The Boondocks, the black comic-strip family living in white suburbia, are going on vacation.

Aaron McGruder, the cartoonist behind the strip syndicated in about 350 American newspapers, said Tuesday he would take about six months off beginning in March.

“Every well needs occasional refreshing,” he wrote in a letter to be sent to editors of newspapers carrying the strip. “I hope that this fall you will agree that the time away from the demands of deadlines has served the strip, your readers and me.”

McGruder offered no further explanation and declined interviews. His editor at Universal Press Syndicate, Greg Melvin, said McGruder simply needed a break.

“Deadlines are hard on everybody, but deadlines are especially hard on creative people,” Melvin said. “When six months have passed, hopefully his batteries will be recharged.”

The last new comic before the hiatus will appear March 26. Papers can run old “Boondocks” strips or a replacement until October.

“The Boondocks” has been distributed by Kansas City-based Universal Press since April 1999. It touches on racial issues, pop culture and politics as it chronicles the lives of Huey Freeman, his little brother, Riley and their eccentric grandfather, who moves them from south Chicago to the suburbs.

The strip’s frequent criticism of everything from the Bush administration and post-9/11 policies to TV network BET has made it a source of controversy.

A few papers temporarily pulled the strip for its attacks against the war in Iraq. And last year, several papers dropped it for a few days because of an offensive ethnic slur.