Comic Review: Strangers in Paradise

By Contributing Writer on Thursday, February 5, 2009 - 00:31

by Lil G

Even though I know this series isn't created by a European, I really wanted to share this with you. "Strangers in Paradise" (or SiP) is a rare gem, that once you're finished reading you wonder why it's not picked up by a more mainstream audience. IT IS THAT GOOD.

I can't remember exactly when I started reading SiP, but I do remember how I started. It was one of those hot Summer days and I passed a comic shop somewhere in downtown Toronto back in 2002, Canada when I was suddenly reminded I still needed to pick up something new for my brother (he's into Buffy, Serenity, Spawn, sci fi and fantasy). So I stepped in and was greeted by a geeky looking guy. I browsed for the longest time - when several "Strangers in Paradise" trade paperback issues caught my eye. That sure didn't sound like any superhero stuff I'd ever seen before. Curiousity piqued I picked up a copy and started reading a couple of random pages.
Up until that moment I didn't consider myself the type to read comics, but this Terry Moore sure knows how to tell a story! The diagologues are the kind anyone can relate to, the stuff you'd probably say to your friends in similar situations. And what's more important: he draws women like real women. No huge sillicone boobs and tiny waist lines but skinny women, curvy women and even a couple of ripped ones.
I picked up one of each volume they were stocking, and when the geeky looking guy saw what I was buying he smiled. He told me I would love it, that his girlfriend is a huge fan of the series, and that she was the one who got him hooked on it as well. That much praise sure promised something very good. And Terry Moore delivered.

I took the liberty of re-reading the series in order to review it for you. That's 90 single issues, or 19 trade paperbacks.

The main characters in the book are:

Katina "Katchoo" Choovanski - An artist with a violent past, and once lover and agent of Darcy Parker. Katchoo has been in love with her best friend, Francine, for most of her life, though she has complicated romantic feelings for her only male friend, David, as well.
Francine Peters - Katchoo's kind-hearted best friend. Francine struggles with her weight and self-image, never quite able to see the beauty in herself that Katchoo sees. Francine has difficulty bringing herself to make a romantic commitment to Katchoo, partly due to her Methodist upbringing and partly because of her childhood dream to become a wife and mother. Her marriage to Brad Silver comes crashing down when she realizes that he's unfaithful to her.
Yousaka Takahashi/David Qin - A born again Christian and younger brother of Darcy Parker. He's also the unwilling heir to the Takahashi crime syndicate.  The complex romantic feelings he harbors for Casey and Katchoo come to a head when he is diagnosed with a serious illness, leading the trio to contemplate having a baby in his memory.