Pearls Freaks the #*%# Out

From fire-breathing jugglers to sword-swallowing illusionists, this treasury showcases all strips from Larry in Wonderland and Because Sometimes You Just Gotta Draw a Cover with Your Left Hand, along with Pastis's original commentary, which provides insight into what Pastis was thinking at the time random strips were conceived, and also fan reactions.

Tackling topics ranging from current events and modern technology to human and croc nature, Pearls Freaks the #*%# Out offers up a sideshow of feisty characters, including arrogant, self-centered, and totally hilarious Rat, who leads his four-legged collection of freakish friends through a carnival of misadventure. Joining the circuslike cavalcade are Pig, the slow but good-hearted conscience of the strip; Goat, the voice of reason that often goes unheard; Zebra, the activist; and those eternally inept carnivorous Crocs, who we learn happen to taste a lot like chicken. Pastis's cynical humor and sharp wit imbue this entertaining vaudevillian collection.