Far Side Artist Gary Larson Vacations

Cartoonist Gary Larson is leaving The Far Side for a 14-month "recharging" sabbatical beginning October 30.

Larson intends to spend his vacation "traveling, studying the guitar, and recharging his creative batteries," according to reports from Universal Press Syndicate.

The one-panel, "off-the-wall humor" cartoon runs in more than 800 papers with an estimated daily readership of 90 million, according to Universal's Lee Salem. Until Larson's return on Jan. 1, 1990, the cartoon will continue with panels reprinted from the early 80s, when The Far Side appeared in fewer than 30 papers.

Salem, UPS vice president/editorial director, said he doesn't believe Larson will lose many papers since relatively few readers saw the earlier work. The Far Side has been collected in several best-selling books that have garnered reported sales near 11 million units.

Larson is the second Universal cartoonist to break for vacation, according to Editor & Publisher. Garry Trudeau left Doonesbury for 21 months between 1983 and 1984.