Terry Moore

Terry Moore is the rare cartoonist who bet his entire career on a single uncompromising vision — and won. For more than three decades he has written, drawn, lettered, and self-published nearly every page himself, building a shared universe of unforgettable women out of nothing but talent and tenacity. Similar in style to the emotional realism of indie classics like Love and Rockets and the self-published epic spirit of Jeff Smith, Moore’s work proves that the most extraordinary adventures can happen in ordinary living rooms.

The Strangers in Paradise gamble

It started in 1993 with Strangers in Paradise, a genre-defying series about three friends — tough, wounded Katchoo, gentle Francine, and sweet-natured David — whose messy love triangle collides with a violent crime syndicate from Katchoo’s past. Moore pitched it as “Apartment 3-G meets James Bond,” a love story wrapped in noir, and no publisher would touch it. Jeff Smith, fresh off the success of Bone, convinced him to self-publish. The gamble paid off: Strangers in Paradise ran 100-plus issues from 1993 to 2007, won the 1996 Eisner Award for Best Serialized Story, took the National Cartoonists Society’s Reuben Award in 2003, and earned a GLAAD Media Award for Best Comic Book along the way. As ICv2’s Rob Salkowitz noted on the series’ 30th anniversary, Moore’s “romance-plus” storytelling and manga-influenced clean lines were wildly ahead of their time — the very blueprint now powering the modern webtoon boom.

A universe of strong women

Everything Moore draws lives in one connected world fans call the “Terryverse.” Echo (2008–2011) turns a photographer’s bad day into a high-concept sci-fi thriller about a liquid-metal suit that could end civilization. Rachel Rising (2011–2016) is a bracing horror epic about a murdered woman who claws her way out of a shallow grave — a book that earned Moore Harvey Awards for Best Lettering (2014) and Best Cartoonist (2015). Motor Girl (2016–2017) flips into warm, funny territory with a veteran running a desert junkyard, an imaginary gorilla for a best friend, and a UFO problem; Moore told CBR that “it’s all one thing, all one world.” Five Years (2019) pulls characters from across his entire bibliography into one apocalyptic countdown, which Moore described to ComicBook.com as the moment he’d been steering toward for decades. Ever, Serial, and Parker Girls keep the Terryverse growing — the latter starring the Parker Group spies first introduced in Strangers in Paradise.

Publisher, teacher, and a new Dark Horse imprint

With his wife Robyn running the business, Moore’s Abstract Studio became a proving ground for the modern creator-owned movement, selling single issues directly through the direct market and pioneering the low-priced trade paperback decades before the majors caught on. A gifted teacher as well as storyteller, his Terry Moore’s How to Draw books have guided a generation of artists — the expanded 2026 edition launched via Kickstarter in late 2025.

In February 2026, The Beat broke the news that Dark Horse and Abstract Studio would partner on a new imprint, launching in October with a definitive Strangers in Paradise Omnibus and new editions of Rachel Rising — a landmark deal bringing three decades of self-published storytelling to bookstores everywhere. It’s a fitting capstone for the man who defines the indie ethos: “I’m really proud to be in the same industry as my heroes.”

You can follow Terry Moore on Instagram @terrymooreart, Bluesky @terrymooreart, and Facebook, and shop his complete catalog — from Strangers in Paradise to Parker Girls — at Abstract Studio.

Perfect for fans of Jeff Smith’s Bone, the soap-opera-meets-noir storytelling of Love and Rockets, and anyone who believes one creator can build an entire universe.