It’s been a while since i shared one of these, but this is a typical Rat strip, and so if you’re a fan of Pearls before Swine, this one will resonate with you… and if not then, BECOME A FAN:
[For another Pearls strip on Encyclopedias vs The Internet, click here]
[For more funny, insightful or just plain weird Pearls before Swine strips, click here]
It’s been a while since i shared about No_bob, the world’s most famous stuffed dolphin [can you name any others] who i was going to call ‘Bob’ [largely due to this amazing Blackadder scene] but then realising that he was made out of material and fluff and would not in fact bob, he became No_bob.
When i was a speaker on the youth/school speaking circuit in South Africa i would usually take No_bob with me and introduce him to the crowds and pretty soon he started getting more cheers than me and i knew my ‘fame’ had been eclipsed by an inanimate object [that’s right, unlike a lot of people’s stuffed toys they pretend are real, No_bob is just a toy and knows it, or would if he was real, which he’s not]
He has had a song written about him by a then famous South African punk band, Serving Suggestion. He has been kidnapped and borrowed for overseas travel [see above pic] and used to ‘bring the rings’ in a wedding [mine, to the beautiful Val] and featured in magazines and more.
HERE’S WHERE YOU COME IN
Since coming to Americaland though, both i and No_bob have kept a low profile as the pond is much bigger and not many people know me here, but recently he has been introduced to the Re:generation church in Oakland and he ‘got to know’ an amazing bunch of youth and leaders in Florida Keys when i went to speak there, and so his fame feels on the rise again.
For years i have been trying to get Stephan Pastis, the cartoonist behind my favourite strip, ‘Pearls before Swine’ to include him just once in a cartoon, but even after meeting No_bob and signing a book in his name, he is yet to do that [but i won’t give up, so you might as well Stephan, if you can handle the fame and increased book sales!].
I have also recently been introduced on The Twitterer to an incredible artist called Ray Ferrer [@Ray_artist] who makes these unbelievably insane pictures using spray paint which i can’t even wrap my head around they are so good:
He has favourited a tweet or two of mine on the Twitterer despite having like a gazillion followers and i have interpreted that as a desperate plea to have permission to do a spray painting of No_bob. Ray, you have my permission…
So what you, my friends and general following public can do to assist is one [or both] of the following:
[1] Email Stephan Pastis [theratandpig@aol.com] or tweet him [@stephanpastis] and let him know how much you would love to see No_bob, the world’s most famous stuffed dolphin appear in his strip.
[2] Tweet Ray Ferrer [@Ray_artist] and encourage him by telling him how much greater his body of work would be with a No_bob piece or tell him you don’t really believe he has the skills to create a great resemblance of the most famous stuffed dolphin in history.
And add this link: https://www.facebook.com/Nounderscorebob – to make sure they know exactly what he looks like.
Finally, just to help you on the spelling of his name as there are many variations and mess ups as people get creative, but the official spelling of No_bob is Capital N, small b’s and an UNDERSCORE between…
Who else do you think we should get involved in No_bob’s fame revival? Any contacts you have who could up his profile?
Ah, what a winner, Pastis. Tackles the big issues and all. If you are not a Pearls before Swine fan yet, this is a great one to start with and then click on some links to other strips at the bottom – this is some fun stuff:
[For another Pearls before Swine strip with a touch of Dr Seuss, click here]
[For a growing collection of some of my favourite recent Pearls before Swine strips, click here]
In honour of legendary South African comedienne and fellow improviser, Anne speak-like-Seuss Hirsch, another great Pearls before Swine strip:
[For a Pearls Before Swine cartoon about dating fish, click here]
[For some of my favourite Pearls before Swine strips, click here]
ah Stephan, punmaster general is at it again and this time it is at the expense of Rat who is being himselfed out…
[For a different Pearls Before Swine word play strip featuring the kissing, click here]
[For a different Pearls before Swine pun strip about language, click here]
you probably have to be a regular reader of Pearls [before Swine] and an appreciator of the croc and ‘Zeeba’ dynamic to appreciate this one… but if you are then you will dig it – snuck into my inbox while i was in South Africa…
[For a Pearls before Swine cartoon depicting the great intellect – not-so-much – of Pig, click here]
[For a Pearls before Swine strip one listening well, click here]
ah what a softie at heart.
Stephan Pastis shows his true colours in this rare deeply moving Pearls before Swine cartoon strip, proving his range and diversity as well as his ability to make an audience go, ‘Awwwwwwww…’
[For the Pearls before Swine strip that introduced the word ‘Winnery’ click here]
Irresistibly Fish 