[postlink]https://punditgirl.blogspot.com/2010/08/cathy-guisewite-to-end-cathy-comic.html[/postlink]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iE38reOYwDwendofvid [starttext]
It's curtains for "Cathy."
The 34-year-old comic strip will end the adventures of its romantically challenged title character Oct. 3, according to its creator.
"I suddenly found myself up against this wall: that if I don't quit now, then when?" Cathy Guisewite said in an interview with the Chicago Tribune.
The 59-year-old artist struggled with the decision but felt she wanted to spend more time with her family.
"After almost 34 years of meeting newspaper deadlines, I'm facing some personal deadlines whose requirements simply exceed my ability to procrastinate any longer," Guisewite said in a statement.
Guisewite has an 18-year-old daughter and aging parents who live in Florida, all of whom she wants to spend more time with.
"I want to be able to visit more often," she said, noting that she would also like to try her hand at other "creative" projects.
Guisewite, who started writing comic strips at the urging of her mother, saw her work first published in 1976 by Kansas City, Mo.-based Universal Press Syndicate, now Universal Uclick.
Lee Salem, president and editor of Universal Uclick, said in a news release that the same day Universal received its first "Cathy" submission, the company sent a contract back to Guisewite.
"Seven months later, the strip began in newspapers," Salem said. Although "Cathy" wasn't an immediate hit, it gained popularity. It's currently carried in about 700 newspapers, according to Universal Uclick.[endtext]
