The San Francisco Chronicle’s Peter Hartlaub interviewed Pearls Before Swine creator Stephan Pastis. The interview is void of Stephan’s typical ego-centric replies and gets to the heart of his work on the strip.
Q: What’s a word you’d love to use in your strip but you can’t because it’s the comics page?
A: “That sucks” and “I got screwed.” Sucks and screwed would be awesome. Just normal conversation – it’s so hard to go around sucks. What else do you say in normal life? “I find that displeasing …” I don’t know any way around that.
The only thing I can figure out is that we are – along with maybe NBC and CBS and ABC – the last general broadcaster. So we have to appeal to a wide segment, and it’s hard to challenge.
“…negative-incentive way.” I LIKE that! May be my motivation to break-out of the jail business:)
I wish we could use “CRAP!” It’s such a good, funny word.
If I get syndicated my books will have “crap” in them.
They’ll be totally full of crap!
It is an isolated job, and I can’t believe you can”t use the word suck in a comic, I swear the censorship rules in the feild haven’t changed since the 50’s. which is crazy for there are far far worse things said in the newspapers that prints them.
I’m constantly worried about getting a strip Nixed on comic sherpa who holds the same censorship rules.
Which Sucks!
Pearls before swine is only in 650 newspapers? While Peanuts reruns are still in over 1000?