Moore, Terry 1954- (Thomas Terrell Moore, Jr.)

PERSONAL:

Born 1954; married; wife's name Robyn.

ADDRESSES:

Office—Abstract Studio, Inc., P.O. Box 271487, Houston, TX 77277. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Cartoonist. Author of the comic book series "Strangers in Paradise." Also worked for Marvel comics as a script writer.

MEMBER:

ASCAP.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Eisner Award for Best Continuing Series, 1996, Ruben Award, National Cartoonists Society, for Best Comic Book of 1997, and GLAAD Award, Best Comic Book, 2001, all for Strangers in Paradise.

WRITINGS:

"STRANGERS IN PARADISE" SERIES

Immortal Enemies, Abstract Studio (Houston, TX), 1996.

I Dream of You, Abstract Studio (Houston, TX), 1996.

It's a Good Life, Abstract Studio (Houston, TX), 1998.

High School!, Abstract Studio (Houston, TX), 1999.

Sanctuary, Abstract Studio (Houston, TX), 1999.

My Other Life, Abstract Studio (Houston, TX), 2000.

Child of Rage, Abstract Studio (Houston, TX), 2001.

Tropic of Desire, Abstract Studio (Houston, TX), 2001.

Queen of Hearts, Abstract Studio (Houston, TX), 2002.

Love Me Tender, Abstract Studio (Houston, TX), 2002.

Brave New World, Abstract Studio (Houston, TX), 2002.

Heart in Hand, Abstract Studio (Houston, TX), 2003.

Flower to Flame, Abstract Studio (Houston, TX), 2003.

David's Story, Abstract Studio (Houston, TX), 2004.

Tomorrow Is Now, Abstract Studio (Houston, TX), 2004.

Strangers in Paradise: Treasury Edition, Perennial Currents, 2004.

"STRANGERS IN PARADISE" SERIES; POCKET BOOKS

Strangers in Paradise: Pocket Book Volume 1, Abstract Studio (Houston, TX), 2004.

Strangers in Paradise: Pocket Book Volume 2, Abstract Studio (Houston, TX), 2004.

Strangers in Paradise: Pocket Book Volume 3, Abstract Studio (Houston, TX), 2004.

Strangers in Paradise: Pocket Book Volume 4, Abstract Studio (Houston, TX), 2005.

Strangers in Paradise: Pocket Book Volume 5, Abstract Studio (Houston, TX), 2005.

Strangers in Paradise: Pocket Book Volume 6, Abstract Studio (Houston, TX), 2007.

"PARADISE TOO" SERIES

Drunk Ducks, Abstract Studio (Houston, TX), 2003.

Checking for Weirdos, Abstract Studio (Houston, TX), 2003.

"STRANGERS IN PARADISE" SERIES; COLLECTIONS

The Collected Strangers in Paradise: Volume I (contains the first three issues of "Strangers in Paradise"), Abstract Studio (Houston, TX), 1995.

The Complete Strangers in Paradise: Volume II, Abstract Studio (Houston, TX), 2000.

The Complete Strangers in Paradise: Volume III, Part 1, Abstract Studio (Houston, TX), 2000.

The Complete Strangers in Paradise: Volume III, Part 2, Abstract Studio (Houston, TX), 2000.

The Complete Strangers in Paradise: Volume III, Part 3, Abstract Studio (Houston, TX), 2001.

The Complete Strangers in Paradise: Volume III, Part 4, Abstract Studio (Houston, TX), 2002.

The Complete Strangers in Paradise: Volume III, Part 5, Abstract Studio (Houston, TX), 2003.

Strangers in Paradise, Volume III, Part 6, Abstract Studio (Houston, TX), 2004.

"ECHO" SERIES

Echo, Number 1, Abstract Studio (Houston, TX), 2008.

Echo, Number 2, Abstract Studio (Houston, TX), 2008.

Echo, Number 3, Abstract Studio (Houston, TX), 2008.

Echo, Number 4, Abstract Studio (Houston, TX), 2008.

Echo, Number 5, Abstract Studio (Houston, TX), 2008.

Echo: Moon Lake (contains issues 1-5), Abstract Studio (Houston, TX), 2008.

OTHER

(With David Mack) Kabuki Volume 3: Masks of the Noh TP, Image Comics, 1999.

(With Tony Millionaire and Andi Watson) Star Wars: Tales, Volume 2, 2002.

(With Amber Benson and Christopher Golden) Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Willow & Tara, Dark Horse Comics (Milwaukie, OR), 2003.

(With Brian Michael Bendis) Ultimate Marvel Team-up, Marvel Comics (New York, NY), 2004.

(With Malcolm Bourne and Mike Alfred) Tales of Ordinary Madness, Oni Press (Portland, OR), 2004.

SIDELIGHTS:

American comic book author and illustrator Terry Moore is the creator of the popular "Strangers in Paradise," a series that began in 1993 and concluded in 2007. The black-and-white comic, also known as "SiP," follows the adventures and misadventures of three main characters: Helen Francine Peters, known as Francine, Katina Marie Choovanski, known as Katchoo, and their friend David Qin. The relationships between these three forms "the Bermuda Triangle of love triangles," according to George A. Tramountanas, writing for Comic Book Resources. While Francine considers Katchoo her best friend, Katchoo is in love with Francine. To complicate matters further, David is in love with Katchoo. More complications are added by a thriller plot element, involving the character Darcy Parker, who is attempting to control the political system through highly trained and skilled call girls. A contributor to Publishers Weekly described the plot of the ongoing series as a "soap-operatic serial about two women's love for each other, and the various men, philosophical debates and globe-trotting assassins who get in its way."

The comic, an issue of which was written, illustrated, and self-published by Moore every six weeks, has been collected in a number of graphic novels, and it has won the prestigious Eisner Award as well as critical acclaim from fellow comics writers and reviewers alike. As quoted on the Dragon*Con Web site, graphic novelist Neil Gaiman noted: "What most people don't know about love, sex, and relations with other human beings would fill a book. ‘Strangers in Paradise’ is that book." Gaiman went on to call the work "delightful," and dubbed Moore a "fun writer and a fine cartoonist." For Booklist contributor Tina Coleman, "Strangers in Paradise" "is one soap opera no one should miss." In a CSIndy Web site article, Moore is quoted as saying: "I think of [‘Strangers in Paradise’] as a modern-day Archie and Veronica…. It's more of a condensation of life." In this updated relationships comic, Moore explores such issues as homosexuality and the role of religion in the modern world. It appeals to an audience not usually attracted to comic books; more than fifty percent of its readership is female. Moore's nonlinear approach to storytelling—going back and forth in time throughout the course of the story arc—and his fine-tuned line drawings have attracted readers around the world.

Moore has said that "Strangers in Paradise" was originally conceived as a three-part miniseries. That series was published beginning in 1993 by Antarctic Press. "I hoped it would be a good way to break into the business," Moore told Tramountanas. "Then I realized most creators dreamed of having their own book, so I decided to stay with ‘SiP’ and run with it as a series—see how far I could go before I had to give it up and go to mainstream." In 1994, Moore began self-publishing the comic through his own Abstract Studio imprint. The first miniseries focused on Francine and Katchoo and their boyfriends, suitors, love, and jealousy. With the second installment, collected as the graphic novel I Dream of You, the story is "darker," according to Sara Lipowitz writing for the Seized by the Tale Web site. Here Moore brings in the darkness of Katchoo's past: the victim of child abuse who ran away from home and became a high-priced prostitute for a criminal organization run by Darcy Parker. This Mafia-like organization has been on the hunt for Katchoo ever since she disappeared from her work as a call girl, for a sizeable amount of money went missing at the same time. The art student David is also developed in the second installment; overall the series takes on a more noirish feel with I Dream of You, which earned an Eisner Award in 1996 as Best Continuing Series.

In 2007 Moore announced on his Web site that he would be bringing the series to an end. "‘SiP’ is a story and, like all stories, must come to an end," Moore wrote. "I think the story needs a strong ending to be a definitive statement," Moore told Daniela Zeta in a Yattaaa! Web site interview. "If I let it go till it fizzles out, all those years of work will amount to nothing more than a rambling monologue." Speaking with Jennifer M. Contino for the COMICON.com Web site, Moore noted: "I'm grateful for the way ‘SiP’ has touched people's lives. I never expected that, of course…. I know the story has value to the general public. Once I've finished the work it will be marketed and pushed to the public. Time will tell what will become of it. I am apprehensive about that, the long-term future of my baby…. Over time, if the work is worthy, a much broader audience can be found."

The end of the series after such a long period—thirteen years—was the occasion for much mourning and other commentary among readers of "Strangers in Paradise." "The end of ‘SiP’ is an unfortunate loss for the comic book industry, where queer characters are usually non-existent, marginalized, closeted in subtext or reduced to the simplicity of after-school specials," wrote Lee-Ann Kriegh in an interview with Moore for the AfterEllen.com Web site. "From the beginning, ‘SiP’ was different. It featured a number of lesbian characters who played out real-life situations, not fantasies—at least not fantasies of the magic spandex and invisible plane variety." The story lines wrapped up with David dying of an incurable disease, and Katchoo and Francine reunited. "Moore said, ‘There is some kind of craziness to it, where my characters become too real,’" reported Michael Berry on the Comic Book Resources Web site. "‘I really do like to think that Katchoo and Francine are living in this four million dollar house outside Santa Fe, and they're just unbelievably happy. They have these great kids and this routine where, if you went to this certain park or restaurant once a month, you would see them.’"

Moore did not lack for projects after the conclusion of "SiP". Soon Marvel comics announced that he would be joining their stable to script two of their more offbeat titles, Runaways (replacing "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" creator Joss Whedon) and Spiderman Loves Mary Jane. The first title concentrates on a group of young superheroes living in Los Angeles; they're the children of villains and have banded together partly for mutual support and partly to keep the evil their parents were responsible for from overwhelming the West Coast. Spiderman Loves Mary Jane focuses on the development of secondary characters during Spi- derman's teenage years. In this series—similar to the way Moore developed his characters in "SiP"—the artist and storyteller explores problems of angst and hormones in a high school setting. The difference is that one of his recurring characters is a superhero in disguise. "The truth is, I'm one of those unfortunate people who never grew up so I don't have to dig very deep to find that stuff," Moore told Keil Phegley in an interview for the Marvel.com Web site. "I think at the core I'm still seventeen, so it's really easy to tap into these things. I remember high school as if it was yesterday. And I know an awful lot of young people who are either in school or just getting out, and watch a lot of the same movies and TV shows. So it's really not that hard to tap in."

At the same time, Moore is not neglecting his own imprint. Soon after he began working for Marvel, he announced that he was launching a new series, called "Echo," under the Abstract Studio imprint. The "Echo" series centers on "the story of Julie Martin," Moore told Vaneta Rogers in an interview for Newsarama. "She's a young woman living alone in the California National Park, very close to the desert area, and she's out taking photographs in the desert. And something happens up there where she's just in the wrong place at the wrong time, and it totally changes her life." "In the story, there are things going on in her world that are huge, but the story is going to stay focused totally on Julie and how it affects her," he continued. "With ‘Echo,’ I'm really plugged in. And I have a great feeling about it, just like when I started ‘SiP’. So I'm very excited about it…. Because I'm already doing the book right now and I'm living in that world, it's very strange not to be able to talk about it completely." "But I'm looking at the pages to number One right now, laid out on my drawing table," Moore concluded, "and it's like I'm looking at your Christmas presents, and I haven't given them to you yet. But I think you're going to like them."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, February 1, 2003, review of Strangers in Paradise, p. 986; March 15, 2005, Tina Coleman, review of Strangers in Paradise: Pocket Book 1, p. 1280; June 1, 2005, Tina Coleman, review of Strangers in Paradise: Pocket Book 2, p. 1771; September 1, 2005, Tina Coleman, review of Strangers in Paradise: Pocket Book 4, p. 77; April 1, 2006, Tina Coleman, review of Strangers in Paradise: Pocket Book 5, p. 30; September 15, 2007, Tina Coleman, review of Strangers in Paradise: Pocket Book 6, p. 56.

Comics Journal, May, 2006, Dirk Deppey, author interview.

Library Journal, February 1, 2002, review of I Dream of You, p. 57.

Los Angeles Times, January 10, 1998, Paul Iorio, "The Next Wave," p. F1.

Publishers Weekly, October 18, 2004, "‘Strangers’ Due from Harper," p. 26; November 15, 2004, review of Strangers in Paradise: Treasury Edition, p. 43.

School Library Journal, December 1, 2003, Christine C. Menefee, "Willow and Tara," p. 179.

Voice of Youth Advocates, February, 1, 2000; Kat Kan, "Strange Sojourns," p. 400.

ONLINE

AfterEllen.com,http://www.afterellen.com/ (August 24, 2008), LeeAnne Kriegh, "Interview with Terry Moore."

Comic Book Resources Web site,http://www.comicbookresources.com/ (August 24, 2008), Arune Singh, "Keeping It ‘Real’"; George A. Tramountanas, "Strangers No More, as Moore Brings ‘Strangers in Paradise’ to an End"; Michael Berry, "wondercon."

Comicon.com,http://www.comicon.com/ (August 24, 2008), Jennifer M. Contino, "Topic: Terry Moore's Echo."

CSIndy,http://www.csindy.com/ (August 24, 2008), "Reality Bites: Comic Creator Terry Moore Gets Down and Dirty."

Dragon*Con,http://www.dragoncon.org/ (August 24, 2008), author profile.

JPKComics.com,http://www.jonathankuehlein.com/ (August 24, 2008), author interview.

Lambiek.net,http://lambiek.net/ (August 24, 2008), author profile.

Marvel.com,http://www.marvel.com/ (August 24, 2008), Kiel Phegley, "Tuesday QA: Terry Moore."

Newsarama,http://www.newsarama.com/ (August 24, 2008), Vaneta Rogers, "Terry Moore on Echo, His Marvel Work, and Norman Rockwell."

Rational Magic,http://www.rationalmagic.com/ (August 24, 2008), "Comics Get Serious—Review of Strangers in Paradise."

Sequential Tart,http://www.sequentialtart.com/ (August 24, 2008), review of Strangers in Paradise.

Strangers in Paradise Web site,http://www.strangersinparadise.com (August 24, 2008).

Texas Book Festival,http://www.texasbookfestival.org/ (August 24, 2008), author profile.

Yattaaa!,http://www.yattaaa.net/ (August 24, 2008), Daniela Zeta and others, "Yattaaa Interview: Terry Moore."