Strangers in Paradise

Strangers in Paradise 64-72, 74-90

This is not a perfect comic at all.  There’s a ton of plot repetition.  The actions of the main characters can be downright infuriating.  Terry Moore doesn’t do well when he strays from the main story and indulges his flights of fancy.  He retcons like crazy, and it’s usually very handwavy.  I can’t in good conscience give this more than a Good rating, no matter how quickly I tore through these issues.

But there’s no denying the emotional force of the storytelling and the hold that Katchoo, Francine, David, and Casey (yes, she really deserves equal billing by the end) have on me.  I care about these people and want them to be happy.  When their hearts are broken, mine breaks with along with them.  I’m completely invested in their lives, and there really isn’t enough that I can say about Moore’s mastery of the medium.

Moore had to come up with a lot of art pieces.

I liked them.  I'd go to this show.

Even to see this piece.  Perfect expressions by Moore.

I was just as happy to see him again.

Good or bad for the kid's development?  Hard to say...

Just a random Adam Hughes homage, with note-perfect eyes and signature...

This resonated with me.

Casey being the adult again.

She's really the one who's the catch.

I've never seen a better use of a favor.

I have no words.

Poor David.

What an ending.

It’s hard for me to believe, but this is better than I remember.  And funnily enough, my impressions are reversed; I used to like volume 2 the most, and this time around things don’t really kick into gear until around issue 13 of volume 3.  I originally stopped buying this with issue 54.  I would never have returned to it if it weren’t a sale at my LCS; I got the rest of the run, six trade paperbacks for 25 bucks.  An insane deal.  Thank goodness for the dearly departed Lee’s Comics.  When I think about what I could have been missing…

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Good