NAMES IN THE NEWS : Fresh Larson Back on ‘Far Side’

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Having traveled to Africa and the Amazon jungle during a 14-month sabbatical, cartoonist Gary Larson should have even more loopy animals with which to draw his popular cartoon “The Far Side.”

The Universal Press Syndicate, which carries Larson’s strip, kept busy during his absence, adding newspapers for a total of more than 900 that run the cartoon.

Under his new schedule, Larson will produce five original panels a week, with reissues of old cartoons for the other two days.

He said he had mixed feelings about being back at work; the first new cartoons will be published Jan. 1.

“I currently feel fresh and recharged, and a reduced workload I’m sure will play a big role in maintaining that feeling,” Larson said. “But, as I’m sure anyone who has had an opportunity to take a full year off will agree, that first Monday morning back to work is quite a sobering experience.”

Larson--whose offbeat, bizarre humor features animated puns, animals that act like humans and vice versa--took a break starting in October, 1988. Larson and his wife traveled extensively and spent four months in New York, where he studied jazz guitar. Their home is in Seattle.