A common English phrase meaning of personal interest, used particularly when hearing of something that brings forth negative thoughts or worries. Usually the full phrase is something like "hits too close to home" or "strikes close to home".
That critique on short writeups hit a little too close to home for comfort.
Also the name of a comic strip drawn by John McPherson. One of the one-frame comics, many of us know it as the comic strip that popped in to replace The Far Side in '94. McPherson started out as a free-lance cartoonist selling to magazines. In 1992 Close to Home was syndicated (by Universal Press Syndicate, since you asked). It now appears in almost 600 newspapers and has been published innumerable (maybe 12ish) books. Due to his early career, publishing in random magazines, his earlier books are collections by subject (i.e. Life at McPherson High {school comics}, McPherson's Sports and Fitness Manual {sports comics}), and often hard to find.
The strips are poorly drawn, goofy, and often stupid. And often good. He has a wide range. Many of the strips are exaggerations of common problem/observances, or goofy solutions to the same. Others are just random silliness. I wouldn't go so far as to recommend that you read this strip, but if you're curious, you can find it at http://www.ucomics.com/closetohome/