Angry Bob

Angry Bob is the name of a character in the newspaper comic strip, Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis. He was created by the character Rat, who wrote a series of books about him which can be read in certain strips.

The Adventures of Angry Bob

The books that Rat writes are entitled, "The Adventures of Angry Bob (by Rat)". Sometimes, they will have a subtitle, such as, "An Epic Tragic Poem Thingie" or "A Big Fat Tale 'O Woe".

In every story, Angry Bob becomes frustrated with his life, usually stating that he is either angry or sad. Then, he gets a new idea to make his life better (e.g. go on vacation, buy a new house, go to the zoo, etc.). Finally, just as he is starting to feel happy at last, something ridiculous happens that kills him (e.g. gets trampled by elephants, gets drunk and drowns in the ocean, gets beaten up by an angry mob; gets shot by armed, deaf, easily startled, cross-dressing midgets, etc.).

Trivia

• In the introduction to his collection of "Pearls" strips, Nighthogs, Pastis implies that Angry Bob was, in a way, a model of Mr. Bill from the TV show, Saturday Night Live. Mr. Bill, being a little man made out of clay, also died every time he appeared.

• Angry Bob is never shown in the comics. Rat, however, did invent a "Bob the Angry Smoker" football, which was meant to resemble a head smoking a cigarette. This may or not be modeled after his book character.

• No explanation is told as to how Angry Bob can come back to life, although in several of the Angry Bob stories Rat has Bob "undie."

• Other characters that Rat has invented include Danny Donkey, Kit the Cow, Dickie the Cockroach, and Zorro's brother, Orro.

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