I’m a huge “Pearls Before Swine” fan and I was very happy to
read a copy of I’M ONLY IN THIS FOR ME. I’M ONLY IN THIS FOR ME is a collection
of “Pearls” strips that originally ran in newspapers from March 3, 2014 to
December 6, 2014. The book has an introduction from Pastis about the time he
ran for political office. This brief introduction is really the only thing in
the book that is even slightly connected to the front cover which features a
strongly political theme of Rat running for President. I enjoy the book even
more because of the cover: it’s a complete misnomer designed to sell more books
during the highly political year of 2016. The book is filled with strips that
feature the usual “Pearls” humor: witty one-liners, extensive verbal gags, and
bad puns. There aren’t as many long running storylines as in some of the other “Pearls”
collections. However, the book does feature a running storyline about Stephan
Pastis being kicked out of his house by his wife Staci. There’s also a
storyline where one of the Crocs goes on “Wheel of Fortune” with Andy Capp and
a guy from the comic “B.C.” Lemmings are also featured in several strips. There’s
an absurd storyline that deals with Jim Davis and Garfield. However, out of all
the “Pearls” collections out there, I’M ONLY IN THIS FOR ME is one that you
have to own because it features the three strips that were guest drawn by Bill
Watterson! Bill Watterson came out of his comic self-exile to draw those three
strips so they could be auctioned off for charity. That makes I’M ONLY IN THIS
FOR ME a must-have book for most comic-strip fans.
