Templar, Arizona

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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.

Contents

[edit] 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. Ben came to Arizona to escape yet-undefined conflicts in his home life.
  • 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, due to near-suffocation during birth, and mercifully free of the pressures of grace. Gene is also the only memeber of his considerably large family with hair- the rest shave their heads as part of their philosophy of "jakeskin", as in "jake's kin." They all speak in a cryptic phiolosophical manner, especially his mother, who waxes poetic about Gene's youth and her choices in raising him. He was named for the french romantic painter Eugene Delacroix (in keeping with the Jake idea of "keeping names alive") and plays in the popular local band "Borndown".
  • 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. She has shaven her head in keeping with Jake traditions.
  • 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. Scipio is heavily influenced by eastern philosophy. He works as a "close protection officer" (read: bodyguard), wears a kilt, and has a pet chicken. Scipio is also possibly infatuated with Reagan. Ben has noted that in Reagans presence Scipio is far more energetic and enthusiastic, calling him "scipio squared."
  • Epiphany (a.k.a. "Pippi") is a source of trouble.
  • Mose (a.k.a. "Thutmose") is a musician in the band "Borndown" with Gene. He's overweight, perpetually smiling and extremely randy. Owns an ugly pug dog named "Goblin".
  • Sunny (a.k.a. "Ra") is the drummer and manager of "Borndown". A former Diesel (illegal underground hockey) player, he entered the music business after he was severely injured. Profane, opinionated and intense, he is an interesting counterpoint to Gene and Mose.
  • Doctor Bash lives in a basement apartment in Bens building. He is an extremely eccentric man, with an unspecified doctorate. He is new to the building, and his room is full of unpacked boxes, which contain the antiques he has collected over the years. Doctor Bash is in the process of separating from his wife, an affluent woman from The Sorrows, a rich area of town. The pair have at least two children together, a son named Ransom and a daughter named Cascade, who Bash calls "Cassie." It was Cassie who sent the antiques to Doctor Bash, possibly in an attempt to keep her mother from selling them.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Awards

In the 2007 Glyph Comics Awards, Trotman won the Rising Star Award for Templar, Arizona.

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ Web Cartoonist's Choice Awards.
  2. ^ Templar "about" page on Webcomics Nation.
  3. ^ Templar forum post by Trotman.
  4. ^ Digital Strips podcast review of Templar, Arizona.
  5. ^ Webcomics Review "Best of 2005" list.
  6. ^ Comicon forum post.
  7. ^ Comixpedia article on webcomic dialogue, part 1.
  8. ^ Comixpedia article on webcomic dialogue, part 2.
  9. ^ Templar forum post by a reader.