Greatest Comic Strip Ever: Pearls Before Swine

I've come to love many comics like Fox Trot, Calvin and Hobbes, and Dilbert, but Pearls Before Swine is by far my favorite. It looks dark and depressing on the outside, but subtle wit, humor, and insight makes it a great strip! (Also one of the only strips whose characters know they're in a comic strip and act accordingly.)

The Four Original Main Characters

Rat is a representation of Stephan Pastis, the strip's creator. His dark personality, sarcasm, skepticism and horrible attitude make him the star of the strip! He stands about a foot and a half tall, has gray fur, a tail that can range from 6 inches to a mile long if the joke depends on it. Some quotes are, "I'm deciding who to sue next", "The lawyers assured me that was sufficient", and, "*%$#@!"

Pig is a representation of all that is good and innocent (though some just call it being a dumb***) and because of this is frequently taken advantage of by Rat. After all, they live together and split the rent! Pig stands about as tall as Rat, has pink skin and a curly tail the same length as Rat's. Some quotes are, "I'm imagining my happy place", "That's just silly", and, "Call me Nadia".

Zebra is like Pig, a loving friend of nature and all that is good, except he knows when he's being taken advantage of and easily outsmarts the totally incompetent predators (the most mentionable being the Crocs) who're constantly plotting ways to catch and eat him. He stands about as tall as Rat and Pig, is striped and has a tail about six inches long. Some quotes are, "I ran over a squirrel and I feel terrible...", "Just because I'm sleeping doesn't mean I'm dead", and "I'm afraid of dying".

Goat is a misunderstood genius, out of place in the chaos of the comic strip in which he lives. He tries to share his insights with the world on his blog, but is shot down by the ever-skeptical Rat. He stands the same as all the other characters (how'd you guess?), has short horns, and stubby tail and brown fur. Some quotes are, "Why do I even--", "It scares me when you make sense", and, "Oooooh lord..."

Other Characters

Guard Duck started out as a secondary character bought by Pig to safeguard the house because guard dogs were to expensive. After ripping a few neighbors to shreds, robbing a bank, going to jail, busting out single-handedly and coming back to work for Pig, he donned a helmet, equipped a rocket-launcher and became a much-loved character in the strip. Notable deeds (and misdeeds) are rescuing Zebra as he was about to be eaten by the Crocs and invading Cuba. Some quotes are, "You and I are rarely on the same page, are we, sir?", "And I didn't even get to say 'make my day'", and "Big screw up, mon".

The Crocs, totally incompetent predators including Bob (who has died and un-died at least five times), Larry (the "mastermind" behind all the Crocs' plans), Fred (A miscellaneous character occasionally used as cannon-fodder), Junior (Larry's genius son, the Croc vegetarian in love with one of Zebra's relatives), and "Woomun", Larry's wife. Some quotes of the Crocs' are, "Oh for love of...will you PEESE shut big fat mouf?", "Huuullooo Zeeba neighbor...", and, "Hullo, Bacon Butt".