By Doug Levy

January 16, 1997

Make friends with 'Strangers'

I've often come across a comic book or work of graphic literature (yes, literature) and been excited enough to recommend it to someone who I think would really appreciate it, only to get the response, "Oh, I don't really like comic books." And this from educated people, too. The problem is that other misconception I mentioned. It's the idea that the comic book is a genre, as opposed to a medium. To say, "I don't like comic books," is actually like saying, "I don't like movies," or, "I don't like novels." It's a denial of the fact that the medium can really be used to express whatever the artist wants. There's such stigma surrounding the comic book industry that most people would scoff at the idea that it could produce anything that could be called "literature." When they hear "comic book," their minds flash images of outrageously proportioned people in spandex punching each other, and then shut off. Again, Terry Moore is here to change that.

Strangers In Paradise is the story of two women, Katchoo and Francine, and a man, David. They don't have super powers. They don't dress up and fight crime. They don't have concerns that real people don't have. And more importantly, they all have the same concerns that real people have. Katchoo and Francine have been best friends since grade school. Katchoo is wild, aggressive, and completely distrustful of men. Francine is timid, insecure and unable to keep herself away from disastrous relationships. They are complete opposites, yet they can't live without each other. And, to make things more interesting, Katchoo is in love with Francine. David, a young art student, comes into the picture and falls in love with Katchoo. And, at one point, Francine decides she's in love with David. Sound like a soap opera? I suppose it would be, if it wasn't so damn funny.

Every line of dialogue uttered in the story is always so perfect, so true to life, that you can't help but wonder how Terry Moore understands people so well, especially women. Francine and Katchoo's constant worries over sex, weight, relationships, etc., come across as so genuine that it wouldn't surprise me if Mr. Moore was actually a woman.

" . . . I wanted to make my own little reality where people really do fall in love and cling to each other no matter what," says Moore. "I wanted to show that we really do need each other, that maybe men and women don't have a lot in common, but we're both here and we really need to try to get along . . . SIP is a microscope focused on relationships. Don't blink." Sound like any comic you've ever heard of? If not, check it out.

Strangers In Paradise has been one of the most successful books in years at drawing new readers into comics, by showing that a comic book doesn't have to be about anything other than real people and real problems. This is the comic for people who don't read comics. This is the book for female readers who have been previously alienated by the stigma around the industry. Hell, this is the comic for people, period. Read it and understand.

(The original run of Strangers In Paradise is available in three trade paperbacks from Abstract Studios. The current run is monthly from Image Comics. All are available in Tucson at Fantasy Comics.)