History ComicBook / StrangersInParadise

** ''Five Years'', a new title Terry Moore started in May of 2019, ramps this up into a MassiveMultiplayerCrossover as Katchoo and Francine encounter cast members of ''ComicBook/{{Echo}}'', ''ComicBook/RachelRising'' and ''MotorGirl'' in an effort [[spoiler: to save the world from the threat of the Phi Bomb, a proposed weapon that, once it's completed in five years, will start a chain-reaction that will [[ApocalypseHow destroy all hydrogen atoms. Everywhere.]]]]

** ''Five Years'', a new title Terry Moore started in May of 2019, ramps this up into a MassiveMultiplayerCrossover as Katchoo and Francine encounter cast members of ''ComicBook/{{Echo}}'', ''ComicBook/RachelRising'' and ''ComicBook/MotorGirl'' in an effort [[spoiler: to save the world from the threat of the Phi Bomb, a proposed weapon that, once it's completed in five years, will start a chain-reaction that will [[ApocalypseHow destroy all hydrogen atoms. Everywhere.]]]]

* HiddenDepths: ''Everyone''. Especially Casey, who debuts as an apparent DumbBlonde before showing her softer and more insightful side, and [[spoiler:having been a Parker Girl assigned to protect Katchoo from assassination attempts all along]].
* [[IfItsYouItsOkay If It's You, It's Okay]]

* SomeoneToRememberHimBy: [[spoiler: Planned out by Casey and Katchoo when they find out David has a brain tumor.]]

** [[spoiler: ButchLesbian / LipstickLesbian: Tambi and Casey, and eventually Katchoo and Francine if you are pretty loose with the definition of "Butch" and "Lipstick"]]

* TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth: [[spoiler: David.]]

Not to be confused with ''StrangerThanParadise''.

* {{Bookends}}: The covers of the first and last issues are nearly identical: Francine and Katchoo in an art gallery, in the same poses.

In early 2018, Terry Moore revived the title with a new story, ''Strangers In Paradise XXV''.

* BiTheWay: Katchoo, [[DoesNotLikeMen despite her attitude]], is not gay. In fact, almost every woman in this series turns out to be bi.

* DoesNotLikeMen

* KudzuPlot

* TheMafia

* GenreBusting: It's a SliceOfLife story, mixed [[GirlsLove lesbian romantic comedy]], [[TheSyndicate crime]] [[TheyFightCrime drama]], and on occasion a {{Xena}} parody.

* JerkassHasAPoint: Ok, Freddie Femur is a jerkass of the first water; he's a creepy obsessive patronising sleazebag who treats women like sex objects, has all the tact and charm of brain surgery performed with a hammer and chisel, he thinks he's hilarious while he's just slimy and cheeseball, and he has hairplugs to boot. No arguments - he's a repellent little man. But, when [[spoiler: Casey is about to leave for home after being revealed to have been working as a Parker Girl all along in David's will]] his attempt to convince her why she should stay after all is actually kind, pretty endearing and most of all honest and completely correct - and lo and behold it helps work everything out. Ok, [[spoiler: he makes a pass at Casey while he does it]] might just be showing form on his part, but it seems more likely he's actually trying to be a nice guy while making a joke at his own reputation as a horndog jerk to his ex-wife.

----

* AbortedArc: Frequent. Some loose ends are left loose forever, and some seemingly important insights and revelations are never mentioned again. The TimeSkip moments ALL fall under this banner.

* AmericanDream: One of the driving plot points is that Francine really does want the dream. A husband (Preferably a firefighter, but she will settle for a lawyer or doctor), children, a place in the suburbs, she really ''wants'' it. This proves to be one of the biggest hurdles to overcome in her growing relationship with Katchoo since, despite all that she and Katchoo could potentially have, they could never have ''that''.

** "Princess Warrior", a ''[[Series/XenaWarriorPrincess Xena]]'' parody in which Francine is cast as Xena while Katchoo plays Gabrielle.

* {{Crossover}}: In Terry Moore's subsequent series ''{{Echo}}'', Ivy Raven, an NSB agent who has gotten involved in the potentially [[ApocalypseHow world-shattering]] events of the story, begins to suspect that her superiors in Washington might not be as trustworthy as she had previously believed. The other characters ask if there is anybody she can go to for help, somebody ''outside'' the system who would nevertheless be able to give the important answers, and Ivy mentions that she might have somebody she can call. The next panel is apparently [[{{Cliffhanger}} Katchoo getting a phone call.]] Tambi guest stars two issues later, #28, where she tracks down a former Parker Girl who stayed in her cover as a member of the US military after the operation collapsed.

* AbuseIsOkayWhenItIsFemaleOnMale: Katchoo slaps and punches David, but it's shown as proof of her terrible mental state.

* AmericanDream: One of the driving plot points is that France really does want the dream. A husband (Preferably a firefighter, but she will settle for a lawyer or doctor), children, a place in the suburbs, she really ''wants'' it. This proves to be one of the biggest hurdles to overcome in her growing relationship with Katchoo since, despite all that she and Katchoo could potentially have, they could never have ''that''.

* AbuseIsOkayWhenItIsFemaleOnMale: Katchoo slaps and punches David.
** To be fair, it's often shown as a proof of the terrible mental state of Katchoo.

That is how ''Strangers In Paradise'' '''starts'''. The series was published by Abstract Comics, creator Terry Moore's own company, between 1996 and 2007 and consists of over 90 issues. It is generally acknowledged as a SliceOfLife classic, although the occasional vergings into crime drama were not quite as well received, and it is frequently hailed as the number one comic book to give to your girlfriend. What that means is a bit unclear, but it probably means ''something''.

* WallOfText: [=SiP=] can be quite wordy, and Moore frequently abandons the graphic format altogether and just resorts to full-on proses passages for several pages. "Molly & Poo" is told almost entirely in prose, with only a few accompanying illustrations.