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Templar, Arizona: The Great Outdoors
"This is a story about a town that doesn't exist, and the people who live there.
This is also the story of a guy trying to find himself, and run away from himself at the same time.
Templar isn't a Gotham or a Metropolis. It's not a stand-in for a real town, and I'm pretty sure the spot on the map where I tend to place it is really a national park.
It's in Arizona, but not the Arizona you're probably thinking of. This is a different Arizona. This is 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 comic's been around for a long time, in one form or another. When I was a little kid with crayons and a fistful of printer paper, the town wasn't called Templar, but the main cast was pretty much already set. Most of my time in middle school was spent struggling to draw that cast in poses that weren't three-quarter profile views from the waist-up. And in high school, the comic went through a ridiculous and utterly mandatory phase of angst-ridden pastiche that's probably best left without elaboration.
The people of Templar are the heart of the strip, but their home is just as important a character. So while you're reading about Ben, Reagan, Eugene and Scipio, if anything strikes you as odd, try to remember: you're just a tourist. If you didn't feel at least a little out-of-place, you'd probably be disappointed.
Thanks."
-- spike
This is also the story of a guy trying to find himself, and run away from himself at the same time.
Templar isn't a Gotham or a Metropolis. It's not a stand-in for a real town, and I'm pretty sure the spot on the map where I tend to place it is really a national park.
It's in Arizona, but not the Arizona you're probably thinking of. This is a different Arizona. This is 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 comic's been around for a long time, in one form or another. When I was a little kid with crayons and a fistful of printer paper, the town wasn't called Templar, but the main cast was pretty much already set. Most of my time in middle school was spent struggling to draw that cast in poses that weren't three-quarter profile views from the waist-up. And in high school, the comic went through a ridiculous and utterly mandatory phase of angst-ridden pastiche that's probably best left without elaboration.
The people of Templar are the heart of the strip, but their home is just as important a character. So while you're reading about Ben, Reagan, Eugene and Scipio, if anything strikes you as odd, try to remember: you're just a tourist. If you didn't feel at least a little out-of-place, you'd probably be disappointed.
Thanks."
-- spike
110 pages, graphic novel
First published January 1, 2007
1 person is currently reading
60 people want to read
About the author
C. Spike Trotman
35 books130 followersTrotman 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.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
July 9, 2023
There was a period over the last few months where I put aside all the books I had on deck, and dove into rereading a whole buncha comics on my shelf. I do this quite a bit, actually, rereading favourite authors/artists, sometimes as a palate cleanser, but always in appreciation of an art form as valid as any other - but I won't get into the constant infantilization of the comic medium, because I wanna talk about Templar AZ.
Remember webcomics? Remember when everyone had a webcomic? More importantly, remember when they were free, and not hiding behind a substack paywall?
(I don't begrudge artists getting paid for their work, of course; I just miss the days when the internet was a more interesting place, and not everything was monetized to death.)
Anyway: Templar, Arizona was possibly one of the best ones out there. It was an alternate history where modern life was influenced by Roman and Egyptian culture as dominant forces, as opposed to Eurocentric/Anglo-Saxon colonization. At least, I think that was the gist. It came out weekly on Trotman's website, primarily a street-level view of this world, as seen by Ben Kowalski, a South Korean kid running from his adoptive parents because of...something, hopefully to be revealed eventually?
Trotman said she'd had the story and world brewing for Templar AZ since she'd been in grade school, and it shows; this world is vibrant and well-curated, and the story, while rambling, is actually quite fun, and I'm pretty sure I've met every one of her characters in real life (work retail/service jobs, you'll see).
The sad thing is, she never finished it. I've got four volumes sitting on my shelf, just begging for a resolution. Trotman detoured into writing lesbian erotica (which is fantastic, but not really my thing) and starting her own indie comics publishing house (Iron Circus Comics), so she's been productive and prolific and whatnot - but there's a selfish part of me that wants her to forget everything else and finish this series. Please. Please? Please.
9/10 would def eat here again, as long as the chef didn't walk out 3/4 of the way through dinner service.
Remember webcomics? Remember when everyone had a webcomic? More importantly, remember when they were free, and not hiding behind a substack paywall?
(I don't begrudge artists getting paid for their work, of course; I just miss the days when the internet was a more interesting place, and not everything was monetized to death.)
Anyway: Templar, Arizona was possibly one of the best ones out there. It was an alternate history where modern life was influenced by Roman and Egyptian culture as dominant forces, as opposed to Eurocentric/Anglo-Saxon colonization. At least, I think that was the gist. It came out weekly on Trotman's website, primarily a street-level view of this world, as seen by Ben Kowalski, a South Korean kid running from his adoptive parents because of...something, hopefully to be revealed eventually?
