He also has edge and provides his characters with a narrative that clearly resonates with readers. Article contentīut what Pastis does have is a battery of quirky characters: Rat, Pig, Croc and Goat. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. It was only weeks later that Nulman learned of Pastis’s scheme, after receiving the strips at his office. Nulman obliged him and when Pastis asked how he might repay him, Nulman suggested perhaps a single drawing of a Pearls Before Swine character in a Habs sweater that could be hung at JFL headquarters.īut when Pastis found himself sitting on ice level at the Bell Centre, right at centre ice next to the penalty box, he was so overwhelmed that he decided to put together the two Montreal strips. This process began innocently enough when Pastis asked his friend, Just for Laughs’s Andy Nulman, if he could help him acquire tickets for the Canadiens-Bruins bout on Oct. His Habs-sweater-sporting character (Pastis, in fact) proclaims that “MONTREAL MAKES THE BEST BAGELS IN THE WORLD” – much to the chagrin of a New Yorker who feels otherwise. Of course, Pastis’s second strip could trigger thermo-nuclear war. Article content No caption, leave this text or replace image Pastis has drawn two Pearls Before Swine strips – to appear on Monday and Wednesday in our paper and worldwide – not only extolling the merits of our bagels, smoked meat, poutine et al but also this declaration from his Pig character: “I AM MOVING TO MONTREAL!!” He is providing Montreal a showcase that will leave tourism officials here drooling. Pastis’s professed love for our city is not just idle talk, either. He has an estimated 17.6 million readers a day. Pearls Before Swine runs in more than 750 newspapers, including the Montreal Gazette. Pastis is, unarguably, one of the most successful cartoonists on the planet. “So maybe I’ll live in Montreal only during the warm months,” says Pastis, clearly unaware that the warm months generally constitute less than half a year here. The thermometer has hit a punishing minus 29 Celsius – not even factoring in wind-chill factor – during our telephone chat. Please try again Article contentįast-forward three months. The next issue of Montreal Gazette Headline News will soon be in your inbox. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. Manage Print Subscription / Tax ReceiptĪ welcome email is on its way.

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