Cartoonist Stephan Pastis showcases Montréal in more than 750 newspapers around the world

Société des célébrations du 375e anniversaire de Montréal

Pastis becomes the very first 375MTL Honorary Montrealer

MONTRÉAL, Jan. 19, 2015 /CNW Telbec/ - He fell in love with Montréal on his first trip to the city last fall, and now the American cartoonist Stephan Pastis is shining the spotlight on Montréal in two strips of his popular comic strip Pearls Before Swine. The comics will be published today and Wednesday in over 750 newspapers around the globe, including the New York Times, the Washington Post and the Chicago Sun Times.

Stephan Pastis: a new fan of Montréal
Stephan Pastis was thrilled by his first trip to Montréal. "This was my first time ever in Montréal. I was supposed to go to Toronto and then when I researched areas around it, I decided to go to Montréal. It just seemed like one of the coolest cities I could visit. Everybody tells you that you gotta go to Schwartz's, you gotta go have the bagels at St-Viateur, so obviously we did that first. That was great, but that did not compare to experience number two—which was going to a Habs game!"

Visibly impressed, he was absolutely charmed by the city's friendly atmosphere. "There are so many great, diverse neighbourhoods that you could spend a whole day, if not a weekend, going to the cafés, going to the bars. That's what I look for in cities. You know, most big American cities don't have a walking area, but here you have so many different little neighbourhoods and that's great. That's the kind of thing that would make me want to move to this city. Except for the snow. I understand it snows. So we'll skip the months where it snows," he added jokingly.

Montréal in more than 750 newspapers: average readership of 18 million
His first trip to Montréal inspired Pastis to depict the iconic symbols of Montréal in his popular comic strip Pearls Before Swine. Readers will get to see, for example, the famous St-Viateur bagels as well as a reference to the Montréal Canadiens. In the comic strip released today, Pig, one of his famous characters, even announces he's moving to Montréal.

"With less than two years to go to the 375th anniversary festivities, this is the beginning of a great adventure. It's free publicity for Montréal, since we didn't ask anything from nor give anything to Stephan Pastis. While it's hard to comprehend the scope of this initiative in economic and tourism spin-offs, it's worth noting that the comic strips by Stephan Pastis are published each day in more than 750 newspapers (print and digital) around the world, reaching a daily readership of 18 millions. It will have a huge impact and Montréal will be in millions of American homes thanks to his comic strip," said Philippe Duval, General Manager of the Society for the Celebration of Montréal's 375th Anniversary.

Creation of the title 375MTL Honorary Montrealer
To increase Montréal's visibility on the national and international stage and create a new sense of pride within the community, the Society for the Celebration of Montréal's 375th Anniversary has launched a campaign that showcases local, national and international public figures/celebrities sharing their love for Montréal in the form of testimonial videos. Celebrated American author and cartoonist Stephan Pastis therefore becomes the very first 375MTL Honorary Montrealer. As thanks for this nomination, Pastis created two comic strips featuring Montréal.

About Stephan Pastis
The first blockbuster by Stephan Pastis—Pearls Before Swine—is published in more than 750 newspapers around the world, primarily in the United States. Stephan Pastis has also created a number of treasuries and a series of illustrated albums/books for children with the publishing house Andrews McMeel Publishing. He received stellar reviews and instantly became a New York Times bestseller. He is a National Indie Excellence Book Awards recipient. His books are currently published in more than 40 languages around the world, and he has received many prestigious accolades. Pastis was nominated for the Newspaper Comic Strip Award from the National Cartoonists Society in 2002, 2003, 2006 and 2007, and won in 2003 and 2006. He also received the National Cartoonists Society Reuben Award for Cartoonist of the Year in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014.

About the Society for the Celebration of Montréal's 375th Anniversary
The Society for the Celebration of Montréal's 375th Anniversary is a non-profit organization whose mission is to organize the 2017 celebrations. The flexible and agile small team acts as a catalyst for combining the strengths of different private and public partners. It works with existing expertise and structures to rigorously manage funds, develop quality programming and ensure visibility of the celebrations. It does not look after the legacy, which falls under the responsibility of different public authorities. The Society is supported by the Ville de Montréal and the gouvernement du Québec.

www.375mtl.com
www.stephanpastis.wordpress.com

Comic strips available on request

SOURCE Société des célébrations du 375e anniversaire de Montréal

Image with caption: "American cartoonist Stephan Pastis is shining the spotlight on Montréal in two strips of his popular comic strip Pearls Before Swine. Copyright : 2014 Stephan Pastis / Distr. by Universal Uclick (CNW Group/Société des célébrations du 375e anniversaire de Montréal)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20150119_C7358_PHOTO_EN_10312.jpg

Information and interviews: Kathia St-Jean, Director, Public and Government Relations, T. 514-908-0375, ext.106, C. 514-502-3672, [email protected]