Farewell SiP
Posted By Kathleen David on June 1, 2007
“Strangers in Paradise” started for me with issue 3 published by Antarctic Press which was given to me by one of my fellow employees at Oxford Comics. I had a hard time finding issue 2 but that is when my love of Strangers in Paradise started. The dialogue was realistic as were the women in the book. Real women have curves and this artist was getting that.
I didn’t really meet Terry Moore until after I hooked up with Peter. We were introduced at a San Diego Comic Con and I was able to tell Terry how much I enjoyed his work. We chatted about this, that , and the other and I was left with the impression of how nice a guy Terry was but he would be the last person I would have picked out of the crowd to have written and drawn the book.
Last night the CBLDF (Comic Book Legal Defense Fund) held a benefit to celebrate the last issue of SiP. Peter and I attended and had a great time. I got to talk to Terry for a short time but he was the Guest of Honor so lots of people wanted a bit of his time. It was an interesting gathering of the self-published. Both Jeff Smith (Bone) and Billy Tucci (Shi) were in attendance to cheer Terry on for all that he has done. Other comic book artists, authors and publishers made an appearance too. They had a band singing the songs that Terry had written for the series. And fans got neat stuff along with a chance to talk or listen to Terry.
I think a fun time was had by all.
I am grateful for Strangers in Paradise which always gave me a comic book I could give to bored looking girlfriends who came into the comic shop with their boyfriends.
Hmmm. I am really going to miss SIP. I have been picking it up since the first issue of the mini series from Antartic Press. Clearly the original mini series was the best thing ever published by Antartic Press (at least until NEOTOPIA was released).
I have adored this series since first introduced to the I Dream of You tpb about a decade ago. Since that time, I have been moved to tears on occassion, smiled numerous times and been reflected on the depth that Terry has shown through his characters, who are more believable to me than any other comic that I’ve read in my 30 plus years of reading the funny books. I recently interacted with both Terry and his wife, Robyn, while considering a piece of original artwork to use as awedding gift for my fiance. Sadly, the engagement was broken off during this period. I was touched by the compassion that Terry and Robyn showed me. I did end up picking up a beautiful piece from issue #88, depicting Katchoo hiking with David’s ashes and commenting on her continued sense of connection with him. A stunning page that is moving in and of itself, but speaks of loss in general and will be perfect for matting, framing and hanging in my private practice for those seeking counseling to see.
This book is a phenomena… and rightly so.
I’m sorry, because this is totally off topic, but I know, that you and your husband are fans of Doctor Who. The current Two-Part-Episode is an adaptation of the highly regarded Who-Novel “Human Nature” by Paul Cornell. And he names Peter David as part of his inspiration:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/ebooks/human_nature/notes.shtml
Again, sorry for going so totally off topic, but I read this some minutes ago and couldn’t resist.
Greetings
Markus Wolf