Strangers in Paradise



Strangers in Paradise is published by Abstract Studios. The current price per issue is $2.95

Last Issue

 * Strangers in Paradise, vol. 3 #89: 02 May 2007

Current Issue

 * Strangers in Paradise, vol. 3 #90: 13 Jun 2007

Next Issue

 * none

Status
Strangers in Paradise ended with issue #90.

Main Characters

 * Francine Helen Peters-Silver - Katchoo's kind-hearted best friend. Francine struggles with her weight and her 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 fairytale marriage to Brad Silver comes crashing down when she realizes that he's unfaithful to her, leading her to reconsider choosing him over Katchoo.


 * Katina "Katchoo" Marie Choovanski -"The Original Angry Blonde," Katchoo is a temperamental artist with a violent past. A former call-girl, Katchoo was the 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.


 * Yousaka "David Qin" Takahashi - A gentle, sensitive art student, Yousaka is the younger brother of Darcy Parker and the unwilling heir to the Takahashi crime syndicate. Once the leader of a violent street gang, Yousaka became a born-again Christian after a personal tragedy and he changed his name to "David Qin" to reflect his new identity. 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.

Minor Characters

 * Casey Bullocks-Femur - A blonde, busty, and bisexual aerobics instructor, Casey was married to Freddy Femur but divorced him after learning that he was still in love with Francine. Since the divorce, she has had romantic involvements with both Katchoo and David. Because of her childhood anorexia, she is unable to give birth to David's child.


 * Frederick "Freddie" Angus Femur - Francine's ex-boyfriend and Casey's ex-husband. A womanizing attorney, Freddie cheated on Francine and humiliated her during their break-up (giving her a nervous breakdown in the process) but later becomes obsessed with her.


 * Darcy Parker - A ruthless and predatory crime boss who led the "Parker Girls," women who are skilled in various acts of seduction and espionage. Though she employed only women and claimed to hate the male gender, Darcy had an intense, incestuous love for her brother David. She had an intense relationship with Katchoo, until Katchoo ran away to Hawaii with her friend Emma. Darcy was killed by Tambi after her criminal empire was brought down.


 * Mary Beth "Tambi" Baker - A brutal enforcer who worked for Darcy Parker alongside her twin sister Sara Beth "Bambi", Tambi is skilled in not only the deadly arts, but in business and strategy. She and Bambi are Katchoo's older half sisters. In a quest to continue the Baker line, she covertly encourages Katchoo to bear David's child.


 * Brad Silver - A charming, handsome doctor, Brad at first appears to be an ideal husband for Francine; however, their inability to communicate drives a wedge between them. When Francine discovers his infidelity, she initiates divorce proceedings.


 * Griffin Silver - An aging rock star admired by Katchoo in her youth, Griffin's songs were printed in the series long before the character made his first appearance. He was the brother of Brad Silver. Griffin was shot and killed by a stalker.


 * Molly Lane - Molly has only a tenuous connection to the main SiP cast (she dated Francine's brother Benjamin in high school) but has nevertheless been the star of one of the book's major storylines. The protagonist of "Molly and Poo," Molly is a tortured writer who dreams of a mysterious muse ("Ma Malai") and murders her husband with a butcher knife.

Strangers in Paradise, vol. 3 #72
Brad calls Francine from work and tries to patch things up. Katchoo presents David with a wedding band, but David confesses that before coming to Vegas he slept with Katchoo's half-sister Tambi in Japan in an attempt to get Tambi pregnant. Later, Rusty's stalker approaches her in the parking lot with a loaded gun, but Katchoo arrives and beats the crap out of him. Later still, Katchoo realises that she prefers women to men, and gets a tattoo on her lower back. Katchoo and David meet up one last time, and decide that, while they love each other, there's too much bagage in their relationship to continue. Katchoo goes back to her studio in Houston, while David heads for New York. Rusty & Casey return for a short while to their lives as showgirls, but decide eventually to leave Las Vegas behind for good: Rusty goes back to Sacramento, while Casey returns to Houston.

