Close to Home Exposed

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.