Summary: Volume 2 starts with a framing story set well into the future from the story in Volume 1: Francine's been married for ten years, and hasn't spoken to Katchoo in all that time. The story then jumps back in time to continue the story from Volume 1: Francine and Katchoo have moved into a tiny apartment together, and they continue to dance around the truth of their relationship, orbited by David. But they'll never be entirely free to figure out what they mean to each other while the specter of David's sister and Katchoo's former employer, the crime boss Darcy Parker, still has a hold on each of them.

Review: Compared to my normal reading, and especially compared to my normal graphic novel reading, Strangers in Paradise is pretty far out there, enough so that I'm not entirely sure how to fairly review it. On the one hand, it's soapy as hell: a lot of relationship drama set in the middle of a plot involving mobsters and governmental conspiracy and prostitution rings and other such stuff that feels like it could have come straight out of terrible late-night movie. But here's the thing: somehow, miraculously, Moore pulls it off. And he does this by creating characters that are real people, that are awesome real people, characters that you love, that make you laugh, that make you care, and that break your heart just the eensiest bit.

What absolutely killed me in this story was towards the end, where Moore steps even farther back in time, back to the high school days during which Francine and Katchoo first became friends. That story was poignant enough on its own, but knowing what the two of them would go through together in the future made it absolutely heartwrenching, especially when it was contrasted with the 10-years-future framing story where they're (as-yet-unexplainedly) estranged. Masterfully done. 4 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: Based on the description, I never would have guessed that I'd enjoy it as much as I am, so I'm not entirely sure how to recommend it to others. But for anyone looking for a compelling and character-driven graphic novel series, this one certainly fits the bill. I'll be reading more, no question. ( )

In this volume, we travel through a lot of time and even have a side-trip into a very funny alternate Xena-inspired universe. So while we're ten years into a future where everyone is clearly separated and we're back in high school where Francine and Katchoo first meet (and separate) and then land squarely just after the end of the first pocket book, we actually don't cover very much in terms of forward motion when it comes to plot. The truth is that the bulk of the plot still belongs to the hold that Darcy Parker and the shadow organization hold over Katchoo and the way that they've woven themselves into Francine's life in unexpected ways.

While Moore's stories are good and honest and true to the messiness of emotional involvement, the fact that Moore presents us with this great separation at the beginning hung over the entire volume for me. The storyline was exciting enough, but it was all built on this foundation of how individuals that truly need one another manage to find each other. It was all fine and good - and a whole lot I needed to know - but I desperately want to find out what happened that led to those opening pages of a decade-long separation. ( )

http://nhw.livejournal.com/318030.html

Read the first one of these last year, and much enjoyed it, as I enjoyed this second volume. Here we get sucked a little into stories of ten-years-on and ten-years-before, as well as the political thriller storyline which passes for the main plot. Not as deep and thought-provoking as some comics that I have read, but sometimes it's enough to read something that is just about interesting people rather than Big Important Issues. ( )