And so, having read this, the sixth and final digest collection of Strangers In Paradise comics, I have read the entire story of Francine and Katchoo, which went on waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too long. Artist/writer Terry Moore really should have wrapped up his story much earlier, rather than piling up the ridiculous plot devices to keep his perfect couple apart. I mean, by the end of the saga, everyone has slept with everyone else, various characters have been introduced and killed, and Moore has employed dramatic coincidence in a way that would have embarassed even Victor Hugo.
That said, I still love Strangers In Paradise, and even though the ending is BEYOND idealized and sappy, I loved it. Moore simply earned too much goodwill for me to get angry with him now. And if the story hadn't ended happily, my critical mind would have approved (what verisimilitude!) but my heart would have cried out in protest (nooooo! love must triumph!). The wicked are punished and the good are rewarded -- as Wilde says, that's how you know it's fiction.