Strangers In Paradise XXV Vol. 1: The Chase

Strangers in Paradise XXV #1-5

by Terry Moore

Katchoo and Francine's happy family is in danger when a Parker Girl threatens to expose Katchoo's shady past before congress, then goes into hiding. The chase is on as Katchoo begins an international hunt for her elusive pred-ator in a race against time!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction, LGBT, Romance

119 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2018

About the author

Following the examples of independent comic creators such as Dave Sim and Jeff Smith, he decided to publish Strangers in Paradise himself through his own Houston-based "Abstract Studios" imprint, and has frequently mentioned a desire to do a syndicated cartoon strip in the authors notes at the back of the Strangers in Paradise collection books. He has also mentioned his greatest career influence is Peanuts' Charles Schulz.[1] Some of Moore's strip work can additionally be found in his Paradise, Too! publications.

His work has won him recognition in the comics industry, including receiving the Eisner Award for Best Serialized Story in 1996 for Strangers in Paradise #1-8, which was collected in the trade paperback "I Dream of You".

It was announced on June 15th, 2007 that Moore would be taking over for Sean McKeever as writer of Marvel Comics's Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane series starting with a new issue #1. On July 27th, Marvel announced that Moore would also take over for Joss Whedon as writer of Marvel's Runaways.[2]

On November 19th, 2007 Terry Moore announced in his blog that his new self-published series would be named Echo and its first issue would appear on March 5th, 2008.[3]

Reviews

[Patrick Gadrow]

I miss when the series was about Francine And Katchoo's relationship. This flying around solving high espionage mysteries involving Cleopatra and plans for a giant bomb. This felt more like a National Treasure movie. (National Treasure 4: The Hunt For Cleopatra's Mathematical formula).

I was more interested in Francine's story with her mother dying of cancer and being left with her two daughters while Katchoo takes off on an adventure, but that story is barely a side story.

[Dan]

Sometimes when series are revived after time away it turns out to have not been a great idea. Luckily, that is not the case here and the new Strangers In Paradise may turn out to be even better than its previous incarnation. It's off to a great start with the perfect mix of crime thriller and family drama, including a literal cliffhanger and some touching moments that came from all those years spent with these characters.

[La Biblio Geek]

4,8

[Aaron]

Trouble does not find Katchoo. Katchoo is the trouble.

And so, years after a somewhat-happily-ever-after, Katina Choovanski finds herself back in the hunter-hunted quest to save herself from the errors of her past. Not that she hasn't been here before . . . heeding tips from an ever-stoic Tambi, keeping secrets from her delightful wife, Francie, and bargaining with death to let her please, please, please not bite the dust before her time is truly due.

STRANGERS IN PARADISE XXV brings fans of Moore's comics a suitable sequel, filled with all the cleverness and warmth one finds in just about all of the artist's oeuvre. Moore's steady line art and pensive inking provide fair and studious context for Katchoo's next adventure: another Parker girl nears exposure. The consequences of which could see to the exposure of all surviving Parker girls. Whoops.

This is a story of fear, redemption, and uncertainty. However, this version of Katchoo is no more tolerant, humble, or sedentary than any previous iteration, and that isn't necessarily a good thing for this heroine on the hunt. If that rogue Parker girl, Stephanie Kelly, really is out to unmask everyone in the inner circle, then you better believe Katchoo means business.

There's a genteel patience to the pacing of STRANGERS IN PARADISE XXV. Moore regularly pairs slower, filmic strategies that permit readers to sit on the shoulders of an exhausted woman just trying to do what's best for her family. It's easy to forget, after so many years, how frenetic and excessive Katchoo and Francie's past exploits were. But here, readers are treated with quiet evenings in the American southwest, as Francie tucks in their daughters; the tufted and melancholic hilly landscape of the Scottish isles; and the sanguine and snowy expanse of a forgotten corner of New England. STRANGERS IN PARADISE XXV is a condensed and relaxed, almost willful enervation of the harried events of the past . . . but that doesn't mean the stakes aren't as high.

Nevertheless, the new book generates its fair share of twists and turns. Although its focus is almost entirely on Katchoo's misgivings, and from Katchoo's perspective, readers needn't dig too deep to ponder who else is at fault (or in danger) given the shenanigans currently at play. International theft. Cancer diagnosis. Black market deals. Senate committee hearings. An angry old man with a shotgun.

