As “Pearls Before Swine” comic creator Stephan Pastis travels around the United States to promote his latest book, things are “Looking Up” for him.
At least that’s the title of his latest release, which is geared toward readers in grades 3-7 and follows Saint, a girl who loves medieval knights and protecting piñatas. Pastis will talk about his latest release, his career as a cartoonist and his “Pearls Seeks Enlightenment” book during a stop in Winter Park at the Writer’s Block Bookstore on Oct. 17.
“I had never done a female protagonist, and I like the impossible dream, the Don Quixote sort of quest,” Pastis said. “In this case, her favorite toy store gets torn down because her whole neighborhood is gentrifying. She decides she’s going to change that.”
The New York Times bestselling author made his foray into writing for younger audiences about 10 years ago when he created Timmy Failure, a series that has now turned into a feature-length Disney+ movie.
Before Pastis made his foray into the world of professional cartooning, he had a career as a lawyer that lasted about a decade.
“I had been a lawyer for almost 10 years. I never liked it, and I wanted desperately to escape. When the strip launched, I thought, ‘How soon can I quit?'” he said. “I always drew since I was a little kid. Everybody who cartoons wants to be a syndicated cartoonist, but the odds at the time were something like 30,000 to one.”
“Pearls Before Swine” made its widespread debut in early 2002 but actually appeared for the first time in the Orlando Sentinel before any other newspaper.
“The strip launched in January of 2002, so it’s almost 22 years old,” Pastis said. “For some reason, the Orlando Sentinel published a Sunday strip on Dec.30, 2001. Technically, when somebody asks me what my first paper was, it was the Orlando Sentinel.”
Although he said he’s not “particularly proud” of that first strip, Pastsis has come a long way, growing and evolving with his characters like Pig and Rat in his more than two decades of cartooning and writing books.
“My goal is always to make people laugh. Secondly, if they can derive some meaning from it or they find it relatable to their own lives, even better,” he said. “As a cartoonist, I think I always go first to make them laugh.”
During his stop in Orlando, Pastis will visit Park Maitland School, Cypress Springs Elementary School and Sunrise Elementary School before heading to the Writer’s Block to show his comic strips, talk about his newest release and answer questions.
“I talk for about half an hour, and I show strips, really the ones that drew the most complaints,” he said. “Afterwards, I answer questions, and I draw in everybody’s book rather than just signing.”
If you go
Stephan Pastis will appear at 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Oct. 17 at 316 N. Park Ave. in Winter Park. The event is free, but RSVPs are required as space is limited. Paid tickets are available that include a signed copy. For more information, visit writersblockbookstore.com.
Find me @PConnPie on Instagram or send me an email: pconnolly@orlandosentinel.com.
