Book Review: UNSPORTSMANLIKE CONDUCT

It’s no secret: I’m a big fan of the comic strip "Pearls Before Swine." In my opinion it's one of the best strips currently running in newspapers. As is often the case, much of the humor in this collection of “Pearls Before Swine” strips, UNSPORTSMANLIKE CONDUCT, comes in the form of witty one-liners, witty puns, and extensive verbal gags. The book features strips that ran from February 28, 2011 to December 4, 2011. Pastis’ pleasure in using Sunday strips for elaborate puns continues. Some of the major storylines featured in the collection include one where Larry the Croc becomes the Vice President of a neighborhood Kids Club treehouse, Rat returning to work at Joe’s Roastery, a story where aliens who are just anthromorphic beer cans visit the neighborhood, the imprisonment of Stephan Pastis for Rat’s anti-government tirades, and Zebra’s decision to build a huge wall to protect him from the Crocs. Characters from the comics “Dennis the Menance”, “Pluggers”, and “Peanuts” make appearances in a few of the strips. There’s also a great regular weekday strip where Pig gets a little bit of “revenge” on Rat on Opposite Day. I also like the Sunday Thanksgiving strip in this collection which features a tribute Charlie Brown. Overall, UNSPORTSMANLIKE CONDUCT is another great collection of "Pearls Before Swine" comic strips.