This special anthology celebrates three decades of John McPherson's quick-witted and zany characters, whose unconventional and twisted humor make Close to Home one of the funniest cartoons in the comics world! Close to Home Classics presents the best cartoons from the strip's repertoire, representing the major themes that have played out in its history: school, medical, office, kids, marriage, and sports. John McPherson has selected the best of the best in each category and he provides commentary on the strips. The book includes a section with a brief tutorial on how he creates the cartoon, which is one of the most popular presentations at his speaking engagements. This compendium of McPherson's funniest comics includes over 800 comics hand-selected by the author and his editors.

No one walks away from a "Close to Home" cartoon unscathed. John McPherson's lumpy characters and bizarre situations are tailor-made for gut-splitting laughs. And then there are the cartoons that leave readers shaking their heads, sputtering, "Oh my gosh" as a guilty smile passes across their faces. "The Scourge of Vinyl Car Seats" delivers what fans expect from McPherson: jokes about everything from parenting to dating to car repairs. McPherson takes his readers on a journey that's very Close to Home.

John McPherson's single-panel comics have appeared in 11 previous books. Nearly 600 daily and Sunday newspapers regularly carry his work, which has been syndicated by Universal Press Syndicate since 1992. A line of McPherson greeting cards, mugs, and calendars has sold well in the United States, and will soon expand to the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the European Union. Still, fans cannot get enough of Close to Home!Now comes Ferociously Close to Home. Like its predecessors, this 144-page volume delivers McPherson's trademark take on the absurdities of everyday life. To say that his solutions to these perplexing situations is 'out there' is an understatement. Consider Gina, who decides a branding iron will be the ideal memory aid for her birthday date-challenged husband. And poor Lanny, whose treadmill session is interrupted when he inadvertently triggers the health club's offensive odor alarm.McPherson has long walked the line between grotesque and goofy. But somehow, his figures with big noses and bulging eyes connect with readers with a surefire magnetic precision. Whether it's health care or parenting, dating or car repairs, Close to Home delivers McPherson's warped world without fail.

"This biography, by Rev. John MacPherson, was prepared soon after Moorhouse (at the early age of forty) passed to his rest. The material at command was suffi cient if not ample, although Moorhouse always had the strongest objection to anything in the shape of press puffs, the "limelight" of this world possessing no attraction to him. During the years that have lapsed since this biography was issued, a few new facts have come to light; and some which actually did receive Mr. MacPherson's recognition have been rendered of deeper interest through the publication of biographies of men of God who knew Moorhouse-notably that of Dwight Lyman Moody. It may be permitted, therefore, by way of preface to the "Popular" edition, to add a few further words regarding Moorhouse and his career as an evangelist and Bible expositor and teacher. ... "It is impossible to read the life of Moorhouse without being convinced that the Divine plan for him, at any rate, was to go forth to the masses as an evangelist. Moreover, it may well be that his career has a lesson for the University and the Training College, in that it teaches that great things God may accomplish, according to His blessed will, through a man whose gifts are kindled into brilliancy by the light which shines from the Book of books, and to whom is given the wisdom of which the prophet spake when he declared: 'He that winneth souls is wise.'" -Excerpt from Henry Moorhouse: The English Evangelist

Start with an everyday occurrence, add several helpings of absurdity, a few cups of silliness, and a dash of sickness and you get Close to Home. For more than a decade, the goofy people and brilliant humor of this single-panel strip have put smiles on the faces of readers of nearly 600 daily newspapers. It's yielded 12 books-10 collections and two treasuries. The latest collection, Close to Home Exposed, captures the daily hilarity of the most recent cartoon panels.As the comic's name suggests, Close to Home provides humor that's comfortable and familiar; yet the strip also has a palpable element of danger or nonsense. Topics vary widely, from health care and parenting to car repairs and shopping. But whether it's addressing dating or death-or just as likely, dating and death-Close to Home always delivers the off-center laughs its long-time readers have come to expect."Close to Home is always a scream, and I love the goofy people that you draw. Truth is, I work with a lot of these folks."-Tom D."Where do you come up with these comics?! They are totally stupendous and are a big part of my stupid and nauseating life. You're the best!" -Sleepless in New York"Every day you make me laugh!! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!" -An Online Fan