Before this story gets any better, it's probably going to get a whole lot worse. Good luck.

[RubiGiráldez RubiGiráldez]

La verdad es que me estoy jugando mucho al leer de forma totalmente arbitraria las obras de Terry Moore que queda más que claro que conforman un inesperado y gran universo compartido. Si bien creo que el autor aún consigue algo increíble en poder "poner en situación" a cualquier lector, deja claro que es necesario leer los cómics de los que referencian hechos o personajes que aparecen sin ton ni son en estas páginas. Pero bueno, creo que el hecho de focalizar todo lo posible en el personaje de Katchoo por mucho que la meta de lleno en un trasfondo de "evento catastrófico" para un inminente Endgame del "Mooreverse", logra una lectura más que accesible de esta Strangers In Paradise XXV. Por supuesto que no he leído (aún) lo previo de lo que resulta ser (creo) la primera cabecera constante de Terry Moore. La cual acaba derivando en el concepto de las Parker Girls, una suerte de "Viudas Negras a lo Marvel Cómics" en clave más "realista" y encarando verdaderas consecuencias que ofrecen una increíble perspectiva del habitual uso de personajes femeninos del autor. Katchoo sigue asumiendo su relación con ser una Parker Girl fundadora, pero está más ausente de estas operaciones por disfrutar al fin de una vida familiar con su pareja e hijas. El lidiar con una Parker Girl renegada que puede poner en peligro a todas las miembros, obliga a Katchoo en volver a las "viejas costumbres" de ser más letal que leal. Pero la trama se va retorciendo, alcanzando una reciente catástrofe postergada en una base militar donde se experimentaba con un super colisionador y un "mcguffin" arqueológico que establece todo un contexto puramente fantástico el cual ayudará cuando toque una visita a la "parcela" de Rachel Rising. Pero el mundo "normal" de Katchoo y su anclaje emocional a su familia, logran que todo esto no termine de convertir Strangers In Paradise XXV en otro "tipo de cómic" como el que puede ofrecer Terry Moore en cualquier otra cabecera de los varios personajes que aquí ya confluyen para sus ambicioso planes creativos en su panorama independiente.

Creo que Terry Moore logra generar una estética y ambiente bastante "confort" por mucho que haga enfrentar a sus personajes a situaciones y amenazas realmente crudas y retorcidas. Logra mantener la humanidad pura hasta en los personajes más estrafalarios y extremos. Y además, esto es dando más relevancia al elenco femenino.

[Paul Dinger]

I have a history with Strangers in Paradise. In early 2000, at my first comic con, I met Terry Moore and was very impressed. I loved the comic which I had gotten as part of a giveaway from my local comic store after their anniversary. I loved the issue at first glance. However, I got the idea that Moore didn't want to do a romance comic. I really think and still think he wanted to have that book with a revolving cast of characters. However, he stuck with what he thought sold. However, he kept pushing in the direction of a thriller rather than a romance. I think he cancelled it because he knew it had to be one or the other, it couldn't be both. I think this can be borne out by the fact that the comics he did afterwards Echo and Rachel Rising were thrillers. Not to say SIP didn't work; it did as it played with our perceptions of girl on girl romances, even before it became a genre itself in movies, etc. I just wish it had gone thru with an act two, what does happen after Katchoo and Francine get together, more so given their thorny path to get there. Anyway, it ended with them getting together, and Moore moved on. Now, coming back to this material years later, he is taking it as more a Hitchcock area, there is even a reference to The Birds, and it makes me yearn for the older comic. It is still interesting, but am I reading it because I want to find out what was next for the characters or because of the suspense of the story? I have to say that Moore's art has gotten even better, which is saying a lot because it was great before.

[Amanda]

Spring 2019 (Comixology - written for both volumes);

I am still uncertain about my thoughts of Terry deciding to merge all of his worlds, so that Strangers in Paradise, Echo, Rachel Rising, and Motor Girl will come together into a future (though I admit, yes, I know, I'm writing this in reverse, as XXV is now finished and Five Years has started, and I am following along with it already).

