The creator and mind behind the Pearls Before Swine comic strip is coming to Greater Akron.
Stephan Pastis will be at the Barnes and Noble on state Route 18 in Fairlawn at noon on Oct. 15.
The appearance will mark the Oct. 10 release of his new graphic novel geared toward middle school readers “Looking Up” that is about a girl struggling with loneliness.
It will be a homecoming of sorts for Pastis as he has family roots in Akron.
His father grew up in Akron in the 1930s and was a Beacon Journal delivery boy as a kid. And his grandfather owned a pool hall in the city during the Great Depression.