Strangers in Paradise

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Strangers in Paradise (SiP for short) is an award-winning US comic series by the draftsman and writer Terry Moore , which was published from 1993 to 2007.

Strangers in Paradise also partly appeals to an audience that would not consider itself a comic book readership. This includes an unusually high proportion of women.

What distinguishes the series, in addition to its multi-layered and mostly believable plot, is the targeted use of poems, songs, quotes, prose narration and occasionally even photographs or real paintings, both as decorative elements and as narrative stylistic devices. Terry Moore's special black and white drawing style also contributed to the series' worldwide success. Through the use of cliff hangers , parallel storylines and a non-linear time sequence, the narrative style is occasionally reminiscent of that of a soap opera .

The title of the series is borrowed from the popular hit " Stranger in Paradise ", which was recorded by Tony Bennett and The Four Aces , among others . The lyrics comes from the Broadway - musical Kismet , for the melody made use Robert Wright and Chet Forrest , however, with the " Polovtsian Dances " from Alexander Borodin's Porfirjewitsch unfinished work of Prince Igor .

action

Strangers in Paradise tells the life story of three people and their relationship with one another. Issues that arise in the course of the story include: alcoholism , religion , sexual identity / orientation, female homosexuality , crime , violence , political conspiracy, partnership, self-discovery, society, family .

Publications

  • Volume 1 (1993-1994): SiP was published for the first time between November 1993 and February 1994 as a mini-series of three issues by Antarctic Press . These three issues are now referred to as "Volume 1" (first row).
  • Volume 2 (1994–1996): The "second series", consisting of 13 or 14 issues, was published by Terry Moore's own publishing house, Abstract Studio . The different counting of 13 and 14 issues is based on the publication of a short story ( Molly & Poo ), which, although published as "Strangers in Paradise # 14", has nothing to do with the actual plot of SiP (at least at the time) would have.
  • Volume 3 (1996-2007): The first eight issues of the current series were published by Homage Verlag , a company of the publishing company Image Comics , before Terry Moore returned to his own publishing house for organizational reasons.

Strangers in Paradise ended in June 2007 with issue 90. In 2018, 25 years after the series number 1, Terry Moore published a 10-issue sequel entitled "Strangers in Paradise XXV".

collection

Strangers in Paradise consists of 106 to 130 individual issues, depending on the counting method. The difference is due to so-called variant covers as well as limited editions and special reprints for collectors. The series is also available in 20 softcover anthologies (so-called paperback ), 10 hardcover anthologies or 6 paperback editions (with reduced page format) and in a limited edition as a 2200-page, two-volume complete edition (omnibus).

SiP has so far been translated into seven languages ​​(French, Portuguese, Spanish, German, Italian, Dutch, Finnish). The first German edition by Thomas Tilsner Verlag comprises nine softcover anthologies and is incomplete. A German translation of the six-volume edition has been published by Schreiber & Leser . Volume 1 was published in June 2013, the final volume was published in June 2015.

Awards

Terry Moore received the following awards for Strangers in Paradise :

literature

  • Strangers in Paradise (individual editions), Abstract Studio, 1993-2007
  • The "Strangers in Paradise" Treasury Edition, Harper & Collins, 2004
  • The "Strangers in Paradise" Source Book, Abstract Studio, 2005

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Alan Donald: Why Don't "Chicks" Dig Comics? Comics Bulletin, archived from the original on October 11, 2008 ; Retrieved December 28, 2013 (English, statements by Bill Rosemann, Terry Moore, "Evil Rick" and Alan Donald).
  2. ↑ Interview with Terry Moore (German)
  3. ↑ Announcement on Terry Moore's blog .