Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis for January 23, 2012

or someone spilled black ink on the comic

Uh-oh. If that was Rat, looks like Stephan is in for it.

You beat me to it, Nabuquduriuzhur!

now Steph has to show up in a B movie with John Travolta

The chef looks like LGD. He and Rat together make for an awesome antagonist.

Don’t Stop Believing…..

Stephan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! why did you closed your eyes and covered your ears? we can’t see or hear anything!!

At the counter in the rear (panel 3) Rat and some guy (a hired hitman?) are sitting together, just before the lights go out! Or maybe it’s Rat and John Glynn, joined in holy hatred of cartoon-Pastis! Is this the end of cartoon-Pastis? Stay tuned, Rat fans!

Stephan should have worn a John Glynn mask.

Tony took a bullet in the face…END OF STORY!

Is it just me, or does it seem that Rat is wearing a “Members Only” jacket in the background.

Concrete boots anyone?

I’m getting a bit tired of seeing Stephan in his own strip. I think he overdoes it, and these tend not to be as funny. We’re about due for a bunch of croc strips.

Well, now we’ll never know!

OMG RATS IN THE BACKGROUND

Of course with a baseball bat on the noggin…It always goes black….

Ah, the “I’m too lazy to draw 4 panels today, so I’ll use black as a gimmick” gambit.

He was killed, right?

*same reaction I had to the end of The Sopranos.

Now who will write Pearls strips?

Noice! Loving this..!

(Restated from the Hoffa punstrip):

Take the cannoli…leave the cartoonist.

what?… what happened? … yes I was one of those idiots who thought the cable went out!

SWeet. Tropes for dopes.

Is Pastis becoming to “new” Bob?!? Just a week ago he was wearing cement boots on the bottom of Lake Placid?!? ., . .☻

Does Pastis usually give his email with the strip? Is it to send his family our condolences? I mean of course, IF Pastis actually died.

I haz a sad ?…Journey soundtrack too..

I love it when Pastis is in his cartoon!

“Oh my God! He killed Kenny Stephan! …You jerks!”

I dunno why, but I’m really enjoying this story line. Thank you Mr Pastis! (ya, I know he doesn’t read these things. So what.)

Don’t stop, Believin’,…

No comic strip has traumatized me like P.B.S., oh the suspense… Hey, this could be the very last day for the strip…!!!

A real “Sword of Damocles” situation.

They can’t kill him, someone’s gotta draw the cartoon and we certainly don’t trust Rat to do it, do we? I somehow see Guard Duck and the cat (Snuffles?) getting involved in this plot.

Apparently, Rat has a mallet with an extra-long handle; he didn’t even have to come over to the booth.

But doesn’t killing Pastis also kill Rat??? Very troubling.

you can see Rat way in the background.Steph have some baby backs and lamb chops for lunch?

nice! the word balloon shrinks and reveals rat in the background, same stationary viewpoint. great device!

Oh, crud. Rat is a murderer. EVERYONE RUN!

I bet tomorrow we will find out that it was someone else in a Stephan mask who got whacked by Rat… again.

Did Pastis…die?!YAY!!!!!!jj

Hilarious. This is at least the second time Stephan is teasing us with the possibility of his quitting the strip. The other time I know of was when he went to jail. 2 hours plus and I’ll be able to see the next strip.

Pastiscide!!!

Did nobody notice!? rat is in the background of the second panel!!