Strangers in Paradise

I was checking some things online when I stumbled upon the Strangers in Paradise Website. Its been quite a while since I had picked up a copy of this comic, I think my last issue was issue 53. I was sad to find that Terry Moore published the concluding issue in June. I had know all about this for over a year and with the year that I have had with my parents moving in with me, Ahmie pregnant with Delano, buying a home, and having concluded my first year teaching at East Tech High School. This reminds me a bit of my first year of teaching, in short I was way busy.

Reading comics had been a hobby of mine for many years I started reading translated manga published by VIZ comics, then I started reading Marvel comics titles like the Punisher, and later the X titles. By the time I reached my later high school years I was looking for something more to read I followed the X men and read some manga titles. As interesting as that was I wanted something more, something more real. A title that I started to read was called Negative Burn, an anthology title that show cased comics of diverse talent and story style. I picked up the first issues of Strangers in Paradise in 1993

From the first panels that I have read I loved this book. I looked all over for the previous 3 issues published by Antarctic Press which is a small independent publisher. I eagerly waited the two to three month times between issues. What interested me was not the way it handled provocative issues such as AIDS and homosexuality. But, rather the portraial of the characters Katchoo, Francine, and David. They were realistic characters it was interesting to see their daily life in the comic and learn about their back history. Also I did have quite a resemblance to David the only main male character in the comic.


Truth is the character David resonated with me. For a short time I felt that what ever happens to David in the comic would happen to me in real life. I mean in the early issues each of the characters seems to be desperately trying to become themselves, there was some type of underlying tragedy. Katchoo was haunted by her childhood and the time she spent as a call girl, this was catching up to her as her past friend with whom she had worked with was dying with AIDS. Francine who was in love and was insecure about previous relationships being only physical in nature. She waited for a whole year before she would allow her boyfriend Freddy to sleep with her. Sadly Freddy was a real dog and cheated on Francine which utterly crushed Francine. David did not seem to have much baggage in the early story, which in time will reveal to not be true. David was in love with Katchoo, desperately so. Unfortunately for David, Katchoo was in love with Francine and Francine did not know it.

It did not stop David from pursuing Katchoo. They had a strange deep friendship that could have evolved to something more. This was how I felt in high school. I was always the friend to many girls that I was interested in. Perhaps that was the reason why girls were not interested in me I became their friends and had gotten to know about them before I felt comfortable enough to try asking them out. This was the same in my freshman fall in college also. I asked 3 different girls out and was rejected mostly due to the fact that we had known each other (i guess) too well.

Then in my Spring semester Literature class I met Ahmie, granted I never changed my tactic I always wanted to know and get to be friends with women that I was interested in. (Now this is does not mean that I only get to know women that I am interested in.) I believe that this was also about the same time David and Katchoo was together as a couple.

I never knew when I first met Ahmie that I was going to be with Ahmie for the rest of my life. I have to say that the past eleven years has been quite a ride with highs and lows much like a comic book story.

Unlike my relationship with Ahmie, my relationship with the comic book Strangers in Paradise eventually ended as the story became exceedingly outrageous with the Mafia story line and its repercussions and I found it hard to connect with the characters and how they dealt with everyday life.

Even though I have not picked up an issue in a good 3 years I think I will go back to the beginning and read it all including the ones I have not picked up yet to see how the story goes.