Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis for March 15, 2015

Will somebody beat up Rat?

He deserves to be beat up within an inch of his life.

If he wants to impress that first bunch of people, he should show them how far he can throw them into the air.

For some reason, this Sunday’s strip reminds me of a cartoon I saw years back in a magazine. One man was speaking to another man with the caption, “You can be my best friend or my severest critic. Being both is totally out of the question.”

I dunno, I’m thinking Rat may be on to something here!

Is that Bob making a guest appearance?

Curse you, deep friendships! Now I find out, when it’s too late!

I adore you pig. You made me laugh !!!!

The Insecurasaurus is not extinct.

don’t ever talk about Opera, with beer drinkers!

“Insecurasaurus”… I love it!

Rat skipped the part where Insecurasaurus ran for public office. Part of our problem is the only people who will run are those who simultaneously NEED to be validated at the polls and yet are so full of themselves that they think only they can save the country — in other words, people who are insane.

I think I have a few of those friends too. Good times!

everyone could use a few good minions

It was the deep friendships that gave Insecurasaurus his drive. They did not, in fact, hold him back…

This is our 21st Century religion. The Tao of Stephan.

everybody should have some of each type of friendship. that would be ideal. just have to remember which is which

Pig cleans up well.

Pig looks snazzy!

Rat wouldn’t know morality if it bit him on his butt.

xxx

Actually, that first group isn’t deep at all; if they were, they’d understand what Insecurasaurus was trying to do, and explain to him that none of it was necessary.:Instead, they’re simply the type of numbskulls that don’t get excited about anything unless it’s on TMZ.

Maybe I am reading too much into this, but I like the fact that the first set of friends are simply drawn with stick figure faces, and the “shallow” ones are, quite literally more fleshed out. I would even venture to guess that the new friend in the red shirt is Jef Mallett of Frazz. The other two, not sure who they might be.

Second to last panel, the guy in the red shirt looks a lot like how Pastis originally drew himself in the strip.

Acquaintances who react to every attempt one makes to interact with them with blank indifference are not people that I would think of as friends.