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 from nearly 600 daily and Sunday newspapers 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.

The latest collectionfrom the populare popular comic strip celebrates the highs and lows of family life. Original.

Don't mess with Lola. She's too old for you to be asking, she bucks stereotypes like a bronco, and she suffers adult sons, daughters-in-law, and potential suitors badly. In Old Age Isn't for Sissies, Lola continues her brash march through life, stepping over proper diet, exercise, and political correctness. She's a take-no-prisoners, cigar-chomping, beer-on-the-doily kind of gal who will whack you with her cane if given half a chance. But Lola's lack of charm is her most charming trait-and what makes her such a delight to fans of all ages.

Baldo is the 15-year-old title character in a hilarious new comic, the first nationally syndicated strip to depict a Latino family's lives.This refreshingly hip new collection captures the lifestyle and humor of the country's fastest-growing ethnic group through the adventures of a typical American teenager, who just happens to live a salsa-mix life of mainstream sensibilities and Latino culture. The result is a merry combination of silliness that rings true, whether Baldo and his buddies are dreaming of girls or building the sweetest low-rider car imaginable.

Ziggy's countless fans feel as though the lovable character with the big head and the generous heart has been with them all their lives as well. For the past 30 years, the quintessential little guy in a big world speaks to more than 75 million faithful readers who identify with his hopes and insecurities. Their diminutive hero, who relates better to his animal friends than he does to other people, always manages to find the bright spot, inspiring us to do the same. Ziggy's Friends for Life is a special anniversary collection in which Ziggy's friends and fans pay tribute, complete with celebrity commentary and a timeline documenting many gems and milestones from Zig's life-a must read for fans and collectors alike!

"I want to be the ferret in the pants of the government." --Duke, on Larry King Live Hot on the heels of his surprising in-your-face presidential campaign, the roots of candidate Duke are revisited in this reissue of Action Figure!, the definitive history of his adventures from 1970 to 1991. The perennial bad boy of American comics has always been a man of action: libelous action, irrational action, covert action, back-street action-even when comatose, he has a certain flair. Duke is the man of a thousand vices, with almost as many pages to his resume. For 17 years, from Samoa to China to Panama to Kuwait, wherever serious mischief was being dealt, Duke has been a major figure. Action Figure!, gives the Toasted One his due-one vast, staggering flashback that tracks his careening career from Gonzo Journalist to Governor, Ambassador, Coach, Laetrile Farmer, Fugitive, and Zombie. No risk has been too great, no prospect too strange, to sway the man with nerves of steel from his random course.

The Boondocks is a rich, multilayered comic strip that offers a frank yet often funny look at race in America. It starts with a simple premise: Two young boys, Riley and Huey, move from innercity Chicago to live with their grandfather. The tension increases, however, because the two boys are African-Americans now compelled to adapt to a white suburban world. They must take all they've learned in the ''hood and apply it to life in the 'burbs. Superbly illustrated, The Boondocks has stirred controversy, attracted widespread media coverage, and won readers who've applauded McGruder's unapologetic and humorous approach to race.

This third collection of Sherman's Lagoon comic strip offers another engaging assortment of cartoons from the popular syndicated strip, appearing in nearly 150 newspapers. Sherman and his turtle sidekick team up to battle the encroachment of civilization on a remote tropical paradise in the South Pacific.

Only in the world of Close to Home can you find hospitals staffed with hypochondriac-sniffing dogs, Yellowstone employees who secretly spike Old Faithful with gallons of Mr. Bubble, and telephones equipped with Caller I.Q. Of course, for the creator of the screamingly successful Close to Home, it's just another no-holds-barred day at the drawing board. Specializing in humor in everyday situations, John McPherson lampoons the worlds of parenting, marriage, school, health care, work, and leisure in ways that get readers to laugh at themselves.