Trotman said she'd had the story and world brewing for Templar AZ since she'd been in grade school, and it shows; this world is vibrant and well-curated, and the story, while rambling, is actually quite fun, and I'm pretty sure I've met every one of her characters in real life (work retail/service jobs, you'll see).
The sad thing is, she never finished it. I've got four volumes sitting on my shelf, just begging for a resolution. Trotman detoured into writing lesbian erotica (which is fantastic, but not really my thing) and starting her own indie comics publishing house (Iron Circus Comics), so she's been productive and prolific and whatnot - but there's a selfish part of me that wants her to forget everything else and finish this series. Please. Please? Please.
9/10 would def eat here again, as long as the chef didn't walk out 3/4 of the way through dinner service.
August 26, 2023
I know Spike is a fantastic salesperson, because she has sold TONS of this book, and yet I can't begin to describe it to do the same. The short of it is it's an alternate history make-believe town where televisions don't exist (as we know them), but the internet does. Selective re-envisioning of the Earth we know to nake a custom Arizona just for this oddball story. There's a huge statue of Jimmy Carter in a toga, a "clay bar" where patrons can sculpt while they drink, and "Sincerists," who value absolute truth over anything else (never wear a "princess" shirt around them unless you are LITERAL ROYALTY).
The focus is on Ben, a (we later find out, adopted) Asian boy who ran away from home and somehow ended up in Arizona, of all places, to be a writer. He sits through a crash course in some of the weirder residents, including a nudist little girl (Zora) who breaks into Ben's house, Zora's stoner dad (Gene), a huge, fat white woman named Reagan (because Spike wanted to draw a huge, fat white woman), and a huge, black "dork" (Scipio) with a chicken (Flora).
The story is slice-of-life... for THEM. There's not a particular story arc as such, other than introducing Ben to Templar. It's sort of a thing where you'll either like it or you won't; unless you're Spike, it might be hard selling this to other people. Spike's definitely good at selling, though.
The focus is on Ben, a (we later find out, adopted) Asian boy who ran away from home and somehow ended up in Arizona, of all places, to be a writer. He sits through a crash course in some of the weirder residents, including a nudist little girl (Zora) who breaks into Ben's house, Zora's stoner dad (Gene), a huge, fat white woman named Reagan (because Spike wanted to draw a huge, fat white woman), and a huge, black "dork" (Scipio) with a chicken (Flora).
The story is slice-of-life... for THEM. There's not a particular story arc as such, other than introducing Ben to Templar. It's sort of a thing where you'll either like it or you won't; unless you're Spike, it might be hard selling this to other people. Spike's definitely good at selling, though.
October 6, 2018
Sadly, I hated every second of this.
March 13, 2022
Got this backing their Kickstarter campaign. This book has great parts and so-so ones. The story is a bit confusing. Sometimes I loved the characters and at other times they held little interest.
Read
June 23, 2011The setting and the characters are taking me a while to grasp, and just when I think I have it figured out, I get thrown for a loop.
But that particular trait is growing on me in a rather disturbing way.
But that particular trait is growing on me in a rather disturbing way.
August 4, 2009
Interesting characters and an interesting setting. I just wish something actually happened in this volume.
March 2, 2015
Transmetropolitan meets Love and Rockets!
This graphic novel is awesome! And it has footnotes!
I love this!
This graphic novel is awesome! And it has footnotes!
I love this!
August 29, 2015
The art in this book is beautiful but the story failed to capture my interest.
January 17, 2016
the art would be four stars - wendy pini meets kyle baker.
far too much swearing and use of God and Jesus' name.
far too much swearing and use of God and Jesus' name.
November 19, 2021
I was really surprised by how good this book is. The characters are funny and feel very real. The stylized art beautifully communicates the characters' emotions.
January 11, 2011
The dialogue is fun. I suspect I will appreciate this book more further down the line.
April 23, 2017
I discovered this comic after listening to a segment on an NPR podcast about non-normative, avant-garde comic books. C. Spike Trotman spoke rather persuasively about writing independent comic books, so thankfully, I was not disappointed by Templar, Arizona. The Great Outdoors. This first volume is an elongated introduction to the principle characters, peppered with charming quirks and idiosyncrasies. In addition, the fictional Templar, Arizona is a vibrant playground for ill-repute misfits. The endnotes are also a fantastic detail that I enjoyed very much.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews