I find myself feeling like that "guy" who was following Tom Hank's character in the movie Forest Gump. Y'know, when Forest was running across America and he was at the point where finally decided to stop and go home, he turned around and started running back home and as the crowd parted to make way for him, the main guy said, "Now what are we supposed to do?"
Terry Moore, the gifted and talented writer/artist/creator of Strangers in Paradise, will have my lasting friendship and loyalty with whatever endeavors he chooses next. He took us on a wild, unbelievable ride through the fictional lives of Katchoo, Francine, David, Casey, Freddie, Tambi, Bambi, Veronica, the truly dispicable Darcy Parker and many others.
Katchoo was the star of the show to me. She embodied someone who wasn't physically very big, but when she chose to impose her will, nothing short of the man upstairs could stop her and even that was debatable. She was the mysterious person who knew dangerous and deadly ways to dispatch the life and wellness of another human being, and, like the Incredible Hulk, she didn't show you how dangerous she was unless she got very angry. She also embodied the tragic victim in all our hearts, the one whom we catch a glimpse of walking the streets or sitting in a waiting room at the hospital, the one our heart goes out to without knowing a thing about her. But Katchoo gave us hope for all the tragedy and misery that had occurred in her life, her indomitable spirit showed a chick who was not about to give up.
Francine is gorgeous and she represents the secret desire most men have for someone who's imperfections make her perfect. And while Katchoo was the star, Francine represented the everyman.. er, woman. She was the character I most identified with (even though I'm a 35 year old male) because she wasn't as witty as Katchoo. She got confused easily, she thought of the best lines 30 minutes after an incident had passed. She was the most HUMAN. And she showed that knowing your sexuality, your preference is not black and white, easy as pie. She took the long road to find out what she truly wanted and I congratulate her, because some people out there still don't know and, tragically, some may never find out.
David. Ah, David. I will admit, like Ben Affleck's character in Chasing Amy, that "all a lesbian really needs is a good, deep _______." And David, in my mind, was that aspect, at first. Of course, he became so much more. Here was a guy whom I thought I had pegged from day one and, like Katchoo, it turned out he too had a mysterious past. He too, could become dangerous and deadly at a moments notice. He too had a past that stained his soul, albeit the stains were almost gone thanks to his strong faith. He represented the perfect guy, the idealogical opposite of the jerks that plagued Francine's life early on.
And when he died,... it was so painful to read. It was done properly, how Terry rendered David, falling down and laying at an awkward angle on the floor. So graceless. So HUMAN. It seemed right that there were no words spoken for the rest of the issue. It was appropriate, since when a tragedy occurs, the initial shock renders us so numb that we hear nothing, feel nothing. We are upset, but we so strongly disbelieve what has happened that our body does not, can not react. The situation being so shocking that everything else melts into a background of numb white noise.
The death of David is/was most likely an SiP fan's least favorite thing to digest but it, along with another hundred dozen similar emotionally explosive revelations was what we most appreciated from Terry as he continually found ways to rock our world. This is what I will sorely miss most.
There isn't, to my knowledge another series like SiP out there. Box Office Poison drew a similarity and Terry brough notoriaty (to me) for Jane's World. I've heard that Terry will be taking over the reins of the Marvel book entitled "The Runaways" and I look forward to what he can do with pre-established characters that don't belong to him.
I am a bit spoiled in thinking that/hoping/wishing that SiP shouldn't have ended but at the same time, I've heard and agreed with the explanations and rationalizations of music and movie stars regarding their exit from their respective art form as they go something along the lines of "Always leave them wanting more" or "It's best to leave before the party ends so one doesn't get stuck with the bill and clean up."
The Abstract trio were probably due their final curtain. I just feel like I'm sure going to miss them kids, dammit.
Thank you, Terry Moore.
No comments:
Post a Comment