back he had to do a complete reintroduction (from Lions and Tigers and Crocs, Oh My!). In "Sgt. Piggy's Lonely Hearts Club Comic", Pastis said that part of the reason why he doesn't draw her as often is because she is the only character who requires a drafting compassCompass (drafting)A compass or pair of compasses is a technical drawing instrument that can be used for inscribing circles or arcs. As dividers, they can also be used as a tool to measure distances, in particular on maps...
to draw and he usually cuts himself using it. - Snuffles the Cat (debut: September 30, 2007) — Zebra's cat, accidentally given to him by the crocs, who occupies his time committing crimes and running scams.
- Angry Bob and Danny Donkey (debuts 2002 and 2006, respectively): Rat's two main fictional characters in his writings. In "The Adventures of Angry Bob", Angry Bob always starts out angry and decides on a particular reason, then goes to do something about it. Angry Bob always finds some level of success in becoming happy, only to meet a horrible death at the end of nearly every story. Rat is shown drinking heavily while writing 'Angry Bob' stories. Danny Donkey is a children's book character with an amazingly twisted moral compass and a hatred of most every person on EarthMisanthropyMisanthropy is generalized dislike, distrust, disgust, contempt or hatred of the human species or human nature. A misanthrope, or misanthropist is someone who holds such views or feelings...
. He is a passionate kleptomaniaKleptomaniaKleptomania is an irresistible urge to steal items of trivial value. People with this disorder are compelled to steal things, generally, but not limited to, objects of little or no significant value, such as pens, paper clips, paper and tape...
c and loves cigarettes and beer. - Max and Zach: Zebra's other neighbors are laid-back, surfer type lions. Their lioness wives used to hunt for them until they divorced them, but they received frozen zebras as court-ordered support from them; despite this, Max and Zach have proven to be capable hunters when necessary, earning jealousy from the crocodiles (at least one of which- Larry- stole the frozen zebras). It is unknown whether the lions are friends or enemies of Zebra. They ask for high fives when their wives kill Zebra's friends but give him advice that will help him not get eaten himself.
- The Hyenas: A pair of hyenas who, along with the lions and crocs, are frequently trying to eat Zebra; however, theirs is more a scavengerScavengerScavenging is both a carnivorous and herbivorous feeding behavior in which individual scavengers search out dead animal and dead plant biomass on which to feed. The eating of carrion from the same species is referred to as cannibalism. Scavengers play an important role in the ecosystem by...
nature. Two Hyenas, both named Hy, have tried to get food via a funeral homeFuneral homeA funeral home, funeral parlor or mortuary, is a business that provides burial and funeral services for the deceased and their families. These services may include aprepared wake and funeral, and the provision of a chapel for the funeral....
. Hyenas are the third type of predator that plague Zebra's herd. Before 2008, they had only appeared in the strip twice: first, a series in which Zebra was an online advice columnist for other zebras; the second appearance was a single Sunday strip in September 2007 as new neighbors of Zebra. Starting on February 25, 2008, a strip was published featuring the hyenas as operators of a funeral homeFuneral homeA funeral home, funeral parlor or mortuary, is a business that provides burial and funeral services for the deceased and their families. These services may include aprepared wake and funeral, and the provision of a chapel for the funeral....
, in which they eat those they are supposed to bury. - Andy: A dog who makes big plans for his life only to have them dashed by the fact he is tied to a pole in his backyard. In the treasury 'Pearls Sells Out', Pastis mentioned that whenever he shows Andy, animal-rights supporters complain because they feel it is cruel for a dog to be tied to a post in the backyard. For a period of time Andy shared the backyard with a female dog named Olive, who like Andy was chained to a post. She left him after her chain broke in the middle of the night.
- Viking Figurines: Pig has miniature Viking figurines that write in their diaries and do other non-manly things. Rat is often seen putting on WWE or singing violent songs etc. to make them try and become more like Vikings.
- Gary, the coffee shop manager: Rat works at a coffee shop at which the manager yells at him for being rude to the customers, yet they cannot fire him due to a corporate diversity policy. In one strip Rat creates clones of himself that turn out to be kind and caring so he gives them to Larry the croc (feeder mice). Larry then gives them to the coffee shop, allowing them to fire Rat. When Rat asks Larry why he can't handle feeder mice, the response he gets is "Dey punch me in hed". He has not made any appearances yet (although Rat got his job back, we still have not seen much of him since he hired the clones of Rat).