Strangers In Paradise

[boggle]

Not sure if this is in the right forum but...... been thinking about getting into this for a while now and was wondering if anyone could let me know if its any good....

Im currently reading lots of Marvel and Oni Press stuff and my all time fav comic story is Box Office Poison to give you an idea of what I like...

[Gaz]

It starts off really well, but gets patchy later, on, but I've heard it's on an upswing recently.

[Sleeper]

I've only read the third pocket book - didn't even get a chance to pick up either #1 or #2 - and it was a really good read. The characters aren't one's I've come across before, they're warm, funny and tragic in their own ways. Great stuff. Wasn't too hot on a few of the pauses in the form of prose though.

[Sandoz]

It starts off really well, but gets patchy later, on, but I've heard it's on an upswing recently.
SIP's been on a big downward slide for a while now. Terry Moore admits to making up the story as it goes along, and it has really started to show. I've given up on it.

I recommend the first thirty or so issues. Up until the "High School!" arc, SIP was an excellent book.

[Gaz]

SIP's been on a big downward slide for a while now. Terry Moore admits to making up the story as it goes along, and it has really started to show. I've given up on it.

I recommend the first thirty or so issues. Up until the "High School!" arc, SIP was an excellent book.
Me too, but someone told me he's gotten into a groove recently, and it's better. Haven't looked to see myself yet, though.

[JTLauder]

I've hear the title mentioned a lot. I've never read it, but I can't quite figure out the premise of the book.
Can anyone describe what it's about, and why it's considered good?

[Kirayoshi]

I've hear the title mentioned a lot. I've never read it, but I can't quite figure out the premise of the book.
Can anyone describe what it's about, and why it's considered good?
Strangers in Paradise is essentially the story of three 20-somethings who share a complex bond of friendship/attraction, as well as some strange connections in their past.

Francine Peters(the good girl) had befriended Katina "Katchoo" Choovanski, a sexually abused student, when they were both attending high school. Katchoo ran away from her unhappy home life at one point and became a high-class call girl, working for a powerful crime figure named Darcy Parker. Years later she escaped Darcy's grasp and returned to Memphis where she reunited with Francine. At the beginning of the series, Katchoo and Francine are roommates and best friends, complicated by the fact that Katchoo is openly in love with Francine, who considers herself Straight, although she does find herself thinking more and more about her closest friend, especially when the guys she dates turn out to be real flakes(Freddy Femurs, for example)

Into this complex situation arives David Niq, Asian-American, sensitive, attracted to Katchoo, and(as it turns out) connected to her past with Darcy Parker. A devout Christian, David tries to reach out to Katchoo, although their own pasts often get in the way. Meanwhile, Francine increasingly finds herself torn between the genuine affection she feels for Katchoo, and the question of whether or not she's truly in love with her best friend, and the expectations of her family and upbringing which tend to drive her to the next available man.

Strangers in Paradise, therefore, is a soap opera, with three central characters who are complex and three-dimensional, as opposed to the cardboard cutouts that we see in most comics. The closest it compares to would be Love and Rockets by Los Bros Hermendez. If you like well-rounded characters in your comics, you'll be well rewarded to check this book out. It's by turns funny, heartbreaking, terrifying and suspensful. And yes, while Terry seemed to lose his way for a run of issues, he's recently gotten the story back on track.

Best trades to start with:

Strangers in Paradise. The first three-issue story arc. Nice introduction to the gang.
I Dream of You. First appearance of Darcy Parker.
High School. How Francine and Katchoo first met. Also features the infamous Princess Warrior one-shot, where Terry Moore skewers Xena with truly funny results!
Molly and Poo(forthcoming, I think): A bizarre subplot Terry had experimented with on and off. Nothing to do with the main story, but a powerful exploration of a woman's descent into madness.

[boggle]

Cheers all.... looks like Ill be checking out some of the early stuff then.

[JTLauder]

Thank you, Kirayoshi.

I hate getting into a series after it's been going for such a long time because there's so much you have to catch up on.

But I also really like continuing storylines with developing plots--not those that just have stories but the characters never change or age over time. I'll definitely try to at least look at the early trades.

[Deathlok]

I just picked up the "Desire" trade. Pretty good stuff.

[matt levin]

Oh, it's good, it's good. Bear with it--most series have their ups and downs, and even in its 'down' issues, it's better than most. It's good. It's worth your time and your money, IMHO!!!

[CoreyB]

Now that I've accepted that he doesn't have a master plan and it's more of a character study of these very interesting people, I enjoy it more. I think I was expecting it to be something he never really intended it to be.

But still, the ultimate peak of this series is the I Dream Of You trade (or issues 1-9 of volume 2, also collected in The Complete Strangers in Paradise Volume 2 and either the first or second Pocket Book [can't tell]).

However, it has been getting better recently regardless of my recent shift in perspective.

[Gaz]

Now that I've accepted that he doesn't have a master plan and it's more of a character study of these very interesting people, I enjoy it more. I think I was expecting it to be something he never really intended it to be.

But still, the ultimate peak of this series is the I Dream Of You trade (or issues 1-9 of volume 2, also collected in The Complete Strangers in Paradise Volume 2 and either the first or second Pocket Book [can't tell]).

However, it has been getting better recently regardless of my recent shift in perspective.
It's the first Pocket Book. (has the original 3 issue run, I Dream Of You, and the vacation story)

[mgs]

very good book, b&w art, a slow burn type read, interesting characters. :)