Returning to the beautiful life of Francine, Katchoo, and their two children is something I would likely put up with nearly anything for. I love getting to see how they are pieced together. How our Devil Child and Katchoo work, how everyone is connected across the planet (under which "Tambi" seems an amusing excuse for it all). I live for the art in these books, and the simplicity of the human connect I always find myself tripping over into adoring no matter my chagrin or wariness.

I love the kids. I love Francine's mother. I love the dangerous spy problems and dark, desolate moments. I love the fact Katchoo would not keep anything from Francine if her life (and all life the whole world over) depended on it, because they are for each other first, and most, and always now. I really do hope things still end well for them, because I'm a bit remorseful yet that the last panel of the last SIP book is no longer its ending (nor is the sneak peek scene we got after it).

I'll be here, hanging in, hoping that Five Years goes well, too.
For everyone, but especially my girls.

[Robert Hudder]

I will admit to wanting to jump into this series earlier. Right up there with that one about the elves and their quest but it seems so daunting. I have read the Runaways and have seen a few short stories with some of the women from Strangers but nothing more than that.

So, this showed up and I thought, what the hell. It seems like a new arc.

Like any long running thriller with romantic undertones, there is a way of writing that allows someone to jump in at any point without collapsing under the weight of the history. This does a remarkable job of giving us enough to enjoy what is in front of us and, you can tell, a movement of the previous longer arc.

I really enjoyed this volume and look forward to reading the rest in these volume to XXV and hope to get into the past series.

It does centre women and women led relationships and may piss off some weird purists of thrillers but really, who cares. The characters are deep and interesting.

[Rachel]

Back to katchoo

I don’t think there’s a book by Terry Moore that I haven’t enjoyed, however it’s nice to be back with Katchoo, Francine and everybody else in the SiP world. This book also ties in to some of the other stories that have been published since SiP ended and I’m intrigued by that and what it means.

[David Weigel]

Definitely the best Parker Girl story Moore has written, and it made me wish that I actually enjoyed his Parker Girl stories. I prefer his goofy romances, and loved both his sci-fi (“Echo”) and horror experiments (“Rachel Rising”) — neither of which LOOKS as good as this, a real triumph for his lived-in cartoony style. But the plot did almost nothing for me.

[Sandra Guzdek]

Reading the newest of these is like catching up with old friends. Enjoying it greatly. Moore is also mixing in his other comic series—Echo, Rachel Rising, Motor Girl—and while I am not familiar with the first two of the other titles, it didn’t interfere with my enjoyment of the story, and in fact, it makes me want to catch up with reading the other series.

[Simon]

Recent Reads: Strangers In Paradise XXV Vol 1 - The Chase. Terry Moore returns to Katchoo and Francine whith their happiness in danger. A rogue Parker Girl is about to expose Katchoo's past, only to force her on a quest for a secret that nations will kill for. Spy versus who?

[Andres Pasten]

Por leer cosas en desorden, nunca me percaté que Jet de Rachel Rising, era la asistente de Katchoo. Esta historia exige además haberse leído Echo antes. Sólo por esos requisitos, le doy 4 estrellas. Moore es un crack.

[Jo McClelland-Phillips]

Like the ties to the other titles in the universe.

[Cassie]

Everything @TerryMooreArt creates I want to read. I loved this even more than I had hoped and am so glad to see a continuation of the SiP story.

[Cristhian]

El arte es hermoso, la trama complicada pero va amarrando hilos conforme avanza. No es un tomo que explica mucho y eso debe tomarse en consideración.

[Brian]

Classic Strangers in Paradise with a crossover from Echo.

[Blair Conrad]

Read in a rush with Volume 2. Review there.

[Bookworm Erica]

Love all Terry Moore books.

[Steve]

Beautifully drawn. Solid story.

[John]

Globetrotting adventure.

[Jamie]

Okay, I didn’t love this as much as I’d hoped I would. Part of me wants to give it 5 stars just because I love SIP so much, but the rest of me just feels...let down. I was so psyched to revisit this world and I thought the connections to Moore’s other works - creating a “Mooreverse”? - were really cool.

That being said, the story was quite convoluted and lacked pretty much everything that made SIP so incredible in the first place. Three stars for the art and the characters I adore. However, the best part of Strangers in Paradise was always the relationships and any exploration of those was in short supply throughout these first five issues.