STRANGERS IN PARADISE #46

By: Arnold T. Blumberg
Date: Tuesday, January 08, 2002

Some time ago, Terry Moore, creator of STRANGERS IN PARADISE, presented a one issue tale of love and murder that was so violent and shocking that its own creators felt a bit uncomfortably after its release. Moore announced that the single issue story would no longer be available. Now, however, he has decided to fold the events of that memorable (and often sought after) spin-off into the SIP continuity proper. Issue #46 is the story of one Molly Lane, a budding writer who hides behind her beauty and charm a darkness of immeasurable depth. The author of MOLLY AND POO has arrived in the world of Katchoo and Francine. What will happen next?

Whether or not fans will accept the change of pace offered by "Stardust," there's no denying that this issue is the most disturbing character study Moore has ever attempted. He employs his trademark time-hopping narrative techniques to give us glimpses of the woman who supposedly wrote the MOLLY AND POO story we read years ago. Molly Lane is a troubled young girl who attends the same school as a very young Katchoo and Francine, but apart from a minor bit of fooling around with Francine's older brother Ben, Molly appears to have no real connection to the SIP leads at all. Her father committed suicide after years of abusing her, and Molly is looking for acceptance as a writer and a woman. When a new man enters her life and makes the supreme mistake of suggesting she call him by his nickname - "Daddy" - the stage is set for a nightmarish descent into blood and insanity that will leave one man dead and Molly with an indelible stain on her soul.

It is odd that Moore should decide to resurrect the one and only story he all but disowned following its initial release...or was that a mere jest intended to make us all wonder when the full story of Molly and Poo would be told? Naturally, the original issue itself is also coming back to print, as the inside back cover ad attests, so whatever aversion Moore had to his work has evidently worn off. Still, as issues of SIP go, this has to be one of the more disappointing installments, if only because every moment spent away from Katchoo and Francine is a moment that fails to advance the story in which we've invested so much of our time and heart. Whether or not Molly's saga will truly dovetail with the others or remain on the sidelines, only time will tell. Just hide all the meat cleavers.

STRANGERS IN PARADISE

Grade: B-

Issue: No. 46

Authors: Terry Moore

Publisher: Abstract Studio

Price: $2.95