This is the first treasury of Pearls Before Swine comics; I'm acquiring them out of order, as the first one I read turns out to be the third treasury. Ah well. This first volume was great to read because it follows the very start of the comic strip and shows how other characters and situations are introduced. Rat is sarcastic and obsessed with death from the beginning, and Pig is sweet, gullible, and dumb all at once. The crocs weren't major characters yet and hadn't moved in next door to Zebra, and I did miss their banter ("Helloooooo Zeeba!").

Creator Stephan Pastis sets this treasury apart from others by adding notes beneath many of the strips. It makes it feel like watching the old "Pop-Up Video" on VH1 (that shows my age) where interesting behind-the-scenes facts are revealed, like which comics generated the most controversy.

This is an amusing read, and highly recommended for Pearls fans. ( )

The first two years of one of my favorite comics. I don't know how I would survive the loss of Calvin and Hobbes or The Far Side without Pearls... ( )

I enjoy the humor in this very much. Sometimes I find myself identifying with Pig, sometimes Rat and occationally Goat. I love puns and conversations full of misunderstandings. Reminds me of home. It is great to read the author's comments in here and it makes me feel smart because I understood all the strips which he said many didn't get. Of course, I didn't get a couple of the others, but I thought maybe I didn't want to either. ( )

Rates up there with Calvin & Hobbes and Far Side as far as I'm concerned.