Strangers in Paradise

Three friends. One impossible love triangle. And a criminal organization that won’t let go of the past. Strangers in Paradise is the genre-defying epic that launched Terry Moore’s career and proved that one creator could self-publish a masterpiece — no corporate safety net required.

The story

Tough, wounded Katchoo, gentle Francine, and sweet-natured David seem like ordinary roommates navigating friendship, romance, and the everyday indignities of modern life. But Katchoo carries a secret: she’s a former high-end call girl who worked for Darcy Parker, the ruthless boss of an international crime syndicate whose operatives — the “Parker Girls” — manipulate, spy on, and kill people in power. When the past comes calling, the cozy domestic drama detonates into a noir thriller of crime, obsession, and loyalty that spans continents.

Moore pitched the series as “Apartment 3-G meets James Bond,” and that odd alchemy is exactly what made it unforgettable: a deeply felt love story about two women and the man between them, wrapped in a violent conspiracy plot that never overwhelms the emotional core.

Publication history

Strangers in Paradise began as a three-issue miniseries from Antarctic Press in 1993, moved to Moore’s own Abstract Studio imprint for Volume 2, and opened Volume 3 under Image Comics’ Homage imprint before returning to Abstract Studio, where it ran with the same numbering to its planned conclusion with issue #90 on June 6, 2007 — 107 issues in all, written, drawn, and lettered by Moore alone. The series was revived in 2018 as Strangers in Paradise XXV for its 25th anniversary, seeding the crossover that became Five Years, and the story continues in the espionage spinoff Parker Girls.

Awards and legacy

Strangers in Paradise won the 1996 Eisner Award for Best Serialized Story for “I Dream of You,” the 2003 National Cartoonists Society Reuben Award for Best Comic Book, and the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book in 2000 — recognition for a series that centered two women’s lifelong love story long before that was commercially fashionable. Its manga-influenced clean lines and “romance-plus” storytelling proved wildly ahead of their time, and in 2026 the series became the flagship of the new Dark Horse / Abstract Studio imprint, returning to bookstores in a definitive omnibus edition.

Perfect for fans of Bone by Jeff Smith, the emotional realism of Love and Rockets, and anyone who believes a love story can be the most epic adventure of all.