Here’s a comic chosen at random from my collection.

 

Strangers in Paradise Pocket Book 6 by Terry Moore (art & story), with Brian Miller (cover colorist)

This final collection of the series has it all. Secrets are revealed! Relationships are destroyed. Relationships are rekindled! There is death and life and love. To say anything about the specifics would ruin the story to new readers, and I want to entice anyone who has not read Strangers in Paradise to do so. It is a story and a journey that is so, so satisfying. Terry Moore is masterful in his art, and he conveys such deep and vivid emotions through it. What can be better than that?

Here’s a cover image chosen at random from my collection.

Strangers in Paradise Pocket Book 1 by Terry Moore (art & story), with Brian Miller (cover colorist)

I was visiting The Comic Book Shop one day with my wife, and for some reason, she was in a rare mood to try something. Maybe she was curious after over 20 years of watching me read all those comics, and listening to me talk about these characters and stories that she knew little about. Maybe it was the clerk who was attentive and eager to help my wife find something that interested her. Regardless, the clerk (and for the life of me, I can’t remember her name at the moment–sorry!) recommended Strangers in Paradise. I bought it for my wife, of course, thinking, oh, yeah, I’ve heard about this–I should give it a try, too. After I got through the initial farcical first storyline, I was hooked. I started buying these pocket book editions for me (and yes, my wife continued reading them as well, though she stopped after the third or fourth volume).

Wow. For those who have read this fantastic series, you know. You know! For those who haven’t read it–yet–you will find out what a ride this truly is. It’s a love story, first and foremost, about multiple characters, but the driving force is, of course, Katchoo’s and Francine’s love for each other. Along the way you get political intrigue, social commentary, murder, and so much more. What seemed like one-off and two-dimensional characters turn out to be just as intriguing as the main protagonists. Characters who start off as jerks end up being pretty cool, and vice versa. There’s just so much to savor and digest. It doesn’t hurt that Mr. Moore draws everything so prettily, and I’m not just talking about the female characters (I think I’m sort of in love with Katchoo, but don’t tell my wife!).

There’s never been a better time to read Strangers in Paradise (or SiP) because Mr. Moore has just released an omnibus edition, or you can read it as I did in the Pocket Book editions. Either way, as a comic book fan, you need to read this series.