Broken Frontier

I was lucky to join Strangers in Paradise, quite accidentally, from the very beginning—issue one of series one. It was a random perusal of the Previews catalogue that alerted me to the comic’s existence. Something about the solicitation caught my eye and made me add the book to my monthly order.

And I have been hooked ever since. I have been reading the series through its 13-plus years of existence, through 103 issues over three volumes and from three different companies. I am also mournfully preparing for the end, because the series is set to end two issues after tomorrow’s #88.

The series tells the story of Katina Marie ("Katchoo") Choovanski and Francine Peters, two childhood friends whose lives take them in different directions, but still manage to reunite at certain points of their lives. One thing has remained constant throughout the years—Katchoo’s love for Francine.

The romance between the two women was never played for titillation or exploitation. Even though the book was written and drawn by a man—Terry Moore—it portrayed Katchoo and Francine as two fleshed-out and realistic characters. The book was even honored by GLAAD—the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation—with the organizations Media Award in 2001 for its sensitive portrayal of the relationship between its main characters.

While at heart a romance, the title also ran the gamut from slapstick humor to suspenseful mystery, from an edge-of-your-seat thriller to social commentary. It mixed all of the genres magnificently and seamlessly, taking its audience along for the ride. 

Strangers in Paradise was a rarity in the comic medium in that it attracted a large female readership who were apparently drawn to the strong, accurate portrayal of women the series represented.

The series started in 1993 with a three issue miniseries published by Antarctic Press. This first series was played mostly for laughs, mainly dealing with Katchoo punishing Francine’s cheating ex-boyfriend Freddie Femur. The next series, published by Moore himself under the Abstract Studios label, took the story in a more serious turn. The “I Dream of You” storyline introduced more of Katchoo’s dark past as a “Parker Girl,” a high-priced call girl who was used to gain control of powerful men in high places. This arc won the series the 1996 Eisner award for Best Serialized Story.

The current volume began in 1996 as being published by Jim Lee’s Homage imprint for Image Comics. This exposed the series to higher sales and more attention, allowing Moore to once again go the self-publishing route with issue #9.

The series has been compared to Dave Sim’s Cerebus, not so much in actual story content, but more in longevity and artistry. Both titles started out as being comedic and moved towards the dramatic, and Moore, like Sim, took chances with his artistry. He would vary his style to fit the scene, employ inventive panel structure, and even change from a typical comic format to illustrated text.

And also like Cerebus, Moore created Strangers in Paradise to be a finite, albeit long-running, series. That end will be coming in issue #90, meaning this is the last chance readers will have to be able to enjoy the comic in pamphlet form. 

Moore has begun wrapping up loose ends, appearing to set up an ending where Katchoo and Francine will finally make that final step in there relationship and admit that they love each other as more than just friends, with hopefully a “they lived happily ever after” coda on the last page.

At least that is what I hope will happen. These characters have been a part of my life for going on 14 years. Needless to say, I have a great amount of affection for them. While not being able to get my monthly SiP fix will make me sad, having Francine and Katchoo ride off into that happy sunset would make the loss easier to bear.

It might be a tad unrealistic to expect you uninitiated few to pick up the last three issues of the 105 issue series, but the title will continue to live on in trade paperback format. You owe it to yourself to pick up these collections to witness what was one of the best comic books of the last 20 years. 

Also out this week:

• Mighty Avengers #1

I don’t know if anybody connected to this series reads this column, but if they do they are bound to be disappointed. This is one of the biggest releases of the month. Too bad we have given Marvel the focus 5 out of the 8 columns to appear this year, or else it might have been the focus instead of just the first blurb. Anyway, certainly SiP can use the push more than this title could.

I have been an Avengers fan since I started reading comics, so I am glad to see the team getting the props it deserves. New Avengers has become one of Marvel’s best-selling books, as this spin-off will attest. And, judging by the previews I’ve seen, this series might provide a lighter alternative to the grim and gritty New Avengers. 

Brian Michael Bendis (W), Frank Cho (A), Marvel Comics, $2.99. Ongoing Series.

• Jeffrey Brown's Feeble Attempts #1

If you seldom stray away from the superhero section of your comic store or you consider Dark Horse and Image to be independent publishers, then you may have never heard of Jeffrey Brown. Perhaps most famous for his Bighead character, Brown has been creating autobiographical comics which have garnered the attention of McSweeney’s, NPR and the alternative rock band Death Cab for Cutie, who called on Brown to direct a video for their song, "Your Heart Is an Empty Room."

This 48-page comic collects some of Brown’s favorite anthology and mini-comic work. It contains the parodies and autobiographical stories that Brown has become known for. It should act as a good sample for people willing to discover more about this Ignatz award winning creator.

Jeffrey Brown (W/A), Top Shelf Publications, $5.00. One-Shot.

• Marvel Zombies/Army of Darkness #1

You hear the term “marriage made in heaven” quite often. It would definitely apply here, if you don’t think the subject matter it’s being applied to makes it too blasphemous.

Ash, the main character from Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead movie trilogy and star of Dynamite Entertainment’s Army of Darkness series crosses over into the Marvel Zombie universe. Ash has faced off against legions of the undead before, but never before did the ghouls have diamond-hard skin, mystical hammers and the proportionate strength of a spider.

Overseen by Marvel Zombies writer Robert Kirkman, this miniseries takes place in the heart of New York City just as the zombie outbreak begins. The arrival of Ash comes as a great help—to spread the virus even farther than it would have otherwise!  I wonder if “Evil Dead: The Musical” will be still playing when Ash arrives.

John Layman (W), Fabiano Neves & June Chung (A), Marvel Comics, $2.99. Five-Issue Miniseries.

• Detective Comics #829

This issue starts a two-issue fill-in story where Stuart Moore takes over the title from regular writer Paul Dini.

Late issues have reached epidemic proportions in comics today. Look on just about any message board and you’ll find fans joking about All-Star Batman and Robin becoming an annual, puns about Damon Lindelof’s Ultimate Wolverine Vs. Hulk getting “Lost,” and people wondering if Kevin Smith will ever finish Daredevil: Target.

DC has made efforts to add fill-in stories to their regular books to ensure they arrive on time. Batman, Wonder Woman and Action Comics have announced or run these types of stories to help out the creators who are running late. Fans are still complaining, but I think DC should be commended for this practice. At least they are making an effort to address the problem of late issues.

Stuart Moore (W), Andy Clarke (A), DC Comics, $2.99. Ongoing Series.

• Dynamo 5 #1

People sometimes complain about the superhero concept, stating that there is nothing that could be done in the genre that has not been done before. I consider superhero comics to be like music. There are only a set number of notes. Where originality comes in is how you combine these notes into something new and exciting.

This series exemplifies this perfectly. It takes some time-tested comic conventions and tweaks them enough to make them new. The team is made up of the five children of the legendary superhero Captain Dynamo, the five illegitimate children that is. Each has inherited one of their father’s five powers—telepathy, flight, strength, laser vision and shapeshifting. They are all brought together to fight with siblings they never knew they had to fight against impossible odds. Can they do it?

Jay Faerber (W), Mahmud Asrar (A), Image Comics, $3.50. Ongoing Series.   

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William Gatevackes is a professional writer living in Mamaroneck, NY with his wife Jennifer. Both would like to encourage Mr. Whedon to give Mal Reynolds and the crew of the Serenity the same treatment Buffy got. They both want to see more adventures of those characters too. He writes periodic comic reviews for PopMatters and writes title descriptions for Human Computing’s Comicbase collection management software.