Strangers in Paradise, vol. 3 #71
Katchoo and David visit Casey & Rusty backstage at the MC Grand, where all of the showgirls fawn over David, much to Katchoo's annoyance. Katchoo & David have a disagreement over wedding rings, and whether or not they are actually married, seeing as the marriage license was never submitted. Meanwhile, Brad announces to an ecstatic Francine that he has a job offer in Houston, but then he blows up when he sees that Francine has gotten a rose tattoo on her breast. Later, Rusty has a near encounter with her unseen stalker in the women's restroom.

Strangers in Paradise, vol. 3 #70
Katchoo and David wake up naked in bed together in a Las Vegas hotel room, with a marriage license nearby. As they try to reconstruct the events of the previous night (they were drunk) they decide that they like being married. Meanwhile, showgirls Rusty & Casey and spending their day off driving around the desert looking for a sign of Rusty's husband Beau (who disappeared two years ago), and Rusty learns that she has a stalker.

Trade Paperbacks

 * Strangers in Paradise, vol. 1: The Collected Strangers in Paradise - Collects vol. 1 #1-3 - WorldCat - ISBN 1892597004


 * Strangers in Paradise, vol. 2: I Dream of You - Collects vol. 2 #1-9 - WorldCat - ISBN 1892597012


 * Strangers in Paradise, vol. 3: It's a Good Life - Collects vol. 2 #10-13 - WorldCat - ISBN 1892597020


 * Strangers in Paradise, vol. 4: Love Me Tender - Collects vol. 3 #1-5 - WorldCat - ISBN 1892597039


 * Strangers in Paradise, vol. 5: Immortal Enemies - Collects vol. 3 #6-12 - WorldCat - ISBN 1892597047


 * Strangers in Paradise, vol. 6: High School - Collects vol. 3 #13-16 - WorldCat - ISBN 1892597071


 * Strangers in Paradise, vol. 7: Sanctuary - Collects vol. 3 #17-24 - WorldCat - ISBN 1892597098


 * Strangers in Paradise, vol. 8: My Other Life - Collects vol. 3 #25-30 - WorldCat - ISBN 189259711X


 * Strangers in Paradise, vol. 9: Child of Rage - Collects vol. 3 #31-32, 34-38 - WorldCat - ISBN 1892597136


 * Strangers in Paradise, vol. 10: Tropic of Desire - Collects vol. 3 #39-43 - WorldCat - ISBN 1892597152


 * Strangers in Paradise, vol. 11: Brave New World - Collects vol. 3 #44-45, 47-48 - WorldCat - ISBN 1892597160


 * Strangers in Paradise, vol. 12: Heart in Hand - Collects vol. 3 #50-54 - WorldCat - ISBN 1892597209


 * Strangers in Paradise, vol. 13: Flower to Flame - Collects vol. 3 #55-60 - WorldCat - ISBN 1892597241


 * Strangers in Paradise, vol. 14: David's Story - Collects vol. 3 #61-63 - WorldCat - ISBN 189259725X


 * Strangers in Paradise, vol. 15: Tomorrow Now - Collects vol. 3 #64-69 - WorldCat - ISBN 1892597276


 * Strangers in Paradise, vol. 16: Molly and Poo - Collects vol. 2 #14, vol. 3 #46, vol. 3 #73 - WorldCat - ISBN 1892597322


 * Strangers in Paradise, vol. 17: Tattoo - Collects vol. 3 #70-76 - WorldCat - ISBN 1892597330


 * Strangers in Paradise, vol. 18: Love & Lies - Collects vol. 3 #77-82. "Francine and Katchoo meet face to face for the first time since Francine's wedding. With Katchoo's career in full swing and Francine trying to be the happy homemaker have the two grown too far apart to come back together? When David's secret is revealed the friends try to make sense of the devastating news. Casey has her own plans to make David happy while Tambi handles things the way only Tambi can. After so much time apart, the gang is back together and things have never been more dramatic!" - WorldCat - ISBN 1892597349


 * Strangers in Paradise, vol. 19: Ever After - Collects vol. 3 #83-90. "When her famous brother-in-law falls prey to a crazed fan's bullet, Francine is forced to confront her own doubts and fears about the life she has chosen. In a bold move, she leaves her cheating husband and tries to reconnect with the only person she ever truly loved, Katchoo. But things have changed since Francine left, Katchoo has changed, and it soon becomes apparent that if Francine wants her friend back she's going to have to fight for her." - WorldCat - ISBN 1892597357


 * Strangers In Paradise Omnibus Edition - Collects the entire series.

