Templar, Arizona
| Templar, Arizona | |
|---|---|
| Cover for "The Great Outdoors" | |
| Author(s) | Charlie Spike Trotman |
| Website | http://www.templaraz.com/ |
| Current status/schedule | Running |
| Launch date | June 5 2005 |
| End date | Ongoing |
Templar, Arizona is a webcomic written and drawn by Charlie Spike Trotman. It was named as one of the best webcomics of 2005 by The Webcomics Examiner. Nominated for the 2006 Web Cartoonist's Choice Award in the categories Outstanding New Character Design, Outstanding Environment Design, Outstanding Character Writing, Outstanding Long Form Comic, and Outstanding Story Concept, it won in the Character Design and Character Writing categories [1]. It is hosted on Webcomics Nation.
Trotman describes it as "a story about a town, and the people who live there", specifically referring to the city of Templar as a character and not a setting. [2] The neologism "culture fiction" was coined to describe it. [3]
Templar has been praised for its natural and humorous dialogue, the strength of its character design (both visually and in personality), the depth of its setting, and for the quality of its art. [4] [5] [6] Its writing has a unique style, with distinct speech patterns for each of the cast members. [7] [8] Some of the setting's fictional elements (such as the "copybooks") have been mistaken by readers for real things they haven't heard about before. [9]
The fictional city of Templar exists in a subtly different alternate universe. Trotman describes it as "a slightly irregular Arizona that fell off the back of a truck somewhere, and now all the power outlets are a weird shape and a couple of wars never happened". This city is most strongly marked by its fictional subcultures (many of which are veiled commentary on real ones), as well as its unusual architecture and fashion. However, it lacks any fantasy or science fiction elements, which suggests that the comic is closer to the alternate history genre.
Characters
- Templar is a large city in northeastern Arizona, on the banks of a dried-up river.
- Ben is a writer, and has only recently moved to Templar. He is short, highly intelligent and quiet. He recently started a new job writing for the city newspaper, and his introduction to the city is our introduction as well.
- Reagan (a.k.a. "Ray") is a housemate of Ben's. She is large, highly intelligent, and obnoxious. She works for a highly suspect retail store named Kingdom Come, and dresses like a drag queen.
- Gene is another housemate of Ben's. He is tattooed, possibly slightly retarded, and mercifully free of the pressures of grace. He plays in a popular local band.
- Zoradysis (a.k.a. "Zora") is Gene's daughter. She is six years old, smarter than her dad is, and uncontrolled. She just went to school for the first time.
- Scipio (pronounced "Skippy-o" rather than "Sippy-o", a.k.a. "Scip") is a friend of Reagan. He is unusually tall, well-read, and easily frustrated. He works as a "close protection officer" (read: bodyguard), and has a kilt and a pet chicken.
- Epiphany (a.k.a. "Pippi") is a source of trouble.
Charlie Spike Trotman
Trotman is also the creator of the webcomics Lucas and Odessa, Sparkneedle, and Blikada, as well as the somewhat less serious Playing With Dolls. She lives in Chicago with her husband.
External links
- Templar, Arizona
- Templar, Arizona - Chapter 1: The Great Outdoors
- Templar, Arizona - Chapter 2: The Mob Goes Wild
- Iron Circus
References
- ^ "Web Cartoonist's Choice Awards".
- ^ "Templar "about" page on Webcomics Nation".
- ^ "Templar forum post by Trotman".
- ^ "Digital Strips podcast review of Templar, Arizona".
- ^ "Webcomics Review "Best of 2005" list".
- ^ "Comicon forum post".
- ^ "Comixpedia article on webcomic dialogue, part 1".
- ^ "Comixpedia article on webcomic dialogue, part 2".
- ^ "Templar forum post by a reader".