obrentharris 

You damn him with faint praise if net worth is the best defense of this guys choice of comedy as a career.
Brent

smd4

Point is, someone thinks his work is funny. To the tune of 100M.

nlerner

Thank god we aren't judgmental about what cyclists look like.

billytwosheds 

The only thing funnier than people taking themselves too seriously is people who complain that other are people doing it. lmao

panzerwagon 

Having been made aware of his net worth, I too now think he’s pretty funny. Time to fire up the ol’ VCR and give Friends another try, also a great financial success story.

Jokes aside, I’m sure he appeals to many, just not my taste from the brief glimpse I caught.

smd4

Maybe you need more than a brief glimpse to make an informed judgment.

squirtdad

i just got into this comic.....liking bad puns is a good thing

but let's not forget calvin and his dad when it comes to bikes

clubman 

If only.
Thank you internet.

smd4

It’s too bad cyclists earned a reputation deserving of ridicule.

abdon 

Come again?

Every group has bad apples. My mailman is great, he doesn't go postal. The people working at my local DMV (which is never full) are great. The local Walmart here is head and shoulders above the ones I have seen elsewhere. I'm sure when they hear jokes about the bad apples on their lines of work they don't jump to the conclusion that they are talking about them.

clubman 

Cartoonists tell stories and effin' everyone is vulnerable to ridicule and it's often funny and based on 'anecdotal truth', not stereotypes. At least not for too long.
Online opinions tend to abhor truth..

bikingshearer 

When caught out in the rain, a wool-clad cyclist smells more like a wet sheep than does a lycra-clad cyclist. If it's sunny, the lycra-clad cyclist smells more like the "before" part of the deodorant commercial than does a wool-clad cyclist.

RustyJames 

I have little to add about group ‘X’ stereotypes. I sell cars for a living. 😇

mstateglfr 

This strip comes up as a topic on some given forum a few times a year.
I read the strips and each time I think 'OK, that was read'.
It's observational stereotyping, but not really funny.

I would have read this in the paper as a kid in the 80s and 90s, but it would have been in the same category as crap like Beetle Bailey and Cathy. I would have read it and sometimes wondered why people waste the cost of ink to print the strip, or I would have read it and sometimes wondered what blackmail the artist has over executives to keep them from dropping the comic.

Robvolz 

I was thinking of being “Cathy” for halloween

but I couldn’t find a sweater with a heart on the chest.

canklecat

I've seen dozens of clever, edgy web comics done in both familiar art styles with a twist, and in unique styles.

Pearls Before Swine has never been guilty of any of those qualities. Stephan Pastis is the Jef Dunham of comics. I'm sure he's a hit among the Cracker Barrel crowd who enjoy brush-by passing cyclists between church and Sunday dinner. But he's not quite as bad as Stonetoss.

Trakhak

Haven't seen that line of defense in a while. In the '60's, you would have said "Some of my best friends are . . . " and then gone on to condemn the rest of "them."

Trakhak

Not being in a car will do that.

Maohaus

I really enjoyed those comics! As a lycra clad cyclist on a carbon bike I see the same things the artist sees. So funny and mostly true!

Too many folks in this forum have no sense of humor and are incapable of laughing at themselves. Thanks for sharing.

smd4

You heard me.

Pastis is right-on with his satire of cyclists. Many folks here meet the criteria, but just don't want to admit it--or just can't see it in themselves (Maohaus excepted). There's something to be said for stereotypes--they're usually pretty accurate. Hate to break it to most of you, but in general, society does not have a positive view of cyclists. Gotta admit, I get pretty pissed off with them myself driving behind them when they ride two or three abreast on two-lane roads.

Maohaus

And, often, the arrogant Lycra clad cyclists are their own worst enemies. When I am on the road, I always smile at drivers, and say hello to pedestrians. At intersections I make eye contact with motorists, smile, and make sure we both understand where we are going to avoid any conflict. Unfortunately, so many of the clubs, with whom I have ridden, take an adversarial attitude toward drivers and pedestrians. In my humble opinion, we would all be better served by having cyclists engage drivers and pedestrians in a positive manner so we can all proceed in a safer and less angry manner.

I think these cartoons serve the purpose of allowing us to take ourselves less seriously and to see ourselves as non-cyclists often do!

AirborneFolder 

I've followed Pearls since the beginning. I personally think his strips are hilarious and on point. An ex GF of mine used to swear he must have been following me around and recording me and then basing Rat on whatever I'd say.

Wish it were true because I'd demand a percentage.

purpurite

I was under the impression that comic strips were supposed to be funny. Or at least clever.

Chinghis

Ya know, I used to like his stuff when I first noticed it in the LA Times. But the mean-spiritidness and stupid setups just to get you to say aloud some bad pun for a song name made me give up on his work. I generally just glance at it now and pass it by.

No accounting for taste, as they say.

bbbean 

To be fair, one is probably warmer than the other...