Hardcovers

 * The Complete Strangers in Paradise, vol. 1 - Collects vol. 1 #1-3 (hardcover) - WorldCat - ISBN 1892597055


 * The Complete Strangers in Paradise, vol. 2 - Collects vol. 2 #1-13 (hardcover) - WorldCat - ISBN 1892597063


 * The Complete Strangers in Paradise, vol. 3 part 1 - Collects vol. 3 #1-12 (hardcover) - WorldCat - ISBN 1892597101


 * The Complete Strangers in Paradise, vol. 3 part 2 - Collects vol. 3 #13-25 (hardcover) - WorldCat - ISBN 1892597128


 * The Complete Strangers in Paradise, vol. 3 part 3 - Collects vol. 3 #26-38 (hardcover) - WorldCat - ISBN 1892597144


 * The Complete Strangers in Paradise, vol. 3 part 4 - Collects vol. 3 #39-46, 49 (hardcover) - WorldCat - ISBN 1892597179


 * The Complete Strangers in Paradise, vol. 3 part 5 - Collects vol. 3 #47-48, 50-57 (hardcover) - WorldCat - ISBN 1892597233


 * The Complete Strangers in Paradise, vol. 3 part 6 - Collects vol. 3 #58-69 (hardcover) - WorldCat - ISBN 1892597284


 * The Complete Strangers in Paradise, vol. 3 part 7 - Collects vol. 3 #70-82? (hardcover) - WorldCat - ISBN 1892597365


 * The Complete Strangers in Paradise, vol. 3 part 8 - Collects vol. 3 #83-90 (hardcover) - WorldCat - ISBN 1892597373


 * Strangers in Paradise Omnibus - Collects the entire series.

Digests

 * Strangers in Paradise Pocket Book, vol. 1 - Collects vol. 1 #1-3 & vol. 2 #1-13 - WorldCat - ISBN 1892597268


 * Strangers in Paradise Pocket Book, vol. 2 - Collects vol. 3 #1-17 - WorldCat - ISBN 1892597292


 * Strangers in Paradise Pocket Book, vol. 3 - Collects vol. 3 #18-24, 26-32, 34-38 - WorldCat - ISBN 1892597306


 * Strangers in Paradise Pocket Book, vol. 4 - Collects vol. 3 #41-45, 47-48, 50-60 - WorldCat - ISBN 1892597314


 * Strangers in Paradise Pocket Book, vol. 5 - Collects vol. 3 #46, 49, 61-76 - WorldCat - ISBN 1892597381


 * Strangers in Paradise Pocket Book, vol. 6 - Collects vol. 3 #77-90 - WorldCat - ISBN 189259739X

Creative Team
Created, Written, and Drawn by: Terry Moore

News & Features

 * 02 Sep 2009 - CCL Podcast #234 – Interview with Terry Moore, Strangers In Paradise Omnibus (Abstract Studios) (audio)
 * 06 Jul 2009 - Terry Moore's Omnibus in Paradise
 * 09 Jun 2009 - Terry Moore Talks Echo; SiP Omnibus and More
 * 20 Nov 2007 - Terry Moore Announces Echo
 * 30 Jul 2007 - SDCC: Terry Moore Panel
 * 13 May 2007 - Couple takes the independent route to making dramatic stories pay the bills
 * 11 May 2007 - Terry Moore & 10 things you May Not Have Noticed About SiP
 * 09 May 2007 - Terry Moore: Ending SiP, Five Faves, & Motorgirl
 * 16 Apr 2007 - Interview With Terry Moore
 * 17 Mar 2006 - Strangers No More, As Moore Brings Strangers In Paradise To An End

Links

 * Strangers in Paradise
 * Strangers in Paradise
 * Terry Moore (comics)