
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, October 4, 1994                   TAG: 9410040074
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: KANSAS CITY, MO.                                 LENGTH: Short

`FAR SIDE' CREATOR TO RETIRE

Gary Larson, the creator of the syndicated cartoon ``The Far Side,'' plans to retire at the end of the year, his syndicate announced today.

Larson has drawn his cartoon of the absurd, featuring things like cows in singles bars and bacteria with family lives, for 15 years. It is distributed by Universal Press Syndicate to nearly 1,900 newspapers. The last release will appear Jan. 1.

In a statement released today, Larson, 44, said his main reasons for retiring were ``simple fatigue and a fear that if I continue for many more years, my work will begin to suffer or at the very least ease into the Graveyard of Mediocre Cartoons.''

However, Larson will continue to work with Universal Press on several projects, including ``The Far Side'' books, calendars and greeting cards.

by CNB