After 34 Years and Many Diets, ‘Cathy’ Comic Strip to End

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/13/books/13arts-AFTER34YEARS_BRF.html

After 34 Years and Many Diets, ‘Cathy’ Comic Strip to End
PATRICIA COHEN
August 12, 2010

Readers who have been following the exploits of the slightly overweight, somewhat insecure and perpetually single comic strip character Cathy for 34 years will soon find themselves going through withdrawal. Cathy Guisewite, the strip’s creator, announced on Wednesday that she is ending the popular cartoon’s run, The Associated Press reported. Ms. Guisewite, 59, said that the autobiographical strip has been “the most astonishing form of therapy,” but that her “creative biological clock” was ticking, and she wants to try something else — although isn’t sure what. The urge to spend more time with her 18-year-old daughter and her parents was also a motivation, she said. Carried in about 700 newspapers, “Cathy” is syndicated by Universal Uclick. Although the cartoon Cathy, above, is often frustrated by her overly loving mother, in real life Ms. Guisewite credits her mother with first urging her to write and draw comics. The final strip is scheduled for Oct. 3, after the end of the swimsuit season.

A version of this brief appeared in print on August 13, 2010, on page C2 of the New York edition.