‘Close To Home’ Fills ‘Far Side’ Vacancy

Nothing can replace “The Far Side.”

But with cartoonist Gary Larson’s decision to discontinue the wildly popular feature, a spot in The Spokesman-Review’s comics lineup needed to be filled.

And trying to fill those clown-size shoes will be John McPherson’s quirky “Close to Home.”

Readership surveys conducted by newspapers already running the cartoon suggest it has the potential to become a big hit here.

A resident of New York state, McPherson worked as a design engineer before turning to cartooning. He has published five collections of his cartoons through Zondervan Publishing.

He has said his humor is more apt to appeal to fans of “The Far Side” than to regular readers of “The Family Circus.”

And as for “Close to Home,” there’s only one sure way to decide if you’ll like it.

Check it out in the comics section, starting today.