Cartoonist Stephan Pastis has evidently taken the name of his little summer book tour to heart, and a photo of him at Lambeau Field proves this.
The creator of the comic book “Pearls Before Swine” posted a photo of himself in the stadium on social media on Tuesday with the caption: “I am proof that the Green Bay Packers let any old idiot on their field.”
Pastis recently toured the Midwest as part of his 2024 mini book tour, “I’m Just Wandering Through and Thought I’d Stop By.” The trip began in Detroit on August 3 and also included stops in Cincinnati and Indianapolis, and concluded Friday at the Boswell Book Company in Milwaukee.
His posts show the Californian making tourist stops along the way, including Shaker’s Cigar Bar in Milwaukee, John Dillinger’s grave in Indianapolis and the DogHouse Columbus Hotel in Ohio, where there’s a beer tap next to the bed and a beer fridge in the shower. (“I thought I died on the highway and went to heaven,” he wrote of the latter.)
A few fans commenting on the Green Bay post pointed to a 2010 Pearls Before Swine strip in which he drew the know-it-all character Rat doing the Lambeau Leap. In the strip, his own character Stephan says, “You don’t do the Lambeau Leap after every joke,” to which Rat responds, “What are you – a Vikings fan?”
In a 2012 interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Pastis once revealed that he secretly harbored a desire to attend Lambeau Leap after the book signing.
His Lambeau post drew some funny comments. “Are you the new Packers punter?” one person asked, a nod to Pastis’ penchant for puns. Some wondered if he was on his Wisconsin cheese tour and “maybe we’ll see a cheesehead on Pig soon.”
“Get some fresh cheese curds straight from the dairy and you’ll understand,” wrote another.
There were also suggestions that he should grab a bowl of booyah in town and stop by The Depot or White Dog for something to eat.
“Did he understand the instruction about not touching the grass?” asked another person.
“Pearls Before Swine” was published in 2001 and appears in over 800 newspapers, including the Press-Gazette. Pastis is also the author of the “Timmy Failure” series of books for middle school students. His latest book for children ages 8 to 12, “Looking Up,” was published last year.
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Kendra Meinert is an entertainment and features writer for the Green Bay Press-Gazette. Reach her at 920-431-8347 or [email protected]. Follow her on X @KendraMeinert.
